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Up until the last two pages (as of my posting) we have not truly been looking closely at the core causes of this tragedy. Not until page 19... I told my husband when the news first broke that immediately the press was going to skew the spin toward the need for more gun control, just like they did February 13th with the Trolley Square shooting. The root causes of mass killings is not guns. We can come off with all sorts of little slogans and snippits for and against guns... But as the shooters in both incidents brought to my mind a song written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John in 1974, the chanting in the mentally ill person's head has more to do with what went on in the child's home than on the way to the gun shop. Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
"An extremely quiet child" they called you in your school report
"He's always taken interest in the subjects that he's taught"
So what was it that brought the squad car screaming up your drive
To notify your parents of the manner in which you died
At St. Patricks every Sunday, Father Fletcher heard your sins
"Oh, he's unconcerned with competition he never cares to win"
But blood stained a young hand that never held a gun
And his parents never thought of him as their troubled son
"Now you'll never get to Heaven" Mama said
Remember Mama said
Ticking, ticking
"Grow up straight and true blue
Run along to bed"
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking
They had you holed up in a downtown bar screaming for a priest
Some [censored] said "His brain's just snapped" then someone called the police
You'd knifed a Negro waiter who had tried to calm you down
Oh you'd pulled a gun and told them all to lay still on the ground
Promising to hurt no one, providing they were still
A young man tried to make a break, with tear-filled eyes you killed
That gun butt felt so smooth and warm cradled in your palm
Oh your childhood cried out in your head "they mean to do you harm"
"Don't ever ride on the devil's knee" Mama said
Remember mama said
Ticking, ticking
"Pay your penance well, my child
Fear where angels tread"
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking
Within an hour the news had reached the media machine
A male caucasian with a gun had gone berserk in Queens
The area had been sealed off, the kids sent home from school
Fourteen people lying dead in a bar they called the Kicking Mule
Oh they pleaded to your sanity for the sake of those inside
"Throw out your gun, walk out slow just keep your hands held high"
But they pumped you full of rifle shells as you stepped out the door
Oh you danced in death like a marionette on the vengeance of the law
"You've slept too long in silence" Mama said
Remember Mama said
Ticking, ticking
"Crazy boy, you'll only wind up with strange notions in your head"
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking There is something we all can do in our own homes tonight. Pray to God for personal divine answers to the actions we take. Then leave the television off - especially the violent shows that dull our sensitivities (and those of our children) to crime and the pain it causes. Turn the television off, leave the movie theater alone except for movies that promise no graphic portrayal of violence, no matter how much it gets talked up at the office. Unplug the XBOX or Wii - especially the more violent games like Halo... How can we ask God to stop the violence when we give it our attention - our earnings, our "affection" so to speak, when we get so offended that the entertainment industry had anything to do with Cho's portrayal in his suicide video... It's really sickening when life imitates "art". And we deny art's influence.
Last edited by KaylaAndy; 04/23/07 08:36 AM.
Cafe Plan B link http://forum.marriagebuilders.com/ubbt/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2182650&page=1 The ? that made recovery possible: "Which lovebuster do I do the most that hurts the worst"? The statement that signaled my personal recovery and the turning point in our marriage recovery: "I don't need to be married that badly!" If you're interested in saving your relationship, you'll work on it when it's convenient. If you're committed, you'll accept no excuses.
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Wanted to add something before looking at all of the posts from this past weekend.
Last Friday, which was all of the memorial services for the VT tragedy, I was amazed at how many people got involved. When my oldest son and I went out to get something to eat on Friday evening, I counted over 90% of the people at the restaurant wearing VT clothing, or their colors or ribbons. Every store, bank, etc I went into has people wearing ribbons or VT apparel. When I was at my son's high school baseball game earlier in the day, I counted two people in the whole ballpark that wasnt wearing VT colors.
I am not a VT gaduate (I am from a rival Virginia school). But it was amazing to see all of the burgundy and orange out there!
Standing in His PresenceFBS (me) (48) FWW (41) Married April 1993... 4 kids (19(B), 17(G), 14(B), 4(B)) Blessed by God more than I deserve "If Jesus is your co-pilot...you need to change seats!"Link: The Roles of Husbands and Wives
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Friend4Life,
While many have responded to what you posted...let me address your basic post. I do believe that those that have a mental illness should be taken care of. I believe this should happen BEFORE stuff like this happens. We are hearing from family and others what went on for years with him.
I can promise you this...if one of my kids was exhibiting these problems, I would take care of it. I would get help for him/her. And if the law didnt allow me to get them mandatory treatment/confinement, then I would do what I have to...even if it might not be legal. Why? Because to do nothing, knowing my son or daughter is a ticking time bomb...is morally wrong.
That being said, I know many are not like me. And it may well be that Cho's family did try to do something. And he just fell thru the cracks. And if so, then I truly do feel for them and what they are going thru...and have gone thru.
My use of the word "nutjob" was just a slang word used so I didnt have to write out "metally ill or evil" everytime I wanted to refer to people that do such as Cho did, or McVeigh did...or the kids at Collumbine did. It is not said to be insensitive to those suffering mental illness. It was just slang.
The reason I used it is I wanted to focus, not on Cho's family or even on Cho per se...but to look at what can be done to stop or lessen the impact in the future.
In the Army, it matters not who might be trying to come inside the wire. It could be enemy troops attacking. Or a suicide bomber. In both those cases, we shoot without even thinking about it. But what about the young child they strap a bomb to and tell him to run towards us? What do we do then.
Well, we shoot him. Of course it isnt the child's fault. But we have to shoot him anyway before he kills others. Same would go if they strapped a bomb on the back of someone mentally ill.
In discussing prevention, it matters not to me if Cho was "evil" or "mentally ill" except in the fact of were there things we could have done before. What also matters to me is that if we cant prevent some of these incidents, then we had better also be in a position to respond appropriately to stop the threat.
Virginia Tech was not prepared...even with police there...even with all the policies they had. It did not stop Cho.
Cho wouldnt have been stopped, except if he had been hospitalized. Sure, if the gun shop owner who sold him the guns had known he was mentally ill (see, I didnt say nutjob that time!), he wouldnt have sold the guns to him. But Cho would have gotten weapons. They are easy to get in illegal ways. Theft, black market, etc.
So, what I was trying to get to is that to stop what happened at VT, we needed to stop Cho (before or during the event)...rather than concentrating on the tools.
Again, I do have compassion for all involved. But the reality of the fact is that Cho should have been locked up...the gun shop owner should have been able to find out Cho wasnt quite right in the head...and at the end, the students and faculty should have been able to put Cho down early in the event before he got to so many people.
Standing in His PresenceFBS (me) (48) FWW (41) Married April 1993... 4 kids (19(B), 17(G), 14(B), 4(B)) Blessed by God more than I deserve "If Jesus is your co-pilot...you need to change seats!"Link: The Roles of Husbands and Wives
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