Massacre will change nothing
As the Virginia Tech community mourns, and the country mourns with them, it's worth noting what always happens after these gun massacres.
Some fantasize that if they were only there and were packing heat, they could have stopped it. Some fantasize that gun laws would have helped. Some believe that it's somehow the fault of pop culture, and some will believe that better attention to "warning signs" like mental health issues might have helped. Before we have all the facts it's hard to know whether, for instance, Virginia Tech officials could have had a better response system.
As with many issues, there may be kernels of potential truth in lots of ideas. If everyone carried guns to engineering class every single day, the shooter might have been stopped, unless the murderer became aware of the fact that everyone took guns to class and decided to strike at a gym instead.
Maybe a waiting period would have helped, although someone with enough forethought to chain doors might have easily planned the murders weeks ahead of time. Maybe making more mental health services available would have helped, and maybe public officials can do a better job with security.
In the end, the second saddest thing (after the lives destroyed and altered forever) is what will happen because of this massacre. It's the same thing that happens every time.
Nothing.
UPDATE 6:55 AM PDT-- Authorities identified the gunman at a press conference a short time ago.
Some fantasize that if they were only there and were packing heat, they could have stopped it. Some fantasize that gun laws would have helped. Some believe that it's somehow the fault of pop culture, and some will believe that better attention to "warning signs" like mental health issues might have helped. Before we have all the facts it's hard to know whether, for instance, Virginia Tech officials could have had a better response system.
As with many issues, there may be kernels of potential truth in lots of ideas. If everyone carried guns to engineering class every single day, the shooter might have been stopped, unless the murderer became aware of the fact that everyone took guns to class and decided to strike at a gym instead.
Maybe a waiting period would have helped, although someone with enough forethought to chain doors might have easily planned the murders weeks ahead of time. Maybe making more mental health services available would have helped, and maybe public officials can do a better job with security.
In the end, the second saddest thing (after the lives destroyed and altered forever) is what will happen because of this massacre. It's the same thing that happens every time.
Nothing.
UPDATE 6:55 AM PDT-- Authorities identified the gunman at a press conference a short time ago.
Cho Hui Seung, a 23-year-old resident alien of the United States, a South Korean national and a Virginia Tech senior has been identified as the gunman in the shootings that left 33 people dead on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, as first reported by ABC News.
