Post by Vertigo3 on Apr 23, 2007 9:38:40 GMT -5
First of all let me say that I think the Virginia Tech tragedy was one of the worst events of my lifetime. The idea that an American university was riddled by so much violence is as much redefining of our society as the events of 9/11.
I have followed the events, and after events of V-Tech in the the news, and I have been shocked by the number of politicians that have jumped on this issue like it's an Oprah book of the week. John McCain released a statement mere hours after the interview that was aimed at stifling cries to restrict gun laws. Doesn't it seem obvious that in a time of crisis, such as following the V-Tech massacre, that a tightening of gun laws seems obvious? One out of every twenty Virginians has a concealed weapons license. That's right. Every time you stand in a wal-mart, someone at one of the registers next to you has the ability to carry a handgun that you can not see. Legally. In fact, they don't even need to have the money to pay for a gun. Virginia is one of the few states that allows you to buy guns on credit, like the student of V-Tech did.
I'm not just taking shots at gun laws here, I've heard that this event is going to lead to an increase in immigration laws. Apparently the fact that Cho came from South Korea more than ten years ago has some barring on the shooting. If you have seen the videos you hear no Norean accent. You do not see anything that would lead you to believe he was not an American citizen. The fact that he was in the United States on a green card has nothing to do with what happened at Tech. To use something like this to further that political agenda is narrow minded and insulting.
Another thing that I have noticed: A lot of people have been attributing acts of heroism to god. This has not so much been in the news, but more in myspace bulletins and facebook groups. People work subtle religious hints into messages to further the religious agenda. I read one fairly touching article about how a woman locked a classroom door to escape the shooting. She saved many lives, yes, but what I took issue with was the last sentence of the post where it said that "Mrs. Forgothername was an active member of randomchurch in Blacksburgh Virginia." This has zero to do with the article. The desire to lock yourself away from an armed gunman has as little to do with god as it does to do with your shoe size. I have trouble accepting God's credit in this tragety in the same way I had trouble with people who survived the tsunami thanking god for having mercy on them. Did God not feel the need to have mercy on the half a million people that died that day? Did this woman's church have anything to do with the fact that she locked the shooter out of that classroom, while the other teachers did not get the opportunity? I don't believe so, but I am open to dissenting opinions on this one.
So really what I am trying to say is: If you are religious, Pray for the families of those who died. If you are conservative: save your pro-gun agenda for a day that has not had too many lives destroyed by guns. If you do not believe in illegal immigration, then go after someone who illegally immigrated. This event should not be twisted to fit your political agenda.
If this is something we'd rather not talk about then I understand.
I have followed the events, and after events of V-Tech in the the news, and I have been shocked by the number of politicians that have jumped on this issue like it's an Oprah book of the week. John McCain released a statement mere hours after the interview that was aimed at stifling cries to restrict gun laws. Doesn't it seem obvious that in a time of crisis, such as following the V-Tech massacre, that a tightening of gun laws seems obvious? One out of every twenty Virginians has a concealed weapons license. That's right. Every time you stand in a wal-mart, someone at one of the registers next to you has the ability to carry a handgun that you can not see. Legally. In fact, they don't even need to have the money to pay for a gun. Virginia is one of the few states that allows you to buy guns on credit, like the student of V-Tech did.
I'm not just taking shots at gun laws here, I've heard that this event is going to lead to an increase in immigration laws. Apparently the fact that Cho came from South Korea more than ten years ago has some barring on the shooting. If you have seen the videos you hear no Norean accent. You do not see anything that would lead you to believe he was not an American citizen. The fact that he was in the United States on a green card has nothing to do with what happened at Tech. To use something like this to further that political agenda is narrow minded and insulting.
Another thing that I have noticed: A lot of people have been attributing acts of heroism to god. This has not so much been in the news, but more in myspace bulletins and facebook groups. People work subtle religious hints into messages to further the religious agenda. I read one fairly touching article about how a woman locked a classroom door to escape the shooting. She saved many lives, yes, but what I took issue with was the last sentence of the post where it said that "Mrs. Forgothername was an active member of randomchurch in Blacksburgh Virginia." This has zero to do with the article. The desire to lock yourself away from an armed gunman has as little to do with god as it does to do with your shoe size. I have trouble accepting God's credit in this tragety in the same way I had trouble with people who survived the tsunami thanking god for having mercy on them. Did God not feel the need to have mercy on the half a million people that died that day? Did this woman's church have anything to do with the fact that she locked the shooter out of that classroom, while the other teachers did not get the opportunity? I don't believe so, but I am open to dissenting opinions on this one.
So really what I am trying to say is: If you are religious, Pray for the families of those who died. If you are conservative: save your pro-gun agenda for a day that has not had too many lives destroyed by guns. If you do not believe in illegal immigration, then go after someone who illegally immigrated. This event should not be twisted to fit your political agenda.
If this is something we'd rather not talk about then I understand.
