More blaming the victim.
Conservative Nathaniel Blake at Human Events Online links positively to John Derbyshire’s post, then writes that the students at Virginia Tech should feel “heartily ashamed” for not acting more bravely:
College classrooms have scads of young men who are at their physical peak, and none of them seems to have done anything beyond ducking, running, and holding doors shut. Meanwhile, an old man hurled his body at the shooter to save others.
Something is clearly wrong with the men in our culture. Among the first rules of manliness are fighting bad guys and protecting others: in a word, courage. And not a one of the healthy young fellows in the classrooms seems to have done that. …
Like Derb, I don’t know if I would live up to this myself, but I know that I should be heartily ashamed of myself if I didn’t. Am I noble, courageous and self-sacrificing? I don’t know; but I should hope to be so when necessary.
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What a moron. I’ll bet he’s so brave that he’s for the war in Iraq yet doesn’t have the courage to go there himself.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:32 pmGood thing Imus didnt say this…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pmAm I noble, courageous and self-sacrificing?
No.
This has been another installment of easy answers to stupid questions.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pmGotta love detached hindsight, not to mention retinas.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:35 pmwatchers of “24″ unite!
April 17th, 2007 at 3:36 pmLet’s see how he would have reacted to bullets being shot at him.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:36 pmWow. Just wow.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:36 pmFriggin’ oy!
These pansy a$$ed neocons sure do talk a big game. How come none of them will sign up and serve their country? I am pretty sure Bush said something about it being the highest calling.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:36 pmThis coming from a person hiding behind a keyboard.
Sounds like a typical chickenhawk of the 101st keyboard brigade - all words and no action.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:38 pmAmazing,
for people who’ve gone out of their way avoiding being on either side of a gun, they sure seem to have their opinions on what to do when they’re looking down the barrel of one
April 17th, 2007 at 3:38 pmNote left by Cho rails against “rich kids” and “deceitful charlatans,” Chicago Tribune reports
Sort of a side note: Juan asked on the thinkfast thread today what would cause this behavior in a developed society.
I responed with the cause being mental instability which is not noticed, ignored, and goes untreated. I also noted that lack of justice and lousy attitudes (snotty, don’t give a crap, selfish, etc.) contribute as well. Seems Cho had an issue with liars and inequality. Poeple who are treated poorly and experience injustices sometimes snap.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:39 pmBlaming the victims is a Repuke tactic.
They love to blame victims, and they think they’re Christians?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:40 pmwhen i enrolled in school, i don’t recall pledging to defend myself against gun wielding maniacs. people are at college to get an education, not to act like rambo. what a fucking dolt.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:40 pmThen grab a weapon and stand a post my man!
April 17th, 2007 at 3:40 pmWhile I think along these lines, it’s that we citizens aren’t… trained to fight back.
Our culture certainly fantasizes a lot about “fighting back”–but it’s horrendous when those fantasies masquerade as “opinion” or “cogent observation.”
April 17th, 2007 at 3:41 pmThese morons spend too much time watching Rambo-type movies. They’d probably wet their pants if a thug pointed a gun at them.
This is yet more “compassionate conservatism” from the bloviators -it won’t be long before the braindead trolls pick up on the newest talking point, start smearing the student body, as their talk about their own manly accomplishments.
There is simply no low these people won’t stoop to…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:41 pmWow. What a freak. I bet this guy is a grade A pussy.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:41 pmAnother arm chair quarterback trying to prove his masculinity, and over compensating for a serious short coming.
We all don’t know what we’d do in that situation. Some would be shell shocked, some would be analytical, most would panic. Some would even be heroic (the R.A. of the dorm comes to mind).
Whose to say there wasn’t heroism, that some tried to jump this guy, only to get blown away?
It’s only been over 24 hours, yet we’ve already got idiots questioning the victims.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:41 pmNICE
What is it with these guys? Not only callously spouting off, but without paying attention to those who did indeed show heroism.
What about Ryan Clark, the RA who did confront the assailant in the dorm at the tragedy’s beginning and was killed for his efforts?
What about Liviu Librescu, the 76-year-old engineering professor and Holocaust survivor, who barred the door and told his students to flee and was also killed?
There were heroes amidst the tragedy. Let’s not pretend things would have been different had Derbyshire and Blake been there.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pmwiener savage had already blamed the ACLU yesterday for this. There are more Horse’s asses in the world then there are Horses.
wouldofs, shouldofs, and couldofs is what we’ll hear, see and read for the next few days. I’ll listen to the professionals (FBI, ATF, state and local police) and I’ll ignore the asses with mouths.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pmAmazing.
Nobody, but nobody has the right to second-guess these people’s actions. CERTAINLY not someone who’s never been shot at.
John, there’s an easy way to examine your heroism.
The recruiting ofice is right down the street.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:44 pmNeocons like to talk tough.
What would this moron have done if he was there? Probably wet his pants, and assume the fetal position, rocking back and forth.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:45 pmI woulda…I woulda kicked his little Chinese ass! You better believe it.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:45 pmAh, the Conservative thinking in a nutshell…
“You go and fight and I’ll call myself one brave, badass mofo.”
April 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pmI’d like to see John spend a weekend in East L.A.
Without a gun.
He’d neve live to see Monday.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pmVile pigs, Derbyshire and Blake…Today’s Wooorst Persons in the Wooooooorrrrld!!
April 17th, 2007 at 3:47 pmWhere’s the right-wing defense at here?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:47 pmSome idiots watch the boob tube and mix it up with reality.
If it had been ME in that situation, I would have killed the shooter from 200 yards away with mind bullets! that’s telekenesis Kyle!
April 17th, 2007 at 3:47 pmWhat a sexist load of crap.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for the feminists to challenge this blatantly sexist statement.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:49 pmIt has come out that this Cho kid was a “troubled loner”. This puts him in a high risk category. So what does society do with a “troubled loner”?
They make his life even worse, by making fun of him and doing other abusive things to him.
There is your “developed society” for you.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:49 pmActually probably one of the most heroic victims who did act bravely and still died was an old man named Professor Liviu Librescu.
He held the door and blocked to save his students, and was shot and killed.
The old man was a refugee of communist opression and a survivor of the holocaust. he was an israeli professor at tel aviv university before he came to virginia tech.
http://www.ynetnews.com/ articles/ 0,7340,L-3388753,00.html
April 17th, 2007 at 3:50 pmThe reichwingnuts are attempting to DARVO the innocent victims and collegians now! Amazing how low these twisted sickos will stoop! DARVO IS THE MANTRA OF THE VERY SICK GOP:
DARVO = DENY, ATTACH, REVERSE VICTIM & OFFENDER
DARVO IS THE PRODUCT OF A VERY SICK, DELUDED, PSYCHOLOGICALLY TWISTED GROUP OF REPUBLICANS.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:51 pmI bet Nathaniel Blake wouldn’t sign up to go to Iraq, probably because he’s a wuss….like most of his conservative buddies.
All talk and no action by themselves.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:51 pmDid ANYONE else even notice the blatant sexism in the statement?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:51 pmSince the kid was from another country, he probably had zero support system here in the US.
Instead of more metal detectors, and guards. How about a program to help students from out of the country get plugged into a support system. How about its mandatory for them, for national security reasons.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:51 pmNathaniel Blake would have ripped his shirt off, put a bandana around his head, made a lethal weapon out buttons and thread, and taken on the shooter without any body armor, head on, in deadly singular combat.
After ripping the shooter into pieces with his bare hands, he would have used the thread to sew his wounds with a needle made out of a metal hanger.
John Derbyshire would have been covering Blake’s back with a fearsome looking machete made out of plastic spoons.
/sarcasm off
In the meantime, in the real world, real people got killed…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pmToday’s Wooorst Persons in the Wooooooorrrrld!!
Comment by nffcnnr
I hope so. Let’s watch Keith tonight and see what he has to say about the whole issue. I thought his special edition last night was very well done.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pmPerhaps we should blame the reichwing neocon gun lobbies of the Rethuglican party for the laxity of gun controls and hold all of them accountable for this mass murdering spree?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pmThese people; Blake, Derbyshire, and their ilk; confuse courage with stupidity. One does not have to throw themselves in front of a bullet to be brave. These people do not consider that it took much more presence of mind to attempt to barricade the room and keep as many alive as possible. It was far more corageous in my estimation to use one mind in a situation and then engage the body in keeping people, including oneself, alive.
Throwing yourself to block the gunman may have gotten more people killed than serivng the greater good of protecting the group of students. Men are called upon to protect and that includes making good decisions in order to create a safe environment among the chaos.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pmSo, have we heard the “it happened because America is soft on homosexuality” explanation yet?
Nathaniel Blake sounds like he’s never been in harm’s way. I’d recommend a play by Bernard Shaw, Arms & the Man. It’s about a mercenary fighting in the Balkans and the patriotic nonsense about war and honor that the middle class routinely swallows.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:53 pmI agree, DARVO is a very, very, sick and twisted tactic used by the Republicans.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:54 pmSee how these Re-thugs are attempting to shift the dialogue from our lack of homeland security in monitoring gun purchases of foreign nationals? See how these demented Re-Thugs are attempting to shift the dialogue off the very sick individual who committed these crimes (because it all points back to their gun lobbies owning this white house) and, instead, shifting the blame to others in the classroom who were victims? Very sick and time to get these Republican criminals out of public office. This country needs to boot them all in 08 in order to save itself from going totally down the tubes.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:54 pmThey make his life even worse, by making fun of him and doing other abusive things to him.
There is your “developed society†for you.
Comment by ForTruth
Unfortunately, that is the sad, sad truth. Children can be extremely mean to those they deem weaker than themselves. I was the fat, four-eyed, red headed freak all through school. Yes, I was clinically depressed for over a decade. Yes, I thought of suicide. NO, I never thought of taking anyone “down with me”.
I just wish someone would have been kind enough to befriend Cho before he snapped.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:55 pmWhere’s Dale, lecturing that people need to pay respect to the families again?
Come on Dale, explain to us why your *friends* in the Conservative ranks are a bunch of heartless punks! Come on, we’re waiting on you to condemn your fellow conservatives for their outrageous remarks!
Dale is conveniently gone when his side looks like a bunch of hate filled hypocrites and heartless b*st*rds.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:56 pmWhen the students held the door shut as Cho kept firing his gun….
That was pretty effin’ brave.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pmnot THAT is classy
April 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pmNo surprise, This is the crowd that goes after Hostages when they have the nerve to come back alive…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pmWhat a first-class a$$hole. I think he ought to put his mettle to the test and enlist post haste and go off to Iraq to see if there’s some loose grenades he can toss himself on top of.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:59 pmIt’s Nathanael Blake, and by the looks of this picture: http://oregonstate.edu/~blakena/DSCN1777.jpg
he appears as if he is a young and able-bodied 20-something year old just out of college at Oregon State. Go sign up for Iraq, Nathanael, and show us what a real man you are.
I’m assuming this is the correct guy - since there are many other writings that seem to follow his though that can be found here:
http://oregonstate.edu/~blakena/
April 17th, 2007 at 4:01 pmThis guy is grandstanding. We should all be thinking of the families dealing with this loss and not causing them more grief.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pmHey, you know, I’ll be your local Marine recruiter could find work for a noble, courageous he-man such as yourself! Give him a call.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:02 pmemail him and tell him what you think….i did.
gxnmvw7e@gmail.com
April 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pmProject your inferior masculinity much?
What a loathesome worm. Typical Rape-Public-Can displacement. Riddled with fear and delusions of control this maggot has the audacity to attack the innocent victims?
How pathetic can you be? This is so typical of the Chickenhawk cowards. Project your own insecurities onto others. This excrement is too coward to enlist but will attack innocent victims? You Reich wing have no shame.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pmAnyone else think this and flight 93 are comparable?
1. An airplane in flight is an inescapable situation, a collage classroom is not.
2. would the pupils think they were going to “die anyway” or would they think they could escape.
3. flight 93 passengers would have had time to talk and team up. their actions took place after the situation was revealed, The student here would have been at the point where the plane was initially taken over, the part before the “fight back”.
Could you imagine the uproar if this was said by someone on the left that had actually served in the military or been in such a situation before?
April 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pmToo bad that German class wasn’t full of right-wing pundits so they could have all gotten one chance to play “Rambo” before they died.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:03 pmRush a guy with two semi-automatic handguns? Honestly, these guys watch too much HBO. These insulting SOBs don’t even know what happened and they’re setting themselves up as superior beings. The one heroic act they do mention is mocked with the words “an old man”; no name and no story and no credit. This man’s heroic act apparently didn’t count because he wasn’t the Hollywood hero type.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:05 pmWell, for everyone who’s worrying about why the shooter acted and what could have been done differently to save him, etc., I’d say it’s 99% that he was psychotic. May have had a brain tumor, or a head injury, possibly it was developing for a few years. There isn’t any cultural or social explanation for shit like this — it’s just random craziness. Don’t look too hard for meaning.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:06 pm#22 DAMN STRAIGHT
April 17th, 2007 at 4:06 pmIf Blake really does think this:
the students at Virginia Tech should feel “heartily ashamed†for not acting more bravely
then he should go there and tell people that. That way, he can answer this question for himself:
I don’t know if I would live up to this myself, but I know that I should be heartily ashamed of myself if I didn’t. Am I noble, courageous and self-sacrificing? I don’t know; but I should hope to be so when necessary.
I think the good people of Virginia will give you a chance to really know yourself, Blake.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:07 pm.
Well, on the bright side (and there isn’t much of one), tragic events like this really show the republicunt’s true colors. Go on Republicants, show the world (and the voters) just how out of touch with reality you really are.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:07 pmI’ve had a gun held to my head in a robberery. Let me tell you…..there is no more helpless feeling in the world. You can’t do a thing, can’t move, can’t think, it is very hard to describe unless you’ve been there like I was.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:08 pmI will not judge these kids for what they did and didn’t do in their situation. I always thought if it was me that i’d act bravely and rush or fight the prick that did that to me. I didn’t do that. I was frightened out of my mind.
When I see S**t like this being spewed by these idiots I can think of but one thing to say and its from the Bible
JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED.
Kind of sums it up for me.
how dare that a$$hole mention flight 93- they were up against box cutters, not 2 semiautomatic pistols!
That piece of $hit big-talking coward.
And the teacher who threw himself at the shooter to save his students and was eventually killed, was an Israeli, who may or may not have seen time in combat in his 70+ years of life.
Has any of the students who lived or died yesterday, seen combat or received any military training? probably not.
that is not their fault. I can only assume that those young adults in a situation so horrific were thinking about self preservation.
Again- what an A$$HOLE.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:09 pmThis guy (Derbyshire) is so tough that he doesnt even accept comments to his drivel..typical loud mouth conservative pussy!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:09 pmClinton said it, too. So did Pelosi.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:09 pmhey I am sorry, but I did think yesterday when details started to come out….why didn’t anyone jump the shooter. Why didn’t anyone wrestle him to the ground. I also thought, sh….t if I am going to die, I would die fighting back and I wouldn’t allow myself to be placed against a wall and be shot execution style……….
It has happened many times before that a shooter was taken down by very, very brave people, the one example that comes to mind is the guy that started shooting infront of the White House, I think during the late 1980s and he was wrestled to the ground by some brave tourists.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:09 pmWhat exactly are you supposed to do when you’re 15, 20, 25, 30+ feet away and having bullets shot at you? the first person to stand up from behind whatever is shielding them is going to get shot, that’s not bravery, that’s suicide. That’s f***ing outrageous.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:10 pmI think it’s wrong of Blake to assume that all those males must have been College Republicans. But at least he finally admits just how much shame College Republicans cause him.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:10 pmI’m tempted to suggest bets on:
1) how long this post of his stays up
April 17th, 2007 at 4:11 pm2) how long it is before he whines about the vicious harrassment he’s getting from us DFHs.
why didn’t anyone jump the shooter
He did. He died.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:12 pm.
Good Lord, I just don’t understand these people. It must be nice to have such a high opinon of yourself. And, nice slam on women at the same time, because of course we have no courage.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:12 pmGood point on Darbyshire’s Flight 93 comparison–those passengers acted because they knew if they didn’t they and many others would die, even if there was only a small chance they would succeed.
Everything before that always taught you to not fight back and to not make yourself conspicuous–that anything an untrained civilian did would probably make the situation worse.
Mr Blake, that’s not fair. Surely not all of those young men were College Republicans.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:12 pmUmmm Kirk,
was the White House shooter aiming at the tourists? focused on them? Don’t think so. Easy to for a bystander to take action, than the untrained, unsuspecting target.
Don’t be an jerk and defend the indefensible.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:13 pmhey I am sorry, but I did think yesterday when details started to come out….why didn’t anyone jump the shooter. Comment by Captain Kirk
I just love those armchair commandos. You are probably one of those people that go up to a widow on her husband’s funeral day and say, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I know how you feel.”
You never know what you will do until you are put in that position.
SULOGA!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:14 pmComment by Captain Kirk
Maybe our society perpetuates the “all about me” mentality. Maybe we are not encouraged to look out for our fellow Americans. Maybe we are taught to do whatever it takes to get one over on our own people. Maybe we are the most selfish nation on the planet.
Social psychology studies have shown when people witness a situation as a group, the responsibility is diffused and many people do not act. However, when alone, these people would act.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:14 pmHey Capt.Jirk,
Who the F**k are you to question these kids or anyone else in this situation??? If you have the option to flee versus take on a 9mm then I say do it! You have NO idea what you would do in that situation. Keep your Rambo fantasies to yourself..Jackass.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:17 pmyes, please refer these morons to the corp of cadets at tech so they can tell them in person what cowards they are - serving our country and all
April 17th, 2007 at 4:17 pmThese people who blame the vicitms are plain loud mouths and do not deserve to be called conservatives, eventhough they call themselves conservatives. These people only understand brute force.
I agree that it is not smart to unnecessarily draw fire. In some cases if those holding the doors shut would have stood up to draw fire the gunman would have entered the room and there would have been more carnage.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:18 pmThis is not a reality based comment. When gunshots are fired, and screams are heard, WHO RUNS IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GUNFIRE without a weapon? At least one guy organized a resistance by building a barricade. The element of surprise is one hell of an advantage, unless you are an ex navy seal or something. The phantasy world of masculine virtue these Republicans live in frankly makes me want to puke with revulsion.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:19 pmHow old is this guy? Cuz if he’s under 42 and not blogging from Iraq, he’s just another blowhard, Republiclone chicken hawk. No wonder these clowns start wars - they all think they’re John Wayne killing bad guys and cleaning up Dodge. Ugh!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:19 pmOne of the victims did fight back and was killed for his trouble. He just happened to be a survivor of both the Nazi Holocaust and Communist Romania.
From MSNBC:
Shame on the Right-Wing-Nut-O-Sphere. Shame, shame, shame.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:20 pmOkay suit him up, he goes to the frontline so he can throw himself in front of a suicidal bomber.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:23 pmThere’s an odor to that guy’s comments, but it is fair to say that we should all wish to be courageous and noble. Not many of us are. Not many of us ever were. But it’s a good ideal.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:25 pmWhat a douchebag! How can anyone blame someone for not running into a hail of bullets.
And what is with the “young men at their physical peak” comment. I didn’t realize Nathaniel Blake was the next Jeff Gannon/Matt Sanchez.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:27 pmWhat a tool that guy is. He’s probably the one who makes the comment that starts the bar brawl and then jumps behind a table while everybody else slugs it out.
He’d have probably peed his pants if he’d been in Norris Hall yesterday.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:32 pmAlso, a handgun is pretty precise… only in movies it’s not.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:37 pmDerbyshire is tool. He’d rolled up in a ball sucking his thumb while trying to play dead.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:41 pmDamn straight. They seem to enjoy to take weapons to schools and mass murder people. While everyone is eyeing the dude in the turban, the guy with the mullet has the shotgun under his coat.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:42 pmWhat makes anyoe do something ?
i remember 2 incidents when i was young.
in one, i saw a lady get her purse nabbed, i probably could have run the guy down, but i hesitated, and didnt do anything.
The other, about 2 years later, i saw a guy pull a gun on a friend of mine i was dinking with (i was a bartender that just got off work)
he was somewhat disabled. Someone pulled a gun on him demanding money, his wallet etc…
i kept verbally assaulting the gunman, and he finally went away, yep, more stupid than courageous, but i dont think he really wanted to shoot anyone.
Why did i act one time, but didnt the other ?
i really cant tell you.
Maybe it was cos the time i acted i was drunk, and the other time, i was off-guard ?
I dunno.
These people are young, thinking about class and so forth
“Conservative is, as Conservative does”
April 17th, 2007 at 4:44 pmRun Forest Run…
Thank you, Nathaniel Blake, you’re my hero!
Let us know where you live so that we can organize a spontaneous parade in your honor.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:50 pmI think this should be seen as just the latest sign that conservatives are wandering off into the ozone in terms of their contact with both reality and popular opinion.
If we’re lucky, they’ll never come back.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:50 pmThere is something wrong with our culture that men decide to take weapons into schools and murder people. The level of violence represented in the media and public policy rather than focusing on trying to find and treat the ills of society causes this problem.
A teacher noticed the gunman’s writing and referred him to counseling. However, he felt like an outcast in the community. How should an outcast be handled so they at least feel welcome. He seemed to have an issue about a situation that happened a while back regarding the shooting of a friend by a police officer. He withdrew and suppressed the feelings of anger until he exploded in this violent rage that led to the death of 33 innocents.
One problem with our society is the message we send young men that they must ignore their feelings and get through situations themselves, never admitting to needing assistance or care. This message needs to be changed. We need to let our boys and men know that we want them to ask for help.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:52 pmUnless I missed it, all we are waiting for now is John Lott to make up more data saying that if all of us faculty had 9 mm Glocks (& students had 22s–we need the advantage, especially @ exam time) then none of this would have happened.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:53 pmWhat do these chickenhawks have instead of brains? Marshmallow fluff?
How about ammending the constitution? If anything needs fixing, it’s the second…
April 17th, 2007 at 4:54 pmIt’s absolutely repugnant to blame the victim in this situation. What is wrong with this guy.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:54 pmAnother bad-ass neocon douchebag who wants other kids to fight so he won’t have to. Pretty soon these neo-con jock-sniffers will be blaming what they see as the wussification of society on the liberals.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:56 pmI am ashamed of my fellow conservatives that insist on saying horrid things. These individuals are out of touch with reality.
I feel it is far better to conserve your life and the lives of your students by reducing the possibility of harm. The only way to do this is to barricade the doors. Anyone who sees weakness in this presence of mind that it took to conserve the lives by taking a path that did not risk their own is themselves weak in mind. Mental strength, not physical strength, is what we look for in unversity students and professors. The moral courage to act in a way consistent with preserving as many lives as possible, including one’s own, far outweighs any “physical courage” that comes from jumping infront of the bullett or jumping the gunman.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:59 pmWhat poetic justice it would be if some psycho with a gun decides to test this guy’s snactimonious maniless!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pmCan we please stop saying that “the kid was from another country”?
When you are a green card holder who’s lived in the US since you were 8 years old, you are de facto American and entitled to immediate citizenship should you request it.
More than that, you’ve done all your schooling in American schools, all your friends are Americans, all the TV you’ve ever watched is American TV.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pmblake is a wussy.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:05 pmActually, it may be a sign of *treated* instability.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:06 pmOn the gun argument, we need to be more sensible with regard to laws and protect the community as well as the rights of the individual under the second amendment. The right to own does not preclude to right of an individual to be safe.
Instead of either completely banning private ownership of firearms or protecting the right to “keep and bear arms” over the imperative of comunity safety we need to open a dialogue about sensible laws regarding ownership of firearms. I think it is reasonable to require background checks, waiting periods, and other safety measures.
On the subject of the youngman, though I normally would not ask, I have to wonder about his religion because in his murder/suicide note he used very stron religious language such as accusing his schoolmates with debauchery. This is not a shot at people of faith, because I myself am a Christian, however this student used language very similiar to the language the terrorists use to describe anyone they percieve as a threat. A person guilty of debauchery is not far removed from an infidel.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:08 pm32 people were killed in this attack, many of them students. How does this guy know that none of them died doing exactly what he says they should have?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:08 pmOh Lordy, bring back the draft!!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm“Am I noble, courageous and self-sacrificing? I don’t know”
Actually, you DO know. You are not, sir Chicken Hawk.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:13 pmIt is easy for those of us who are looking at this from the outside to say how those in the situation should have handled themselves. We do not know how we would react in a similiar situation. I think that most of us no matter our political stripe would do what ever we thought necessary and proper in order to preserve the largest number of lives. Our actions would be decided by our particular circumstance and not what some silly commentator says.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:14 pmIf I were a student at Virginia Tech, I would have rushed the shooter, dodged his bullets, and disarmed him. Then I would have tortured him until he confessed his role as part of a larger terrorist plot. Which would, I am sure, involve that nefarious liberal President Palmer.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:15 pmExacta-mundo
That professor who blocked the doorway with his body and allowed students to escape (and was subsequently shot) is a true hero. VT should name a building after him.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:19 pm#105
You are assuming that you have a clear path to rush him. Would you rush him if you were in a classroom where you could shut the door, barricade it, and be fairly safe?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:20 pmThese pansy a$$ed neocons sure do talk a big game. How come none of them will sign up and serve their country? I am pretty sure Bush said something about it being the highest calling.
Historically military personnel are more conservative.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:20 pmOh man, I just hate repukes. K, little story. I was going to my car after a war protest. This repuke I saw was yelling at a mom and little girl who had peace signs. I told him to pick on someone his own size. He is about 32 6′ tall, I am 53 6′ 1″, so the brave little repuke gets his belt off (with a big redneck buckle) and starts a swinging at me, I have taking kick boxing for 24 years, oops for him, one punch he goes down, I think well, mmm, no belt, so I roll him over and pull his shirt over his head and pulled his pants around his ankles, not his underwear, did not want to see his butt.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:22 pmThis is a typical repuke thug, thinking he could take out a white haired old man.
Couple of point to wrap your liberal brains around;
1) Blaming is finding fault. Nobody is BLAMING the students for the actions of the murderer. But Derb is saying that IF you are trapped why NOT rush the attacker instead of cowering in fear like good little liberals? I know that in this post modern world words don’t mean anything but it does help to agree on the meaning of SOME of them.
2) Viriginia is a “right to carry” state. You can carry a concealed gun everwhere except a couple of places. Yup, you guessed it, the academics didn’t want guns on their campus so they are banned. Look up Pearl, Mississippi and Gundy, Virginia, just two of many places where armed citizens stopped a massacre on school campuses.
When you disarm the good guys only the bad guys have guns.
So all your liberal bed wetters, go on and rely upon the law and the state to protect you from the bad guys. I LIKE the concept of self-defense.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:25 pmNever heard of Nathaniel Blake or John Derbyshire. Like those are real names. Right. And my name is Dylan Yeats.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:26 pmThis guy ought to be put to the test right now!!! i am infuriated at his comments.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:30 pm1) Blaming is finding fault. Nobody is BLAMING the students for the actions of the murderer. But Derb is saying that IF you are trapped why NOT rush the attacker instead of cowering in fear like good little liberals? I know that in this post modern world words don’t mean anything but it does help to agree on the meaning of SOME of them.
There is a reason your kind are called chickenhawks.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:30 pmMaybe it takes a certain kind of noble courage to be that big of an idiot.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:31 pmThis a-hole ought to be put to the test right now. i am infuriated by this comment and cannot even fathom the insensitivity and callousness of this!!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:31 pmSo all your liberal bed wetters, go on and rely upon the law and the state to protect you from the bad guys. I LIKE the concept of self-defense.
So, you think a bunch of gunmen, untrained in law enforcement waving around their 9mm is going to help? Let’s say there are 5 macho guys with “self-defense” on their mind. 5 guys shooting 5 different directions, none knowing that the first shot took down the shooter. Now they are aiming for the other 4 guys because they have guns. Dozens caught in the crossfire as Billy Bob, Cletus, Clarence and Dewayne keep blazing away. Great idea!!!!!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:36 pmNathaniel Blake?
Who the Hell is he anyway? Has anyone else ever heard of this clown before? Why publicise this nobody?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:39 pmReads a lot like the conservatives who are all in favour of war so long as they don’t have to go fight themselves. But THEY are the patriots while everyone else are immoral or worse. Right.
I especially like how this article is all about what people should do but then they guy can’t absolutely say whether he would live up to his own standard. Next we’ll have people who have never eaten apples arguing that anyone who dislikes apples are unamerican elitists. I mean, why waste time condemning the actions of anothe person if you’ve never been in the situation yourself, or have no idea what you would do IF YOU WERE in that situation.
I consider myself to be tough and brave but I’m not about to attempt fighting a bullet if I don’t have to. My first instinct would be to find a safe exit and use it like everyone else.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:40 pm#65 Captain Kirk:
It has happened many times before that a shooter was taken down by very, very brave people, the one example that comes to mind is the guy that started shooting infront of the White House, I think during the late 1980s and he was wrestled to the ground by some brave tourists.
It’s happened other places as well. Like here.
A fire extinguisher. Then they beat him to death.
But not before he’d killed 29 and wounded 150 or so. So in the grand scheme of things, such grandiose dreams as Blake here has of his own fame and glory may be a little … say, “unrealistic”.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:40 pm#106 - terrific idea. Rename it Librescu Hall, immediately.
#69 - Grand Moff Texan is one of the better screen names I’ve heard in a while, good show!
And both of the original posters this thread is about are asses. Derbyshire’s comments are especially offensive:
So you’ve recently hit 60 or so moving targets in the space of a few minutes, you ass? Yeah, I’m sure you’re in this guy’s class.
32 dead, 26 wounded. Those sound like pretty damned lousy odds to me, you son of a bitch.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:41 pmThat idiot says he feels as if he would act bravely by rushing the shooter. I wonder if he would have vilified his own son…..son, why didn’t you rush the guy instead of hiding behind that desk? Son, next time, I expect you to rush a man who has a gun pointed at you, a man who has fired shots, a man who is obviously intent on shooting as many people as he can? I am sorely disappointed in you, son….I am sorry that you didn’t die for the cause of “stupid bravery.” As my son, I am more concerned with you acting brave than being alive. Total idiot.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:47 pm2) Viriginia is a “right to carry†state. You can carry a concealed gun everwhere except a couple of places. Yup, you guessed it, the academics didn’t want guns on their campus so they are banned. Look up Pearl, Mississippi and Gundy, Virginia, just two of many places where armed citizens stopped a massacre on school campuses.
Comment by Weakheart — April 17, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
What you’re suggesting is outright stupid if not ignorant you nazi scumbag. I’m sure you’d have no problem allowing students in any school carrying concealed weapons. How about Detroit? Oh one other thing, in houston texas the right to carry concealed weapons is allowed the crime rate you guessed it, is high. Shut up and serve panzy ass!
April 17th, 2007 at 5:48 pmAND YET THEY HAVE VERY STRICT GUN CONTROLS IN JAPAN: “Nagasaki mayor dies one day after being shot on city street.”
April 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pmI wonder if today laura Bush had any flashbacks of killing fellow classmate Michael Douglas when she was 17?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp
April 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pmThe definition of “manhood” changes over time.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:57 pmIn the 16th & 17th centuries “gentlemen” (read wealthy) NEVER would have engaged in such things as defense. That’s why they ‘hired’ seconds to do the dirty work and die if need be!
And men wore the ‘frilly-frocks’ (ruffles and beauty products to mask odor).
It appears Mr. Blake hasn’t a clue but a big mouth.
How sick can you get. This like people who criticized the Holocoust victims for not having fought back hard enough.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:57 pmYup, I’m one of those academics and you better believe I will have no guns in my classroom. No, a militarized, everybody-armed-to-the-teeth society is not the answer. The loony right sounds like self parody. Can you be for real? The solution is more guns?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:58 pmHow did Mr. Blake know what did the students go thru, before he claims they should be ‘heartily ashamed” .
I am tired of this ‘mashismo journalism’. Accusing others with gun to their heads and chests to fight back….how did he know that they didn’t fight back .., and got killed…
I thought after schools killings before this one in Virginia,and after all the prayers..people will take actions against the ‘easiness of buying guns…
A young man can walk into a gun store, buy a gun or two with boxes of ammunition, go and kill people,and gun supporters don’t see anything wrong with that…
Prayers are needed, but also actions.
MR. N. Blake , What if the class room was all full of women…or children?…it makes no difference who is the target..but it does make a difference to curb ‘buying guns with ease’.
This kid is not even a US citizen and was able to buy guns and bullets……although it would have made no difference in this case…but the laws are not strict…like they should be.
I hope beside prayers, lessons where learned.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:59 pmI am extremely disgusted with those who act as if the only way to be brave and save lives is to physically place themselves in danger. Those who feel they need to place themselves in danger to prove their manhood are cowardly because they do not think that there is any other way to solve a problem. If the circumstance makes it necessary to rush the attacker and there is a way to do this that does not put others in dangert than do it. However, if the best action is to seal a room to protect the lives than do that. It takes far mor courage and manliness to make a decision while in danger that in the end protects lives than it does to play rambo which may have endagered scores more lives.
We are looking at this after being pretty sure that there was only one attacker, but it the heat of the situation when individuals would not be certain of the number and nature of the attackers placing yourself and others in danger in order to prove your bravery is just unnecessary and crazy.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pmSo first these chickenhawks criticize the British soldiers for not getting themselves killed, now they’re criticizing these students for not getting themselves killed. And in both cases, the people doing the criticizing have said “I don’t know how I would react to this situation, but I expect these people to react with self-sacrificing bravery.” I’m starting to think that the only people these guys don’t expect to react to a crisis situation with self-sacrificing heroism is conservative journalists.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:20 pmIf there’s any justice in this world (I know, I know, it’s highly questionable), this fellow will find himself in a situation much like this and have the glorious opportunity to find out precisely how brave, daring, selfless, and bulletproof he is.
We all fantasize that in a crisis we’ll be coolheaded, heroic, strong, and Save Everyone with nary a scratch. Since we’re human, it seldom happens that way. But hey, I could be wrong about him. It would be satisfying to find out for sure.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:20 pmWingnuttery of the first class. Shameless.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:26 pmrapidbunny: “Historically military personnel are more conservative.”
“Historically???!!! ” Hmm. Sounds like we’ve got an historian here.
“As mankind becomes more liberal they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality.â€
– George Washington, Letter to the Roman Catholics, March 15, 1790
Ike or Teddy couldn’t even begin to get a nomination in your party today. Too liberal.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:27 pmOh my God. What is wrong with Conservatives? There was a school shooting, this man had two weapons and some hard line conservative thinks the kids should have been fighting back? Give me a break, he would have p*ssed his pants in the same situation. Holy, conservatives are nucking futs. These kids deserve nothing less than our prayers and Conservatives are insulting them? Reich wingers will never find new levels to stoop to.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:29 pmBrave heart is now known simply as Dumbass. Where do all the se stupid people come from? I suppose someone’s gotta vote for ol’ Virgil Goode. This nation is in the toilet. We cannot overcome the volume of idiots before us…Remember, guns don’t kill people…..BULLETS kill people. Pass the bullets. I appreciate the comments by “our” thinking regulars. Hope this wasn’t a hoax…
April 17th, 2007 at 6:31 pmA few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I were almost run down when a car skidded out of control on some icy snow. The car’s tire tracks drove directly over where we had been standing. We both jumped out of the way just in time and therefore we both survived unharmed.
Afterwards, I realized that neither one of us grabbed the other and pulled, shoved, or otherwise moved the other person to safety.
Was my prioritizing my own safety over hers normal? Yes, I suppose so. Understandable? Sure. Can I justify it? Well, yeah; I had my back to the car and she was looking at it, so she knew before I did that it was coming, yada yada, yada. But am I a little ashamed? Yeah, I have to confess that I am. A little.
So, I understand something of where Derb was coming from (or MAY have been, depending on how generous I want to be, which is probably too much so).
Two caveats, however. First, “SHOULD” (Derb’s word) I be ashamed? That’s a more difficult question. Second, would I ever suggest that someone ELSE would or should be ashamed? I doubt it.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:37 pmLooking at the source of this thread and some of the posts by conservative trolls, one can’t help but come to the conclusion that this is not just a difference of opinions. These are just NOT good people. What happened to conservatives? When I was a kid, there were honorable conservatives.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:38 pmUh-huh. Probably never served; typical chickenhawk, war mongering neo-Con _scum_. He wasn’t there, can’t second- guess those who were. What a weasley loser.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:39 pmJust thought I’d say that I emailed Derbyshire today Regarding his NRO post. He responded fairly quickly and conceded that the parallel he drew between the passengers of flight 93 and the victims at VT was probably false. But he still said, essentially, that defense against attack shouldn’t be left only in the hands of authority figures (I’m paraphrasing, of course).
At least he read my letter (which was long-winded) and responded.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:42 pma man at his physical peak still cannot withstand bullets… you’ve been watching too much Superman, idiot… if anyone had tried to be a hero, they’d be dead now, too…
can we get them to fire Blake???
April 17th, 2007 at 6:47 pmThis guy obviously is immature and stupid. Let me get this straight, the shooter has a semi-automatic weapon that can fire 25 rounds in how many seconds? By the time this delusional Rambo wannabe got up to even begin his rush, well, there’s about three rounds into his pasty-white body before he has even taken a step. Yes, too bad he did not have teh opportunity to be a big, bad-a$$ hero and tried that little rush the shooter. He would have found out the hard way how devestating these “hunting” weapons truly are before every newly created orafice in his pasty white body opened up to bleed him to death. Absolutely, astonishing the stupidity of some people.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:48 pmRe my 136, above, “should” is this fellow Nathaniel Blake’s word, not John Derbyshire’s word.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:50 pmThe Glock this guy had can fire bullets as fast as you can pull the trigger, has a 15-shell clip, and takes about 3-seconds for a competent user to load a new fully-loaded clip. Each 9 mm shell has more knockdown power than the 38 mm revolver that police typically carry. These silly trolls just don’t know what they’re talking about. Those students were like fish in a barrel and they had no chance. Accounts are clear. People DID try to rush the shooter. They were killed. These conservatives just make me sick.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:00 pmhate to say this, but i agree with the post. the sense of self-sacrifice among our average college students has disappeared.
years ago, if a politician’s son didn’t enlist during a time of war, he was shamed. now, politician’s sons who serve are the exception, not the rule.
now, that being said, not all the facts of the incident are out yet. we may not yet know about singular acts of bravery that took place.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:01 pmAnd how many others were shot in Japan this year?
Hint: the firearm death rate in Japan is one per two MILLION people.
Guess you failed stats.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:02 pmI would just like to remind the other posters here that people such as the ones who have made these comments about what the students SHOULD have done are also the same ones who criticized Jill Carroll (the Christian Science Monitor reporter who was kidnapped and held hostage in Iraq) for her actions.
They are very brave when they’re nice and safe but you can damned well bet that if they were in Ms. Carroll’s position or that of the students yesterday they would piss and crap in their underwear.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:05 pmComment by Braveheart — April 17, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Yes, “Braveheart” it is so much easier to defend yourself when you’re hiding under the covers in Murka.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:07 pmNathan supposes unarmed students are to stop are armed madman by throwing their textbooks at him. What a f*cking idiot!
April 17th, 2007 at 7:36 pmIt is so sad. Such strong opinions that deserve to have facts to back them.
In the words of encounter groups, what we have here is a “learning moment.â€
Most foolish liberal policies cost us money and time but rarely our lives. Here we definitely have an example of how the liberal policy of banning guns has cost many innocent lives. Actually gun bans cost untold tens of thousands of lives in the inner cities of such liberal paradises as DC, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles. But those are high crime neighborhoods and the people die there only one or two at a time. At Virginia Tech it was 32 in a couple o’ hours! ! The only difference between the incidents in Gundy, Pearl and Morristown was the presence of guns in the hands of the good guys.
Like lambs to the slaughter, those poor students, well versed in the mantra of “trust the state to protect youâ€, they died by the numbers. Truly heart wrenching and so unnecessary. At Thurston High School in Springfield a gunman with 400 round of ammo walked into a crowded cafeteria and opened fire. One of the first people he shot was Jacob Ryker and he was shot through the lung. As a young man, a hunter, and familiar with guns, he recognized when the gunman’s pistol was empty and rushed him, subduing him and stopping a massacre.
If you are trapped in a hall and people are getting shot all around you why, as a young man, would you not at least take a chance on rushing the guy? Pistols AREN’T that accurate. But this would demand an ethic that in an emergency it is not, “every man for himself†but “woman and children firstâ€. It is an ethic of enlightened self-interest. I defend others by defending myself. The exact ethic that was found on Flight 93. This would be in contradiction to what is taught by liberals especially in academia:
Violence begets violence,
Violence never solves anything,
Don’t resist the aggression; it will only make it worse,
We should ask what we did to make the perp hate us so much so we can change,
Defending yourself is taking the law into your own hands and makes you a vigilante,
Defending yourself only takes you to the same level as the criminal.
Can’t we all just get along?
Note how ineffective liberal answers are on someone who wants to kill you.
What is the conclusion of this learning moment? The gunman at VT (I won’t use his name because I never want to remember it) was enabled in his bloodthirsty quest by a liberal policy of disarming the good guys and leaving them defenseless. In addition the overall liberal policy of government dependence strengthened the apparent meek response by the students towards the threat. This is not unlike the response seen in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina.
This doesn’t blame the victims because their tragedy is the ultimate result of government policies that creates this dangerous exposure. My thesis DOES blame the policies and the ideology that fosters such foolishness.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:49 pmI wish Jonah Goldberg and Bill Kristol had been there at VT to prove their neo-conservative manliness.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:50 pmThis is not a natural tragedy, but rather a man made tragedy. The sad part about this is every few months we hear another one…we pray and later we do nothing to change this course…
Praying is good, but we need to crub and control guns..or we will be in the same situation in the near future again,and many other innocent citizens will be killed as a result.
To gun lovers who do not want to see strict gun contol laws and policies..I ask this question : Of all the killing you read and hear about daily…what percetage of it is ’self defense’..?!!
April 17th, 2007 at 7:58 pmBraveheart, I knew it was only a matter of time before one of you sociopathic a-holes blamed liberals for this. Again, if you look at the facts instead of just vomiting out your libertarian dogma, you might find that a number of people did rush the guy with the Glock. The ones who tried were killed. This was a competent shooter. You evidently have not handled a Glock or anything like it. If you did, you wouldn’t be making these absurd statements about rushing a guy with a Glock. In the real world, it’s next to impossible to survive. That’s why swat-team members are covered in body armour.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:02 pmHow many guns were in Dealey Plaza? All that typing and still, you have nothing to offer. You are a pathetic featherhead. And where were you when my buddies were ambushed in the jungle back in ‘69? I’ve known hundreds of pantywaist like you, and I would never want you on in a foxhole with me. Your thinking is clouded there at home. Wouldn’t expect any better under fire. CFF
April 17th, 2007 at 8:03 pmI can be reasonably sure that no one here would know how they would react. Of course, if the first class attacked had instantly swarmed the shooter, the total death toll would have been just a few people, but those dead would have been the first ones to reach the shooter. One can be trained to do that, but I am reasonably sure that it would be the extremely rare group that would act that way instinctively. (flight 93 is not a precedent, those guys had 40 minutes to think about it, here it would be only seconds).
Boy those rightwing loonies just continue to be loony.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:07 pmCowardheart you are an A$$HAT.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:07 pmIn place of “scads,” might I suggest the word “oodles,” Mr. Manly Man?
April 17th, 2007 at 8:12 pmIn place of “scads,” may I suggest the word “oodles,” Mr. Manly Man?
April 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pmRE 151
In answer to your question guns are used between 700,000 times per year (Gary Kleck) and 2.5million (John Lott). Fortunately or unfortunately most uses of guns to defend oneself don’t result in the perp dying or getting shot, they just run away. Additionally most uses of guns to defend oneself aren’t reported to the police for statistical purposes. Also, many uses of guns in self-defence are in cities where their possession or use is illegal. Reporting a self-defense use will put you in jail. Remember Berhard Goetz, the “subway vigilante”. He used a gun in self-defense and was convicted of ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM. The irony runs thick.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pmAND YET THEY HAVE VERY STRICT GUN CONTROLS IN JAPAN: “Nagasaki mayor dies one day after being shot on city street.â€
Comment by Patrick1 — April 17, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
———
Patrick,
I’ve lived in Tokyo for the last 17 years. For a dense metro area much larger and than any US city, it’s amazingly safe. I can walk the streets feeling as safe as I did in my rural hometown in the Midwest. You don’t know what you are talking about.
Moreover, advocates of gun-ownership often seem to suggest that owning a firearm and professing one’s willingness to use it is the equivalent of courage. But for every hundred “I’ll defend my family to the death,” etc., Rambo-like fantasies out there, there’s another Cho-like perpetrator who will feel empowered to do the unthinkable — simply because he has the means, a gun… Owning a gun doesn’t automatically make one brave or chivalrous, as so many naively seem to think. Our society is a testament to that fact.
At the moment I’m fortunate to live in a society where there’s little need for people to conjure up Rambo-like fantasies to suggest they are manly and courageous — much less try to score partisan political points by doing so. People here feel have emotional problems and lose control, too — it’s just harder to take other’s lives in the process. Give them guns and watch the murder rates soar.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:21 pmSo circusfifthfloor,
So where is my reasoning so bad and what does any of this have to do with your flash backs to nam??
All talk and no analysis but, oh such strong opinions.
I await your cogent answer.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:22 pmBraveheart:
First, did you ever attend college? You think college students should be packing heat everywhere, including to class? What planet do you live on? You think any professors would actually teach in such an environment? You think gun violence would actually be reduced in an environment where people get drunk and fight regularly?
You and your silly, evil comrades need to take your insane viewpoints and go found a new country. Maybe we can just give you Texas, and you boys can fuck it up all you want.
You literally sound like the most retarded, scared little $hit ever.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:22 pmYes, a pitiful spectacle from the chickenhawks and chickensquawks (those who don’t have comments sections.) Think of this: the worst school *killings* were committed by an guy protesting *taxes* back in 1927. This is something to throw at arrogant righties complaining about Cho’s gripes against rich kids, or that if everyone there had a gun they could have stopped him (our local ex-marine talk show host at WNIS 790 pointed out that many could die in a cross fire from untrained kids at that time, and in fights before such a tragedy), or Cho’s having an Islamic-themed “Ismael Axe” tattoo on his arm ,etc:
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~bauerle/disaster.htm
On May 18, 1927, 45 people, mostly children, were killed and 58 were injured when disgruntled and demented school board member Andrew Kehoe dynamited the new school building in Bath, Michigan out of revenge over his foreclosed farm due in part to the taxes required to pay for the new school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster
The Bath School disaster is the name given to not one but three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, USA, on May 18, 1927, which killed 45 people and injured 58. Most of the victims were children in second to sixth grades attending the Bath Consolidated School. Their deaths constitute the deadliest act of mass murder in a school in U.S. history. The perpetrator was school board member Andrew Kehoe, who was upset by a property tax that had been levied to fund the construction of the school building. He blamed the additional tax for financial hardships which led to foreclosure proceedings against his farm. These events apparently provoked Kehoe to plan his attack.
…
tyrannogenius
April 17th, 2007 at 8:27 pm159 dale62
Japan is a homogenous society 99% Japanese and 1% other.
Indeed it is a safe society due in no small part to its homogeneity. Other homogenous societies also have small crime rates, Denmark, Sweden, Norway etc.
The effectiveness of gun control in a society such as Japan is apparent but is doesn’t explain the INEFFECTIVENESS of gun control in th