I was equally upset with NBC, but while watching the video I couldn't help the fact that I was waiting the entire time for him to say, "Tina, come get your food."

I'm a bad, bad man.

Annika,

It can't be helped, nor do I think the suppression or release of his grandiosity makes any difference. Whether the next shooter makes a VT reference or a Columbine is irrelevant. The anger/rage/sadness whatever you want to call it, which motivates this horrible response is not dependent upon precedent otherwise there would never have been a first. It takes no priming of the pump for this type of disordered personality to recognize who his oppressors are and victims will be. The previous incidents may give him better ideas for enacting his particular attack but don't be fooled into thinking that they incite him or without them he will be powerless to act. People are resourceful they will, if there is not a blueprint available, always draw their own.

Strawman, there is truth in what you say. The next time may be inevitable, but I still think NBC was wrong to provide the extra inspiration.

"It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!"

How long until we see t-shirts with Cho's two fisted pose on it?

Annika,

Quoting the bible at me is always an effective tool of persuasion.

I certainly don't want anybody influenced or inspired but neither do I want to live in a society where the fourth estate self censures so as not to inspire someone having a psychotic episode. Freedom and the free exchange of ideas does not come without a price. I would not want to be the one telling the parents of a dead student that, but it is true.

But, I hope never to see the T shirt. BTW, have you ever seen a pro Columbine T? I

I actually kinda lean towards releasing it, even though I definitely hear the argument for keeping the "multimedia manifesto" (read: pics & web cam shots) under wraps.

An obviously sick guy like Cho apparently isn't hard to spot; it looks like several people spotted him as whacked on several occasions. So it's not like you'll watch his videos and go, "Ohhh.... so that's what a guy who's about to kill 32 people acts like... hmmm." On the other hand, I do think that you'd get some sort of awareness of the themes and nuances of his persona that might help you keep alert to more subtle manifestations of problems in people around you.

Like, say, posting pictures of Sir Connery a few too many times (reagan) or defending the social "choices" of "loners" who stay at home on the computer too much and get no love from the ladies (mark). ;)

Bottom line: yeah, information can be harmful, but if it's true, it always tells you something about reality that you might be able to apply in other situations. Maybe the best idea would be to delay the release so that it wouldn't be so terribly exciting to any potential shooters.

The system failed the victims. They waited for the authorities to react. That would be the same authorities who recognized that this guy was nuts. The system couldn't expel the guy from school, or involuntarily treat him for his mental disorder, or even allow the fact that he was dangerous to be flagged when he purchased his guns.

Do you really believe some sort of new gun law is going to protect you from the 200 million firearms already in the country? Not to mention the fact that worse mass murders have been done with airplanes, fertilizer, and gasoline?

If somebody credibly threatens your life, the authorities can't protect you. They do stand ready to prosecute your killer.

Be careful out there.

I endorse your entire statement and I feel and reflect your rage again the media that profits from this never-ending abuse of reason. Harry Reid announces today that the war is lost. The media fails to shout him down. Nancy Pelosi snuggles up to Syria's chief terrorist in furthering the Democrats' Alternative Foreign Policy. The media fails to shout her down. An imp from Hell kills innocents, and the media rewards his evil with immortality and by channeling cries from tender hearts seeking to understand this sad, angry young Korean.

Years ago, an actor, Raymond Massey, playing the role of John Brown announced just before being hanged for his crimes at Harper's Ferry, VA that he, Brown, understood that this quilty country will have to pay for its sins, in the movie - for permitting slavery to exist and persist, with rivers of blood.

I am quite certain that now this guilty country will have to pay for its sins, its irreconcilable divisions politically and culturally, with the effusion of blood. I suspect that the events at VTech this week are the start of that process.

RobS.

What ar you talking About? VT and this guilty country's sins? You are correct that this country is guilty of sins, but currently they are against the people of Iraq and the majority of the blood in the rivers is Iraqi. We morn the loss of 31 people this week, killed for no reason. Each day for the last 5 years, 30 or more people die in Iraq for nearly the same reason as those in VT. An insightless appraisal of a complex problem and the pointless, criminal violent spasm that passes for a solution to a deranged morally compromised man. The only thing that I look forward to is the day George Bush wakes up one morning, has a moment of clarity and blows his head off. At least Mr. Cho knew what to do with himself after committing his atrocity unfortunately I can't say the same for George.

Strawman:

You have some problems with your thought process.

"Like, say, posting pictures of Sir Connery a few too many times (reagan)"

I'm surprised that nobody has accused me of turning Japanese based on the bulk of my links over the past few weeks.

Robs,

Calling the situation in Iraq a war certainly speaks volumes about to the problems your thought processes. We are not at war. We are attempting to conquer a country that did not attack us, threaten us, or have any interest in doing so. A fairly civilized country, secular for the most part, bulwark against spread of Islamist governments, more western than every country around them, with civil treatment and opportunities for women, good infrastructure, good cash flow and so forth.

We have wreaked havoc upon them, displaced millions, stimulated ethnic violence that is spiraling out of control, allowed fundamentalist Islam to gain a foothold, ruined the infrastructure, killed possibly a hundred thousand or more civilians and on and on. And you tell me I have a problem thinking? You think the media did not shout down Reid because maybe what he said is true?

We are toast. Iraq is toast. No good will come of it and the bad will continue getting worse. Put 500K soldiers in there and all you will have is more casualties and bombings. They put a fucking bomb in the parliament for Christ’s sake. What the hell are you seeing fella that tells you this is going to come to a good conclusion? What the hell are you seeing that makes you feel safer as a result of this carnage? How do you excuse all the lies you were told about the reasons for and the progress of this debacle, from the cost to the WMD threat, to the bill being paid for with oil revenue? What conflict in history can you point to that lends credence to your belief that this operation has a chance of success?

You are correct that this country is guilty of sins, but currently they are against the people of Iraq and the majority of the blood in the rivers is Iraqi. We morn the loss of 31 people this week, killed for no reason. Each day for the last 5 years, 30 or more people die in Iraq for nearly the same reason as those in VT.

This comparison is asinine.

RobS was correct indeed. Boy was he.

We have wreaked havoc upon them, displaced millions, stimulated ethnic violence that is spiraling out of control, allowed fundamentalist Islam to gain a foothold, ruined the infrastructure, killed possibly a hundred thousand or more civilians and on and on.

Permit me to shake you out of your "blame America first" mentality.

"We" have not done these things. Try focusing on those who have committed 99% of the violence in IRaq.

And make sure not to let one accomplishment penetrate your thinking, assuming you are aware of the accomplishments that have already occurred. And there are many.

You think the media did not shout down Reid because maybe what he said is true?

Reid is an irresponsible and reckless man and his statements provide aid and comfort to the enemy.

We are toast. Iraq is toast. No good will come of it and the bad will continue getting worse.

How positive can you get.

Straw, we already are familiar with your longing for the defeat of your nation, and that it is a convenient means of bringing the military home.

Consequences be damned.

For a person who has expressed concern about our international reputation, you aren't so concerned when openly saying We are toast. Iraq is toast. No good will come of it and the bad will continue getting worse.

Announcing to the world our defeat. Yes that will help our reputation abroad. During WWII, a common expression was "Loose Lips Can Sink Ships." Now we have "Iraq is lost."

Straw,

"A fairly civilized country, secular for the most part, bulwark against spread of Islamist governments, more western than every country around them, with civil treatment and opportunities for women, good infrastructure, good cash flow and so forth."

Your statement is inane. It's not even close to accurate. Who do you think your audience is? Nearly every word in it is inaccurate or misleading.

If you want to argue that the war isn't going well that is fine and, partly, accurate; but don't insult those of us with 3-digit IQs with such a ridiculous, bullshit assessment of pre-war Iraq.

Mark,

Our reputation abroad has nowhere to go but up. Bush is a laughing stock and we his flunkies and victims. The incredulity that is universally expressed around the world is how the fuck did a country that is supposed to be comprised of mostly educated people allow a pandering, ignorant schmuck to be president. TWICE. The first time the consensus is he lost but our third world election process, coupled with voter suppression, willful confusion of the elderly and a partisan supreme court inserted the dummy into office. The second election is the one that really has them scratching their heads.

"Straw, we already are familiar with your longing for the defeat of your nation"

That's why you should not waste your time responding to him.

We got the point already. Instead of viewing the Iraq expedition as a benevolent nation-building campaign gone FUBAR, he views our military's mission as evil. Of course, he desired our military's failure since he deemed the goals unjust from the start. We already know about his hostility towards private military contractors, so it is hard to believe that he doesn't harbor such feelings for our troops just because they are lower-paid gov't employees.

Blu,

It ain't a war. Lets call it by its name. Invasion. And "not going well" is what we say when somebody returns to the hospital with an infection in a wound. WHen they come back and their entire body is on fire we use other phrases.

Ragun,

You dumb ass, How is it that you can't parse the difference between hoping for our military defeat and hoping for a common sense decision that protects our soldiers and limits the damage to Iraq in this immoral invasion. Yes. I don't agree with the goals. No, that does not mean 911 made me happy, or I love OSB, or any other selfserving bullshit idea you dribble down your chin. This is a tragedy of enormous proportion and has caused needless pain and suffering for millions of people. Do not belittle it with your stupid school yard associations and cackling.

"the consensus is he lost..."

Ahhh, no its not. He won every valid recount - as the Left-wings rags, The New York Times and The WAPO pointed out in their investigations. The only people who think he lost are people like you, Straw - conspiratorial nutters, who never have proof but always have opinions.

And, please, no more nonsense about voter supression - there is absolutely ZERO evidence of that conspiracy theory. (And, yes, I read the BS AP "story" released yesterday about the administration's policy about actually caring about illegal voting. Yet another MSM hit-piece masquarading as journalism. You'll notice when reading the article closely that the administration has not done a single thing illegal, but the writer attempts to manipulate the reader into thinking there is something actually sinister going on when somebody wants to implement a policy insisting that a person proves he is who he says he is when voting. Yeah, you can't cash a check without ID, but go ahead and fucking vote all you want. And, of course, if its a Democrat there is a good chance that person is voting more than once.)