The reports are coming in over the news about the shootings in Virginia Tech. The as yet unidentified gunman seems to have killed at least a reported 32 people, managing to leap into the lead in the competition to make your name by taking people out with you, subcategory guns.
No America bashing on this - after all, Aramoana and we're 100th the size. However, please spare me any sanctimonious crap about displaying a lack of appropriate horror around this massive tragedy in days to come; 32 dead is a good day in Baghdad.
I will, however, make two predictions.
i, The CNN report notes Whitman was an ex-marine, and also mentions Klebold and Harris. When this person is identified, his personal characteristics will immediately be seized on by the Right, the Left or both and used as a club to bash people over the head about specific agendas only loosely related. Feel free to cite this early post (about 5 hours post event) as a rebuke to monomaniacs fixated on their own obsessions to the point where all of reality is distorted to fit that filter.
ii, If he turns out to have been a wingnut, then I will not be able to resist the temptation at some stage to join in. God help me.
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It turned out that he was a legal immigrant from South Korea, who had some serious mental problems, but nothing which attracted enough attention to get the legal authorities involved.
Even our mutual friends at Pandagon haven't been making this into a gun control bash.
Mmm - given that he immigrated at age 8, he was considerably more American than Korean, despite his green card status.
I keep oscillating between wishing something had been done about the warning signs beforehand and realising that throwing every kid acting strange into mandatory therapy would be a mini-police state
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