Shooting at Virginia Tech

[Clodfobble]

Sounds like the student he punched should have been encouraged more strongly to press charges. He was the one person who had the legal opportunity to get this guy looked at.

[freshnesschronic]

Ok, I'm glad it is not just me who thinks America is not "rampant" with violence. Remember what the word rampant bears in mind. Unchecked, furious and growing and out of control.

[SadistSecret]

I think there are certain areas that might be rampant with violence, but my country as a whole? Nah.

[LabRat]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

He had acted strange in class, had at least one violent outburst, but there simply wasn't enough there to baker act him. For this student majoring in psychology, the professors that all had degrees in the field didn't pick up on enough of his warning signs to do anything about it.

It's a catch 22. We are supposed to have a right to act/say/do whatever we want as long as it doesn't 'hurt' anyone else. Unfortunately, the warning signs of potential future harm usually fall under this so that those who recognize the symptoms of someting serious can't do anything.

However, if we allow 'experts' to have people 'tagged' for closer examination, there will be a group of people who will pipe up about infringing on personal freedoms. It's a very very thin line in a murky grey area.

As a person with a history of mental illness, I rely on my family to point out to me when I need a little tweaking. If I didn't have them, or friends I could trust, I could easily get to a very low point, (though I doubt I would cause anyone but myself harm).

I'm not advocating for troops of rogue psychiatrists roaming the streets with rorschach cards and handcuffs, but it would be nice if we (americans in general) felt a little better about asking someone if they are OK, and reporting it to someone who might actually be able to DO something if there is obviously something off about a person. What the DO is, is the question to be debated for the next decade...

I haven't heard enough yet about Cho Seung-hui to make any conclusions myself regarding if there was anything that could have been done to minimize his potential for being dangerous to others.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by LabRat

..I'm not advocating for troops of rogue psychiatrists roaming the streets with rorschach cards and handcuffs, but it would be nice if we (americans in general) felt a little better about asking someone if they are OK, and reporting it to someone who might actually be able to DO something if there is obviously something off about a person. What the DO is, is the question to be debated for the next decade...
...

I'd like to report some strange behavior from the dork that lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave...

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

I actually faced a similar issue some semesters ago. ...

I just remembered that I had an "encounter" in the early eighties. I sold glasses to a young woman. She told me that she had just been in the service for about six months (as I remember). I commented that it was strange to only be in for six months, and she said that she and the service made a mutaual agreement that she should be discharged. Her name was Sylvia Seegrist.

It was estimated that this woman had fired twenty rounds, and the toll that day was two dead and eight wounded. When she was stopped, she had 10 bullets left in one of her clips.

[Kitsune]

Oh, joy. Look who's getting involved in the funerals for the victims.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

...and that, I think, is an issue more complex than the availability of weapons or what is portrayed in the media. The reason the US broadcasts that it has a violent culture and is viewed as being a violent place are disconnected from the reality of the actual violence that takes place and the reasons for it. Symptom and disease are connected but pinpointing any single cause in the mess of social issues, class gaps, racial tension, apathy, mental illness, media encouragement, gun laws, and lack of community would be impossible.

Well stated. Good summary.

[piercehawkeye45]

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_5695553

I hope this person gets flogged publically. This is pathetic and immature.

[Cloud]

well, you can't lock up everyone who has the potential to do violence. There'd be no one left on the outside.

[Cloud]

they're playing the killer's tapes right now on CNN. It is just fucking horrific.

That kid had NO connection to reality, whatsoever.

[daniwong]

I used to work for a university and we had to deal with mental health issues within the university as well as with public health officials and the police department. I've also worked with the police department on mental health issues.

I can't remember who just wrote about the grey area (and kudos to you for pointing this out) but in dealing with both the university system as well as the police department - the mental health system and process is one HUGE grey area.

For instance - (yes - psychology major - specifically abnormal psychology) - most of the time skitzophrenia develops in the early 20's when people are in college. In my college years - 5 1/2 - I had to attend commitment proceedings on 12 different students as they were skitzophrenic and were harmful to themselves as well as to others. The issue is with most of these students is that they are aldults so you can't get the parents involved to assist with the help they so desperately need. The other issue that we came up across - and this has been mentioned in the news media - is that a lot of these kids were asian. (I'm chinese FYI) One of the psychologists that I've worked with and for find different cultures views of mental illness some of the hardest things to overcome.

The issue on doing something - if you notice something that just doesn't seem right - ask someone (aka care) if they are ok. If the response just seems off - discuss it with a crisis line, or in a university setting - a counselor, your dorm director - someone. So many people out there need help and don't know where to get it.

Does this excuse anything that happend this week. Absolutely not. But it does show some insight into it. In all - it is tragic and I truly feel for those victims.

*and something else that completely bothers me - I was watching the interviews with his former roomates and they were sitting there smiling during most of the interview. Not sure if they were just smiling for the camera or what - but it really just rubbed me the wrong way*

FLAME ON!

[TheMercenary]

Observation:

A lot of the pundits on the tube keep hanging their hats on the fact that this guy was found at one time to be "a danger to himself, and a danger to others." Further, he was at one time committed for this behavior, against his will. This is a snap shot of how our system works and how it is broken. He was committed one time for that behavior at that time. He was obviously released, because he was "no longer a threat" or he never would have been released. And so goes the revolving door of mental health care here in the US. Most people with serious mental health issues end up in jail, not getting the help they really need. We have closed the asylums and hospitals and replaced them with prisons. It is no surprise that this guy was out and about.

[piercehawkeye45]

I want to hear how this guy's life was like in high school. I have a feelign that will answer many questions.

[Cloud]

as far as I know, there's never been enough resources for the mentally ill anywhere. It looks as though people were seeing the warning signs, and were reporting them. It seems as though he had no one to step in and care for him, anyway. Maybe his parents were glad to ship him off to college.

Again, there needs to be a better safety net for teenagers.