Massacre at Virginia Campus

[jame$thegreat]

Heres the only solution. Ban guns in the USA. You don't need a gun too protect yourself from an intruder in your home or someone who is threatening you. Take up boxing or something, or use a knife or baseball bat. These massacre's are only going too continue too happen until gun laws are tightened. Theres no way anyway should be allowed to possess a gun other than military personnel. And no way should all students be allowed too have them too protect themselves thats just moronic. Anyone who is supporting the current gun laws of the USA, is the reason why things like this are happening are only going too continue too happen in the future.

Can you read, or do you not have a basic understanding of how the world works? Boxing or a knife is not going to help you if you are held at gunpoint a gun can have a range of up to several miles, an arm? A couple feet at most. You, sir, obviously have no experience with such a matter. Anyone who would consider BREAKING THE LAW by killing someone (charge-murder) is not going to be detered by gun laws (charge- possession of a firearm/deadly weapon) and will easily aquire a gun illegally, very easily... You are arming the wrong people with gun laws, the criminals, which is utter stupidity. (banning guns in America is nearly impossible because the fact that we can own them is a basic right in the USA, not the lack of a law prohibiting it)

[Ironduke]

As written by Ian McFarlane, a classmate of Cho Seung-Hui:

What happened yesterday:

When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."

Cho was in my playwriting class last fall, and nobody seemed to think much of him at first. He would sit by himself whenever possible, and didn't like talking to anyone. I don't think I've ever actually heard his voice before. He was just so quiet and kept to himself. Looking back, he fit the exact stereotype of what one would typically think of as a "school shooter" – a loner, obsessed with violence, and serious personal problems. Some of us in class tried to talk to him to be nice and get him out of his shell, but he refused talking to anyone. It was like he didn't want to be friends with anybody. One friend of mine tried to offer him some Halloween candy that she still had, but he slowly shook his head, refusing it. He just came to class every day and submitted his work on time, as I understand it.

A major part of the playwriting class was peer reviews. We would write one-act plays and submit them to an online repository called Blackboard for everyone in the class to read and comment about in class the next day. Typically, the students give their opinions about the plays and suggest ways to make it better, the professor gives his insights, then asks the author to comment about the play in class.

When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.

After hearing about the mass shootings, I sent one of my friends a Facebook message asking him if he knew anything about Seung Cho and if he could have been involved. He replied: "dude that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! No, I haven't heard anything, but seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard he was Asian."

While I "knew" Cho, I always wished there was something I could do for him, but I couldn't think of anything. As far as notifying authorities, there isn't (to my knowledge) any system set up that lets people say "Hey! This guy has some issues! Maybe you should look into this guy!" If there were, I definitely would have tried to get the kid some help. I think that could have had a good chance of averting yesterday's tragedy more than anything.

While I was hesitant at first to release these plays (because I didn't know if there are laws against it), I had to put myself in the shoes of the average person researching this situation. I'd want to know everything I could about the killer to figure out what could drive a person to do something like this and hopefully prevent it in the future. Also, I hope this might help people start caring about others more no matter how weird they might seem, because if this was some kind of cry for attention, then he should have gotten it a long time ago.

As far as the victims go, as I was heading to bed last night, I heard that my good friend Stack (Ryan Clark) was one of the first confirmed dead. I didn't want to believe that I'd never get to talk to him again, and all I could think about was how much I could tell him how much his friendship meant to me. During my junior year, Ryan, another friend and I used to get breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Shultz Dining Hall, one of the cafeterias on campus, and it was always the highlight of my day. He could talk forever it seemed and always made us laugh. He was a good friend, not just to me, but to a lot of people, and I'll miss him a lot.

Cho Seung-Hui's Plays:

Mr. Brownstone:

[jame$thegreat]

As written by Ian McFarlane, a classmate of Cho Seung-Hui:


Cho Seung-Hui's Plays:

Mr. Brownstone:

Apparently not only is he a killer, but a horrible writer. He writes like an angry 8 year old, with a dirty mouth and little understanding of the english language.

[Ironduke]

A bit more disturbing:

Richard McBeef

[Ray]

Could it be that he was pressured by some homosexual abuse(s) and was deeply disturbed by it and hence a loner. And hence his burning hate!

His play appears to give that impression.

[jame$thegreat]

His play appears to give that impression.

His plays give me the impression that he had not hit puberty yet and was simply an angry, disturbed little boy, but rather he was 23. His plays werent even good as an example of riskque artwork, like many movies including Dead Silence and Reservoir Dogs similarly as well as other titles with twisted story lines. Those two movies included sick and twisted scenes and lines and yet were good movies in their own right, his plays, not so much. In fact I found his to resemble inane rantings of an angered immigrant who hardly grasps the enlgish language and suffers from severe mental retardation.

[kams]

CNN is reporting that Cho was declared mentally ill by a Virginia court and declared 'imminent danger to himself!!!

He sent a pack of video, photo to MSNBC before he went on the rampage.

CNN also learned Wednesday that in 2005 Cho was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice, who declared he was "an imminent danger" to himself, a court document states.

A temporary detention order from General District Court in the commonwealth of Virginia said Cho "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness."

A box indicating that the subject "Presents an imminent danger to others as a result of mental illness" was not checked.

In another part of the form, Cho was described as "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others as a result of mental illness, or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self, and is incapable of volunteering or unwilling to volunteer for treatment."

A handwritten section of the form describes Cho. "Affect is flat and mood is depressed," said the order, which was signed December 14 by Special Justice Paul M. Barnett. "He denies suicidal ideation. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment are normal."

CNN link

How come this court order was not on his record? How come it did not come out during the background check before he bought the guns?

[Ironduke]

He'd been here since age 8... I'm sure the change from Korea to America at that age must have had some effect on him, but I doubt he could be considered a foreigner at that age. From age 8 one should assimilate into the language and culture shortly.

[kams]

Pic of Cho with the guns (from MSNBC)



Link to MSNBC story

[bonehead]

That is the $64,000 question that needs to be explored, and whomever dropped the ball needs to be accountable for it.

[jame$thegreat]

He'd been here since age 8... I'm sure the change from Korea to America at that age must have had some effect on him, but I doubt he could be considered a foreigner at that age. From age 8 one should assimilate into the language and culture shortly.

That should be the case Ironduke, however nowadays many foreigners refuse to assimilate into American culture and are adamant about retaining their culture and language in this country. Many of our ancestors came to this country are learned as many American customs as soon as possible, as my ancestors did. My grandmother even refused to teach my mother Italian because "this is a rich country, you speak English here!" Then (here comes the kicker) they want us to be more understanding of their culture and beliefs! If they are so set on their culture and beliefs why didnt they stay where that was the norm?

[dalem]

From the news footage it seemed that the cops hung back during the shooting. They were hiding behind trees and squad cars. Were they doing the right thing, or should they have rushed the building?

They were being cops, illustrating the reality that it is not their job to stop rampaging killers.

I do not fault them for this.

I regard it as MY job to stop such a rampage, or at LEAST organize a safe exit. Maybe if it ever really happens I'll freeze, or sh!t my pants, or scream and cry, or go down without ever knowing what the situation is, but none of those things are part of my plan, at least. ;)

-dale

[bandwagon]

How come this court order was not on his record? How come it did not come out during the background check before he bought the guns?

The full extent of the backup check was a question on the form he had to fill in at the gun shop asking whether he had a history of psychiatric disorder, which he ticked as "No". As if anyone trying to buy a gun is going to say "yes". Come on people!

In fact he was correct. It sounds like he had a Personality Disorder, which is not a technically a psychiatric disorder. But it should have given him a psychiatric record. A Personality Disorder can only be diagnosed on he basis of repeated psychiatric assessment. That a court report stating that he was a "danger to the public and to himself" did not lead to a compulsory psychiatric assessment is astonishing.

That after that statement, in addition to the reports to the police from his former teacher and from one of the girls he was stalking, he was able to buy a gun is surely a gap that needs plugging.

[dalem]

That after that statement, in addition to the reports to the police from his former teacher and from one of the girls he was stalking, he was able to buy a gun is surely a gap that needs plugging.

How do you propose to plug this gap of which you speak? What's your solution?

-dale

[kams]

I have never bought a gun, so I am not familiar with the procedure involved (apart from what Highsea posted cpl of months back). As I understand, a background check is carried out and why in this case the background check did not reveal mental health problem Cho had?