When something like this happens you want to get on your soapbox and talk about guns, war, culture, and violence. But don’t use these victims to push your politics.

Back in November an acquaintance of mine died in a car accident when she got rear-ended. This is what I wrote.

VK today had some thoughts about death. Brunch Bird gives her respects. And so does RCR, mm, and Jo.

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A simple ‘give us a week of mourning before you get on the soapbox’ would have sufficed, but you’ve effectively voiced your support for all us to continue to be subservient – to not criticize – to passively accept this b.s.

F*ck fatalism.

The “don’t use these victims” line is just straight-up, meaningless jingoism. It’s like telling the mother of your deceased friend not to campaign for anti-drunk driving laws (or whatever she wants) because she would be “using these victims” to “push her politics”.

As much as I deplore the police-state tactics of some members of MADD, they have a right to speak out when they want to, how they want to.

Just google for the vitriol directed at the Jersey Girls, whose loved one were killed on 9/11. The Right Wing savaged them for _years_, and still does, for “using the victims of 9/11 to further their own political agenda”. Swell folks, those Right Wingers. Don’t be like them.

And don’t expect others to conduct themselves in accordance with what you or society deems appropriate behavior. If people like me are so enraged with the criminal negligence of the cops, not alerting the community to the fact that a double-murderer was on the loose in the vicinity of the school, whereabouts unknown, presumed armed and dangerous, that we want to march down to the police station and demand the chief’s resignation, and then march on the University President’s house and demand his resignation, then we should not only do so, we should be encouraged to do so by responsible citizens everywhere.

And if we get even more pissed when we hear the cops excuse-making today – talking about how they thought the original crime scene was a murder-suicide and therefore decided not to alert the community – and they expect us to buy that even without a murder weapon at the scene? Like Casper the Ghost rolled by and took the smoking gun into the invisible ether?

Extreme anger. That’s what I feel. DC native, Rollins, would tell us to ‘find our inner anger’, and act on it. He’d say that if we don’t change it ourselves, our kids will inherit it.

I happen to be strongly pro-Second Amendment, but I’ll be damned if I’m not open to logical arguments, even and especially when people are trying to understand how something like this could happen.

http://www.gregpalast.com/the-accomplices…

And if people like me see this tragedy as an opportunity to make felt the horror we are inflicting on people _not_ in Blacksburg, then more power to us. If someone decided to point that out, then they’re one of the good people. Brother West would say, “When are you going to get indignant? What does it take?!”

People – lefties included – were outraged when, after 9/11, Chomsky voiced his disapproval of America’s murderous terror campaigns around the globe. Should he have kept quiet? Just shut his pie-hole instead of “using the victims for political gain”?

Who knows if any amount of organizing and anti-corruption efforts could have stopped this particular mass murder, but we do know that organizing against the occupation is starting to work, slowly – and that means we’re saving lives. Next time 60 people are murdered in a market in Iraq, maybe Americans will think twice. Probably not, but maybe. Especially if we point out our culpability in the matter during times like this, when Americans have a heightened awareness of the fact that death and destruction are bad. I don’t know all the answers, but the “sit down and shut up” strategy ain’t gonna get it done.

Lots of solidarity with the Hokies and Iraqis and others that are hurting real bad right now. Some time to mourn, and then back to fighting the good fight.

What happened in VT is a horrible and unthinkable thing. I do have one thing to say:

The guns used in columbine may have been obtained illegally, thus nillifying arguments for gun control. However, in this case, the killer obtained the gun legally. With a background check that lasted one minute. ONE minute. ONE! His classmates and teachers knew something was up with the kid, and he stil managed to get a gun. Had the background check been much more extensive, then the victims may still be alive.

Time to crack down on guns, stiffen those gun control laws. The NRA be damned!

“Time to crack down on guns, stiffen those gun control laws. The NRA be damned!”

Yeah, because that REALLY helped lower the violent crime in DC.

Oh wait.

so, we sit back and do nothing? is that how I would want to honor the victims? No.

My problem lies with dusting off your prior agenda or plan and re-presenting it again after a tradegy, in order to get more bang for your buck when it comes to exposure. I think it would be naive to think some people are not using this event for personal gain.

I have no problem arguing over the specifics of the event like whether the University President cost lives, but it’s interesting how quick some organizations are to print out their press releases immediately after something like this happens. And I’m talking about both sides.

“His classmates and teachers knew something was up with the kid, and he stil managed to get a gun. Had the background check been much more extensive, then the victims may still be alive.”

They don’t exactly ask your classmates, friends, teachers, etc what type of person you are when you want to buy a gun. Just because the check lasted a minute doesn’t mean anything either. I would assume the gun dealer runs your name and/or social through a database.

johnson316 – FYI, the kid’s teacher reported her concerns about his angry writings to the university president as well as the cops. But the cops didn’t have much to go on to do anything about it, however. And then when the killer bought the gun, the one-minute background check consisted of the shop owner checking with the local cops, and the cops checked him out, and said he’s okay.

To me, this isn’t about politics. It’s just that something does not add up here. My question is, did the cops know something was up with the kid when they told the shop owner that he’s ok to buy the gun?

Just b/c someone writes angry or disturbed stuff doesn’t mean something should go in their permanent record. Stephen King has killed thousands of people in his books, does that mean he should be flagged?

This is the political coming out party for Mr. Tim Kaine..

Guy has been 100% on throughout this horrendous tragedy..

It has been very veyr impressive.

He has stayed positive – visited the wounded in the hospitals.. even said nice things about Bush and his response to this awful event.

Haven’t seen a guy peform as well as he has in a while.

he has been solid.

You guys are douchebags. Did you even read the post?

In the interest of being tasteless, without bringing up gun control at all, why is it that we hear of old, Holocaust survivor professors hurling themselves against doors while young, quick, strong students cowered under chairs and pissed themselves? Surely we haven’t sent all of our heroes to Iraq. How many shots should it take before someone breaks off a chair leg and goes after the guy? The guy killed 30-odd people who ran away and begged for mercy from a nutjob. How many could he have dropped if they bumrushed him? Look at 9/11. Look at Katrina. If you’re in the shit, if you’re sit around and cry while you wait for the capital-G Government to come save your ass, you’re as good as dead.

Hope that wasn’t too political.

How many could he have dropped if they bumrushed him?
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Now this might be one of the dumbest statements ever!!!!

A simple security guard or two armed with guns would have sufficed. But hysterical liberals made VA Tech a “gun free school zone” assuring massive death.

Hospitals known enough to have ARMED guards because gang members whose buddies are getting suregry often bum rush the admittance counter. Why would a college not have an armed guard? Wait — I know — because pols favor feel good “gun free school zone” sloganeering over logic.

It’s a violent world, not an idealistic utopia. Even if guns were totally illegal in America, you’d want your security armed. They carry guns to protect money in banks but no students? Money is more valuable then people, then, is the message they are sending. This is just stupid.