Va. Tech shooting...

[Spivonious]

that song rocks. I used to turn up the TV as loud as it would go when that video came on MTV.

[Shawn Lutz]

tougher gun laws are needed. Its too easy for a nutcase to buy a weapon in virginia. yeah..yeah I know macho gun fans...its the people, not the gun that kills. I say everyone has the right to arms but they should NOT have the right to have bullets

[npacheco]

Better keep you away from college campuses and girlfriends then

Edit - this was supposed to be right after Spiv's post...

[CharvelRocker]

The song is called "Shine" by Collective Soul, the song "Shine Down" is by Godsmack

[Tashtego]

This could have been different

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658

[danastas]

This could have been different

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658

And how do you know this wouldn't trigger killings and deaths all over the place. College campuses have a LOT fewer gun crimes as a percetange of the general population. That's to be expected, of course. But interestingly enough there are also fewer gun crimes on college campuses as opposed to white collar workplace gun crimes (there are 50% fewer gun crimes on campus as a % of the population, workforce).

It's either that college students are less susceptible to blowing people away than white collar workers or else the lack of guns on campus. One or the other.

The though of teaching kids who have the right to carry guns, forget about it. mMght as well just send the kids straight to jail.

Furthermore, the thought that this loner, mentally deranged, isolated, depressive, suicidal maniac would somehow be deterred by the thought of others carrying guns is beyond absurd. The guy blew his face off. Something tells me he wasn't afraid of getting shot by a bullet.

[Bengal]

The song is called "Shine" by Collective Soul, the song "Shine Down" is by Godsmack

I know the song, don't know what it's called. That's what the roommates called it. Either way, the song sucks...

Interesting though that the normal artists won't be targeted on this one. Marlyn Manson, Slipknot, Slayer, what have you. They seem safe. The roommates said he was a classical music fan. The brought up Led Zepplin as a band he really liked. So those targeted after Columbine can take a deep breath...

[petedz]

But interestingly enough there are also fewer gun crimes on college campuses as opposed to white collar workplace gun crimes (there are 50% fewer gun crimes on campus as a % of the population, workforce).

Most college kids are having the best time of their lives...most folks trapped in Dilbert land are having the worst time of their lives.

Furthermore, the thought that this loner, mentally deranged, isolated, depressive, suicidal maniac would somehow be deterred by the thought of others carrying guns is beyond absurd.

Deterred? No. Blown away with a well placed round before all those kids were killed. If only.

[danastas]

Most college kids are having the best time of their lives...most folks trapped in Dilbert land are having the worst time of their lives.

Deterred? No. Blown away with a well placed round before all those kids were killed. If only.

You haven't seen some of the depressives that come into my class. Not everyone is getting laid.

Now, I'm imagining teaching this kid. I teach creative writing. I personally know some of the VT creative writing faculty that were dealing with this kid. I'm trying to imagine being in their shoes, which frankly isn't all the difficult to do. Do I feel more threatened by the very slim chance that such an event would happen (slim, because campus massacres -- i.e. more than 1 murder -- are incredibly rare) or that a hothead who is packing will lose his head and start blasting away? The latter one is frankly a lot more threatening to me. When I worked as a sheriff in New Haven, CT, I can't even begin to describe all the yahoos that would walk in lokking for a job, and of course we'd take their firearms and lock them in a safe under the metal detector while they went to fill out their applications. Just looking at the way these people were wielding their weapons was absurd.

Personally, I do think there's a place for guns outside of hunting. They should be kept inside the home for self-protection. I do think guns can deter robbers and the like. But if we're taking this onto the street, get ready for a complete societal meltdown.

[petedz]

I'm the furthest thing from a gun nut that you can imagine.

I guess the question is whether the kind of person who applies for a permit and legally carries is likely to do more good than harm. I think the answer is yes, but my faith in my fellow human beings has taken a real beating over the last few years. It's a tough one, for sure.

[Tashtego]

I wasn't thinking deterrence. I think it shows that if the legislation had passed there could easily have been someone present who was not defenseless. Also, the news item illustrates that there was at least one real live person, who attended VT, who sought to carry and was denied. Not only denied, but punished for it.

[shobet]

Are foreign nationals allowed to buy guns in the US or was he naturalised?

[Tashtego]

Oh boy, Ismail-AX?

[danastas]

Are foreign nationals allowed to buy guns in the US or was he naturalised?

He was a permanent resident. in other words, he didn't need to have citizenship of any other country. I'm not sure if he retained his korean citizenship, but as a PR, he had every right Americans have except for voting.

[Freyr]

Bah... I know it's a horrible story and all, but the media should really not report on it so much. The last thing we need is to focus on "the worst campus shooting in US history", because then it will just lead to some-other troubled youth thinking: "I'm lonely, depressed, no-one knows me... all I have to do is kill more then 32 people and I'll be a legend".

Honestly though, I have sympathy for the families... we lost two students from my school (of only 400 people) acouple years ago (car crash). And it sucks having one, or more of your friends die, and seeing the rest of those affected... but, when it comes down to it... if you weren't there, and you don't know anyone involved, why be so upset over it? The media plays on the nations pseudo-shock and awe, to try to scare them while they're eating their diners... and they make insane amounts of money off of it. Will that money goto the families who now have to bury their children? Doubt it.

Unfortunitly, it's impossible to prevent such a tragedy... just as it's impossible to stop war. I just won't buy into these things anymore. Maybe it's just being cynical, but it's almost becoming a pop trend to be shocked by something now-a-days.

*walks off rambling*