tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post6643583044143347318..comments2023-12-28T06:30:48.808-05:00Comments on The Rule of Reason: Struggling to make sense of the Virginia Tech MassacreUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-66438609048744433322007-04-21T14:46:00.000-04:002007-04-21T14:46:00.000-04:00Penny Arcade’s post of February 21st has a p...<A HREF="http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/02/21#news_22069" REL="nofollow">Penny Arcade’s post of February 21st</A> has a profile of another such predator, the ringleader in the <A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/19/homeless.attacks/index.html" REL="nofollow">murder of a homeless man</A> by four young animals in human skins.<BR/><BR/>The Penny-Arcade article features an account written by the step mother of the young man. She describes a perfect nihilist who values destruction, and Seung-Hui seems to share a lot in common with this monster.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-56650516728226551322007-04-18T10:23:00.000-04:002007-04-18T10:23:00.000-04:00I just read this report about one on CNN:Cho's poe...I just read this report about one on CNN:<BR/><BR/>Cho's poetry was so intimidating -- and his behavior so menacing -- that Giovanni had him removed from her class in the fall of 2005, she said. Giovanni said the final straw came when two of her students quit attending her poetry sessions because of Cho.<BR/><BR/>"I was trying to find out, what am I doing wrong here?" Giovanni recalled thinking, but the students came to her during her office hours and explained, "He's taking photographs of us. We don't know what he's doing."<BR/><BR/>Giovanni went to the department's then-chairwoman, Lucinda Roy, and told her she wanted Cho out of her class, and Roy obliged.<BR/><BR/>"I was willing to resign before I was going to continue with him," Giovanni said. "There was something mean about this boy."<BR/><BR/>Giovanni said she's taught her share of oddballs in the past, but there was something malicious about Cho's behavior.<BR/><BR/>"I know we're talking about a troubled youngster and crap like that, but troubled youngsters get drunk and jump off buildings; troubled youngsters drink and drive," she said. "I've taught troubled youngsters. I've taught crazy people. It was the meanness that bothered me. It was a, really, mean streak."<BR/><BR/>* * *<BR/><BR/>I hope that one of the outcomes of this tragedy is that people come to be more assertive when dealing with such mentalities. If Cho's various actions would have led to him being committed to a mental hospital for treatment, he would have been unable to legally purchase a firearm. He still could have committed his crime, but he would have a far more difficult time obtaining a firearm with which to do it.Nicholas Provenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10926131141263622350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5200276.post-52345462528452757072007-04-18T07:28:00.000-04:002007-04-18T07:28:00.000-04:00My daughter's H.S. drills for such events – basica...My daughter's H.S. drills for such events – basically duck & cover in a corner of a room and hope for the best. I ask, why not take advantage of the numbers and overpower an attacker – throw books at him or something; don't just wait to be done in. It's a hard sell even from me to her, but it's not even presented as an option at [any] school. Is it a stretch to see it as a reflection of our culture at large – defensive in the homeland rather than confronting enemies head-on in their homeland?<BR/><BR/>I am curious about VT humanities classes that Cho may have taken.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com