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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Petty Rants


32 people lost their lives yesterday because of a mentally unstable English major. (Don't even try to argue whether or not he was mentally unstable- a mentally stable individual doesn't do what he did yesterday.) Now, barely 24 hours later, the talking heads are talking security (not necessarily a bad thing) and gun control (very bad, knee-jerk reaction). And they're talking to every student at Virginia Tech (at least that's how it seems).

The information the Feds are handing out is interesting. The shooter was a resident alien who was attending Virginia Tech. And yes, it is legal for resident aliens to purchase handguns. He passed the background check. There was no way of knowing he was going to kill his girlfriend. Or 31 other people. It was all legal.

Do you know what wasn't legal? To carry a concealed weapon on campus. Statistically, who knows if there would have been someone with a CCL in the Norris building yesterday? But... there could have been. But here's what VT's spokesperson said after the bill that would have allowed concealed weapons on campus was defeated.
Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."
Do the students feel safe today, Larry? Guns don't kill people- madmen with guns kill people. And responsible citizens with guns sometimes kill madmen.

I almost feel petty going on about this. I mean, 33 people are dead. There is time for this later, right? Not if the Brady crowd gets there first. They will use fear and ignorance to push through legislation taking away even more rights of law-abiding citizens and guaranteeing, eventually, that only criminals have guns. (Ask Australia and England if you don't believe me.) I just had to bring it up.

There are other things to rant about in this sad, tragic story. Journalists who ask stupid questions just because that's what they do. Tucker Carlson asking what it all means and what we can learn from it. Students jumping in front of every camera they can find to tell their tale (I can see why the MSM would talk to the kid who got shot in the arm and the kids who were directly involved, but... the grad student whose wife called him and told him about it as he was driving to campus???) The "security" activists who are second-guessing the university's response without knowing all the details. The politicians who are already triangulating their position for maximum effect. The Europeans blaming Charlton Heston for the shooting. Stuff like that...

And there are the stories of bravery. The one I keep thinking about is the professor who barricaded the classroom door so his class could escape through the window. He was shot as he blocked the door. He was 76 years old and a Holocaust survivor.

His is the story I will focus on today. The sadness is better than the anger today.



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