I remember checking CNN's website 8 years ago (almost to the day) and feeling sick when I read about the shootings at Columbine. Now this happens at Virginia Tech...
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Anonymous
said...
Rumor has it that the shooter was a Chinese national in the U.S. on a visa. This is a shame because if it's true, that fact will probably shift the national conversation from one about gun control to one about sealing off our country to anyone from anywhere else.
So far I haven't heard anyone saying anything about sealing the borders, but neither have I heard a lot about how this incident points to a need for stricter gun laws. Maybe it's too early, though.
According to Gary Althen, it's "characteristically American" to seek simple, single causes for events like this "rather than some complex configuration of factors" (he was talking about 911, but I think it hold here, too). I don't know if this is just the way Americans think--I know it's hard for me to keep all the possible factors in my head, though. It does seem easier to settle on a scapegoat.
5 comments:
Rumor has it that the shooter was a Chinese national in the U.S. on a visa. This is a shame because if it's true, that fact will probably shift the national conversation from one about gun control to one about sealing off our country to anyone from anywhere else.
Well, now the news is reporting that he was "a senior English major from South Korea."
Still, my original point still stands.
So far I haven't heard anyone saying anything about sealing the borders, but neither have I heard a lot about how this incident points to a need for stricter gun laws. Maybe it's too early, though.
Nope, now we want to blame college officials. Be sure to read aerobil's post on anger....
According to Gary Althen, it's "characteristically American" to seek simple, single causes for events like this "rather than some complex configuration of factors" (he was talking about 911, but I think it hold here, too). I don't know if this is just the way Americans think--I know it's hard for me to keep all the possible factors in my head, though. It does seem easier to settle on a scapegoat.
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