Tragedy at Virginia Tech

[Brando19]

Virginia Tech is about 30 minutes from my house. A local high school was on a field trip to VA Tech this morning when it happened. Luckily, they're all okay.

[mmmdk]

I just heard that is was the 4th shooting at a university/school within 7 or 8 month in the US. It happens other places too, mainly in western countries, but easy access to guns is a factor but not the only one. I think the general rhetoric is violent - just read todays news or any other forum even politicians.

Truely a terrible day.

[BallHawk]

I'm guessing that the motive was either he was either mentally disturbed and had psychiatric problems or had a vendetta against the University for some reason.

Man, this is just really messed up.

[BallHawk]

I think anything we can do to make the schools safer is well worth the money!!!

Nah, schools would rather spend the money on useful things like vending machines or athletic equipment.

[oregonpackfan]

Do any of your local Jr. High Schools or High Schools have a metal detector the kids have to go through? I have been thinking a lot about this the last while and I'm in full support of it. Ours don't, while the Courthouse does. I'm not against the Courthouse having a metal detector but I do believe you hear more in the news about people going into schools and shooting students than you do them going into Courthouses and doing the same. With gang violence always on the rise and kids getting guns at younger and younger ages I feel we need to be proactive. If a metal detector would prevent just one incident of a kid bringing a weapon to school it would be well worth it. I know this is a bit off topic...but like I said, it's been on my mind for quite some time and the events today just make my opinion on this stronger. Drug dogs go through the schools multiple times per month. That was a big debate in the community and was finally voted in last year. I think anything we can do to make the schools safer is well worth the money!!!

Most elemetary schools here in Oregon only keep the main door open. Visitors, therefore, have to enter the main door by the office and register. Many middle schools do the same.

Since some high schools are so large, they have to keep several or more doors open just to keep open the flow of student traffic.

That proactive precaution of just keeping one door open, of course, would not prevent anyone from just walking in the front door and start shooting away.

Some inner city schools in the Northeast use metal detectors but are cost prohibitive for most schools. Not only are the metal detectors expensive, but you have to pay a security guard to be there and go through the packs and/or belongings of the students/visitors.

Though some precautions can take place, in the end there is no true effective way to stop some deranged individual from wreaking havoc on a school.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families today.

[Partial]

I think anything we can do to make the schools safer is well worth the money!!!

Nah, schools would rather spend the money on useful things like vending machines or athletic equipment.

Yes I know that is terrible that interscholastic and intramural sports exist in high school.

Blaming the schools is ignorant and will lead to a waste of tax dollars. Blame the mothers and fathers.

[Partial]

Do any of your local Jr. High Schools or High Schools have a metal detector the kids have to go through? I have been thinking a lot about this the last while and I'm in full support of it. Ours don't, while the Courthouse does. I'm not against the Courthouse having a metal detector but I do believe you hear more in the news about people going into schools and shooting students than you do them going into Courthouses and doing the same. With gang violence always on the rise and kids getting guns at younger and younger ages I feel we need to be proactive. If a metal detector would prevent just one incident of a kid bringing a weapon to school it would be well worth it. I know this is a bit off topic...but like I said, it's been on my mind for quite some time and the events today just make my opinion on this stronger. Drug dogs go through the schools multiple times per month. That was a big debate in the community and was finally voted in last year. I think anything we can do to make the schools safer is well worth the money!!!

Having metal detectors in schools wouldn't work as well as you think because all laptops and electronic devices would have to go through a seperate machine (meaning virtually all backpacks), and any cars keys, change, etc would have to go into a basket. This means you'd need at least two operators and machines to effectively scan one person. Imagine trying to scan 2000 students or so. It'd take a lot of manpower, and a lot of time when students are arriving in the morning.

I don't think it would change a whole lot. If someone wants to get a gun in they'll find a way. Same things with airplanes.

Ultimately, the parents need to be proactive and make sure their children are raised properly, have friends, learn to treat people well, etc. My guess is most of the parents of people who act in such a unnatural way are very negligent of not only who their kids are and what they're doing, but who their friends are, what other kids think of them, why other kids treat them the way they do, etc.

[Partial]

This country is seriously f*cked up. This is a trend for this country, which is a country fueled by guns and violence. I agree that video games, movies, and rap culture are all a part of this. Kids, nowadays, are attracted by violence, drugs, sex, gore, etc. So the companies give the people what they want and look what results.

Gun control is the main issue here, though. Does this time of thing happen in the other countries of the world? Not very frequently. A teenager could easily get a gun in this country if he tried.

My condolences to the family and the students that are affected by this tragedy. It's a shame this bastard killed himself. I really would of liked to see justice and revenge served here.

I bet if you did a study most of the violence is coming from outcasts who are left out and the "losers" within school getting revenge. I would say this sort of violence is fueled far more often by people listening to the slipknot hard-metal rock about hating the world than the rap music about screwing chicks and smoking pot.

[justanotherpackfan]

This country is seriously f*cked up. This is a trend for this country, which is a country fueled by guns and violence. I agree that video games, movies, and rap culture are all a part of this. Kids, nowadays, are attracted by violence, drugs, sex, gore, etc. So the companies give the people what they want and look what results.

Gun control is the main issue here, though. Does this time of thing happen in the other countries of the world? Not very frequently. A teenager could easily get a gun in this country if he tried.

My condolences to the family and the students that are affected by this tragedy. It's a shame this bastard killed himself. I really would of liked to see justice and revenge served here.

That's a cop-out with you claiming rap music has anything to do with this. I will agree with you that rap and hip hop needs to do more to improve its image but that's still a cop-out. What about goth music? That kind of music is more disturbing than rap.

[justanotherpackfan]

I bet if you did a study most of the violence is coming from outcasts who are left out and the "losers" within school getting revenge. I would say this sort of violence is fueled far more often by people listening to the slipknot hard-metal rock about hating the world than the rap music about screwing chicks and smoking pot.

Amen to that.

Rap is great pump up music even if the lyrics are bad.

[BallHawk]

You can add 75% of the music today, too.

[retailguy]

This country is seriously f*cked up. This is a trend for this country, which is a country fueled by guns and violence. I agree that video games, movies, and rap culture are all a part of this. Kids, nowadays, are attracted by violence, drugs, sex, gore, etc. So the companies give the people what they want and look what results.

Gun control is the main issue here, though. Does this time of thing happen in the other countries of the world? Not very frequently. A teenager could easily get a gun in this country if he tried.

My condolences to the family and the students that are affected by this tragedy. It's a shame this bastard killed himself. I really would of liked to see justice and revenge served here.

That's a cop-out with you claiming rap music has anything to do with this. I will agree with you that rap and hip hop needs to do more to improve its image but that's still a cop-out. What about goth music? That kind of music is more disturbing than rap.

He did not say rap MUSIC. He said RAP CULTURE. Culture is not music.

I agree with him. RAP CULTURE is a problem.

[Partial]

Rap culture isn't good by any means and certainly has its own fair share of violence, but when talking about school shootings I would argue that the goth/outcast/emo culture is involved much more heavily.

[MJZiggy]

What if we just blame the dude with the guns? I mean, after all, we don't know what his musical tastes were. We just know he chained the doors shut and started shooting up classrooms. We don't know why.

[Partial]

What if we just blame the dude with the guns? I mean, after all, we don't know what his musical tastes were. We just know he chained the doors shut and started shooting up classrooms. We don't know why.

That is exactly right.

[GrnBay007]

Most elemetary schools here in Oregon only keep the main door open. Visitors, therefore, have to enter the main door by the office and register. Many middle schools do the same.

Since some high schools are so large, they have to keep several or more doors open just to keep open the flow of student traffic.

That proactive precaution of just keeping one door open, of course, would not prevent anyone from just walking in the front door and start shooting away.

Some inner city schools in the Northeast use metal detectors but are cost prohibitive for most schools. Not only are the metal detectors expensive, but you have to pay a security guard to be there and go through the packs and/or belongings of the students/visitors.

Though some precautions can take place, in the end there is no true effective way to stop some deranged individual from wreaking havoc on a school.

At our schools after the kids enter the school all door are locked and any visitor has to come to the front door, state who they are, and have to be permitted in. But do you know why this started about 4 years ago? Because a notorious, high risk to re-offend sex offender walked into a school and sexually assaulted an elementary girl in the school restroom. How sick is that? A place where this little girl should have felt safe was violated in the worst way and no doubt will have a life long affect on her. This is what I mean by being pro-active. Why wait for a tragedy to happen to take action?

Yes the cost would be extensive. They raise taxes for things I feel are far less important to the community then the safety of our children.

There are two officers at the door at the Courthouse. There are two separate detectors. They do not go through bags....they go through a machine similar to an airport and then you empty your pockets and walk through a separate detector. Very costly? probably, but how do you put a cost on a single life?

[falco]

craziness

[GBRulz]

I just heard about this on the news when I got back into my room tonight. I am absolutely sickened. Sadly, the news seemed to be more focused on the idea of concealed weapons vs the tradgedy itself. Here in Utah, they said they are the only state in the US that allows concealed weapons to be carried in universities and some of the staff went on and on about how if what happened in Virginia today, happened here, many lives would possibly have been saved because the gunman would have been able to be confronted.

I live in WI, which is one of the few states in the U.S. that does not have a concealed and carry law. I am not convinced that by carrying a gun it is ultimately safer.

Anyhow, God Bless the families of this horrible incident. What the heck would possess someone to do this?

A couple of you before were also asking about why classes weren't cancelled after the first two shootings. Great question. The news here just said that the officers thought it was an isolated incident and had no idea the gunman went to another building.

[Partial]

I am not trying to be insensitive but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that students didn't charge and tackle this guy knowing they were likely to be killed anyway.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I am not trying to be insensitive but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that students didn't charge and tackle this guy knowing they were likely to be killed anyway.

I kind of thought the same thing. Everybody talked about how they hid or ran or jumped out the window. Then again, put in their shoes it's hard to say how one would react. You'd like to think you'd gang up and go after the guy.

Apparently, the shooter is a Chinese man that arrived last year with a student visa. That part of the story is going to open up a whole new can of worms. Just a bizarre story. I'm sure guns will be blamed. And I'm also sure hardships that the Chinese guy had to endure will be used to try to excuse what he did.