Are Americans weird when it comes to guns?

[hawaiiSUCKSexceptsurf]

Speaking of Wierd Americans, whatever happened to mr "aspensucksexceptforsnowboarding" ?

We haven't heard from him in a while...

ive been busy and plus this board has been pretty dull lately by my tastes.

Strangely enough, I kind of missed you. The board is duller without you. You have a particular gift for causing heated debates / flame wars.

i missed you too buddy. i didnt recognize you with your diff. name

[Jimi]

Just throwing something out there...

My question is not of gun laws, as he was planning the killings and definately could have gotten the guns illegally if he wanted. It was simply that it was easier for him to walk into a shop and buy them than to get them on the black market, but either way, he would have got them regardless of laws.

Guns or not, I'm sure we agree he was seriously mentally unbalanced. I am just so deeply saddened that nobody took into consideration his mental health in the months and (according to the media) years prior to this tragic event. If just a few people tried to make a difference to this loner/outcast/wierdo things may have turned out differently.

It has been reported that he was sent to a psychologist while at VT, but the psychologist was supposed to make him conform to the expectations of university, ie. he was told to stop writing macabre poems about death of students.

There has been nothing reported by the media (as yet) to suggest that the psychologist was given sufficient time to address his clearly disturbed mental state, and nor is there anything to suggest the university was making progress with his clear separation and dislike for his peers.

His only obvious support was from his english lecturer, who sought assistance from psychologists and colleagues to rectify his antisocial behaviour, yet little was done, other than the police being called.

The only outcome was that the police regretted to say that he could not be "forced" to go to a mental health institution because he had not directly threatened anybody, even though he appeared suicidal and unstable.

I feel that in this situation, while it may not have made a difference, a little compassion (from trained mental health workers) toward this outcast may have actually steered him toward rehabilitation rather than a suicidal rampage.

I get the feeling that he had been on a very fine line for some time before this event, and may have been pushed over the edge by the neglectful nature of his surroundings.

I sincerely hope that my interpretation has not caused anyone any undue grief, as this is not my intention. I know that I could potentially offend those who have suffered in this horrific situation, especially if I appear sympathetic toward a killer, and I hereby point out that I am merely looking at a possible way (in future) of saving 33 people, rather than only the 32 innocent victims of this tragedy.

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

There is so much second geuseing going on right now. Maby his being classified as insane and throwen into a hospital would have cured him. Maby it would have made him worse...and if release he woulda gone and killed even more...who knows. I mean you can try and shake things up, and change how things are delt with, but you never know if it will be worse or better.

[Jimi]

That's very true, I'm only going on what has not been said in the media in australia. But he did definately demonstrate symptoms of obvious psychological problems.

I'm not saying it would have made any difference, (as I wrote in my last post) but in future, surely it would be better to invest more time in these clearly unhinged individuals to hopefully steer them toward a more meaningful life.

I think this reflects the western world's approach to mental health. These people are thrown into society (it's called integration) and then only have minimal psychological interaction, as they can't afford regular sessions, and the government won't pay for them to get therapy.

[^*^BATMAN^*^]

There is still so much that can be done. Though there may be money issues in paying for under privaliged to get free physciatry help. Who knows, but i know that there will be alot of changes in how things are done now. The bigger question is how long will it last. Things always tend to rotate back to how it was. After a few years, complaicency will come back....

[CheeZee]

this is turning into an awesome thread ..and i do not mean that in a childish sense .. its a shame the suits in charge will not see what has been posted here , seriously if anyone wants to feel like they have made their voice heard ..i would seriously suggest taking paragraphs from this thread and posting it to your local government, politician ( im a big letter writer when i get the time) never underestimate the power of the word .. you'd be surprised, even my rants to national and local government have been read by the higher suits and occasionally printed in the national press .. and do not think you have no voice if you are not from the country in question .. sometimes a far away voice carries more weight than one close by

[rich r]

Well, I have to ask where his family was during all this, too.

I suppose since he was 23, there was less involvement, but still, where they aware of the stalking and other stuff? He was said to have been a danger to himself - they could have had him forcibly interned.

there is a tendency for universities to 'handle things internally' to keep their published crime rates down for rankings purposes. I railed against that when I was at university, but I doubt that policy will change at all any time soon, even in light of this.

[CheeZee]

there is a tendency for universities to 'handle things internally' to keep their published crime rates down for rankings purposes. I railed against that when I was at university, but I doubt that policy will change at all any time soon, even in light of this.

..this seems to be the case in most countries , we have a long list of schools in the UK that have had more stabbings than a cow at a butchers convention ..yet as far as they are concerned there is no REAL problem ...just kids being kids :pulling hair out emoticon:

[northswell]

I thought i had way more to say on this, and i do , i need to get my head around some of the stuff i've heard and read today. Not just about the loser that started this thread but some of the statistics i've come across whilst trying to understand this sh1te.

[CheeZee]

Swell'... you are far from a loser man ... it is a valid thread and one that has been repeated by many many different people on many many other sites .. inclusive of the US part or not. It has raised questions that are unfortunately repeated year in and year out and i dont just mean the arms side of things ..so man .. you have only started a conversation that millions and millions of people are having daily anyway .. and look at how much response the thread has had!

all good

[ginat]

Yeah, you're not a loser. You should create a zone of acceptance for yourself too! Truce, love, peace!

[tomcat360]

I haven't had time to keep up with the thread....but just a note, the killer was not American, as I'm sure ya'll know.

But his ethnicity doesn't change the laws, or the fact that America's got its fair share of nut jobs

Just letting ya'll know my brother's fine, and all of his close friends are good. A girl that graduated from my high school was shot and is recovering. Think she's out of ICU....

Tomorrow's orange and maroon day if anyone else wants to support it.

[RJD]

Good to hear about your bro, and that girl too. From what I heard no one was shot less than 3 times:(


BTW:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4371403.stm

[northswell]

I didn't mean that i'm a loser, i was refering to the guy with the gun, he started the thread if you get what i mean.

[ginat]

I didn't mean that i'm a loser, i was refering to the guy with the gun, he started the thread if you get what i mean.

You are right on both accounts. Peace!

[ginat]

I didn't mean that i'm a loser, i was refering to the guy with the gun, he started the thread if you get what i mean.

Wow, misread your earlier post. Sorry about that! Peace!

[CheeZee]

ah .. my mistake Swell

[wavedancer]

well you also realize gun laws are not the same in every state. For VA, their gun laws are crazy; for someone being allowed to bring a gun on campus?!? Like they're cool with that, as opposed to some other states with stricter gun control.

[Otter]

The State Legislature is responsible for banning guns on VA campuses. Not even the cops can carry. I do believe this is a big mistake.

I've written about carrying a weapon myself, quite frankly, it was probably a knee jerk reaction. I've never been in a situation where I was under threat and although I'd like to think I'd react coolly and calmly, I'm not at all sure that I would. Pointing a gun at another human being, possibly taking their life is probably more than I could handle. But dang it, I'm not going down without a fight if the time ever comes.

I can appreciate the feelings and motivations of those of you who are anti-gun, the idea of hurting someone else intentionally or accidentally has created a distinct impression on me and I would be horrified if I was ever responsible for such an incident.

Overall, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your opinions, though many are different than mine. It's also given me insight into the British psyche, which I truly appreciate. God Bless Us Everybody!

[wavedancer]

YEAH.. THE OPINIONS ARE DIFFERENT AND VARY.. BUT YOU CAN LEARN FROM EVERYONE !