Another school shooting.

[OILFAN #81]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Another survivors harrowing recollection of what happened...and this one was shot 3 different times.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18183450/site/newsweek/

That's a real good story. I'm glad he is okay and that his chest and torso were under the desk. Also i'm glad his mother could have a sense of humor about it after all that her son went through.

"Even though he got shot, I'm glad he didn't(not go to class) because he shouldn't be cutting class," she says.

[OILFAN #81]

Cho's family was interviewed on CNN.

His great aunt calls him "an idiot" and says his family always worried about him as he wouldn't talk to them. She called him "very cold" growing up and she didn't like him.

Part of Cho's family had a memorial service in their church in South Korea for the victims at Virginia Tech.

[Eddie Bronze]

I can 100% attest to the fact that being bullied has nothing to do with it.

I'm not sure there's any real way to explain how something like this happens to someone, where everything goes so wrong.

I would like to see the whole parenting issue discussed more, though. The way a child is raised is the single most important factor in determining how someone lives the rest of their life. There's no 100% certainties, but children do tend to repeat what they see. If you are born into depression, there's a good chance you'll be depressed. If you're born into violence, you likely be violent. Born into poverty, you'll likely stay there. Neglected as a kid and you'll likely neglect you're own children and/or the people around you as you live. There's always exceptions to every rule, but a lot of people do tend to repeat the cycles they are brought up in.

[Bobblehead]

^^^^^^^^
Now you're discussing the whole "genetics vs environment" argument. Personally, I think it can be either. Some people are more swayed by parenting, others are good or bad despite parenting. I don't think there is an easy answer.

[OILFAN #81]

Originally Posted by Eddie Bronze

I can 100% attest to the fact that being bullied has nothing to do with it.

I'm not sure there's any real way to explain how something like this happens to someone, where everything goes so wrong.

I would like to see the whole parenting issue discussed more, though. The way a child is raised is the single most important factor in determining how someone lives the rest of their life. There's no 100% certainties, but children do tend to repeat what they see. If you are born into depression, there's a good chance you'll be depressed. If you're born into violence, you likely be violent. Born into poverty, you'll likely stay there. Neglected as a kid and you'll likely neglect you're own children and/or the people around you as you live. There's always exceptions to every rule, but a lot of people do tend to repeat the cycles they are brought up in.

Well shouldn't his sister be "messed up" as well then?

She was a top student in her school, and then graduated from Princeton which is an amazing university and has a great job now with the government. It was reported she is very social and has alot of friends and activities outside of work. They showed his family and they were just embarassed. I think this is a case of where the family was good but the individual was very disturbed.

[transplant99]

A list of all the victimes, with pictures and words from those who knew them.

Utterly heartbreaking.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/vir...ims/index.html

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by transplant99

A list of all the victimes, with pictures and words from those who knew them.

Utterly heartbreaking.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/vir...ims/index.html

I get chills just reading through those bio's...amazing how much can change in an insant. RIP.

[Peanut]

I wish everyone would stop talking about the killer. Just ignore him and let's focus on the victims and their families. It seems like everyone focusing on him would be exactly what the killer would have wanted.

[Eddie Bronze]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I wish everyone would stop talking about the killer. Just ignore him and let's focus on the victims and their families. It seems like everyone focusing on him would be exactly what the killer would have wanted.

You're absolutely right. I think people bring him up because you hope that someday, incidents like this can be avoided, but it seems as though that'll never be possible.

I just realized that Jocelyne Couture-Nowak was associated with the same school that many of my friends and some family attended (when she was in NS) and her husband may well have taught my brother-in-law. I'll have to inquire about that. I'm sure that small little town of Truro has taken this pretty hard. Amazing how far reaching something like this is.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Well of course I don't. I think that we basically agree on the subject that people like this need help and it's incumbent on society (students, teachers, coworkers what have you) to see that people get this help. All I am getting at is that it's very difficult to enforce such a psychological policy. The line between depressed and multiple homicide isn't always as clear as it seems. And you can't assume that everyone who needs help is a soon to be killer.

Depending on the type of mental illness the line isn't always that thin. How about someone who suffers from paranoia.

"An unmistakable sign of paranoia is continual mistrust. People with paranoid personality disorder are constantly on their guard because they see the world as a threatening place. They tend to confirm their expectations by latching on to any speck of evidence that supports their suspicions and ignore or misinterpret any evidence to the contrary. They are ever watchful and may look around for signs of a threat."

Or this.

"The most common delusion in delusional disorder is that of persecution. While persons with paranoid personality might suspect their colleagues of joking at their expense, persons with delusional disorder may suspect others of participating in elaborate master plots to persecute them. They believe that they are being poisoned, drugged, spied upon, or are the targets of conspiracies to ruin their reputations or even to kill them. They sometimes engage in litigation in an attempt to redress imagined injustices."

http://www.mentalhealth.com/book/p45-para.html

Of course the psychological policy is going to be hard to enforce. What we need to do is better educate teachers and students about mental illness. Educate them on what to look out for in way of signs. Maybe that teacher or student who has an understanding can reach out to that person, be a friend and help them get the help they need before the ilness develops into a situation where he/she could possibly harm themselves or others.

Couldn't disagree more. How will that help anyone? You want to take someone who feels already they are ostracize by society and confirm their beliefs. Why take someone who is already depressed, angry and disturbed and make them more of the above? That will just push them further into recluse and drive them to take more actions such as this. It's not like people in these situations are convicted paedophiles who are getting out of jail and moving into your community. I agree they need help, but this is not the answer.

If you don't and the parents and students find out after the fact that you knew, they will demand to know why they weren't informed of a possible danger. Imagine if parents and students knew the mental health history of Choi and how the board deemed him a threat to society.

The information will help parents and students to make their own descions on their personal saftey. Some might not view it as threat and treat it that way. Others might feel unsafe around that person and will take whatever measure they deem appropriate to make themselves feel safer.

Yes there is a possibilty it might confirm their beliefs. If they feel ostricised then maybe they should be seeking help to found out why and how they can overcome this problem. And as I said above, better education wil lead to people reaching out to help this person before it reaches a dangerous stage.

[HelloHockeyFans]

An article that provides a slight peek at why, perhaps, the shooter felt so alone.

At the same time, the Cho coverage has focused fresh attention on the enormous cultural obstacles awaiting Korean migrants trying to assimilate into American society. Hwang Seung Yeon, a sociologist at Seoul's Kyunghee Univerisity, says Korean parents make enormous sacrifices to send their children to good schools. Working long hours, there is seldom time for them to communicate with their children—especially because of the language barrier between parents with little English and children who know minimal Korean. Parents want to follow the old ways; their children opt for the new. "In the families of Korean-Americans, there is typically little communication," says Hwang. "Even when there is communication, it is often one-sided or hostile." As a result, Hwang adds, many young Korean-Americans are "lonely and lost because they are caught between two different cultures." The reasons for Cho's final breakdown may have been personal; its impact on his native country is anything but.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18185142/site/newsweek/

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Peanut

let's focus on the victims and their families

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

Librescu was awarded posthumously Romania's highest medal for his scientific achievements and heroism, by Georgi Angelescu, a representative of the Romanian government.

"I walked through the streets today with my head held high because I have such a father,'' said his elder son, Joe.

The family said numerous students had sent them emails explaining how Librescu died buying time for his students to flee.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,'' Joe Librescu told The Associated Press after the massacre. "Students started opening windows and jumping out.''

Librescu was a child in Nazi-allied Romania during the Second World War, and was deported with his family to Transnistria, and then to a ghetto in Focsani, his son said. About 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were killed by the Romanian regime during the war.

....


Meanwhile, friends and former colleagues in Bible Hill, N.S. were gathering Friday morning to remember French teacher Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, who was also killed on Monday.

Couture-Nowak, who will have a scholarship established in her name at the university, was being remembered as a peace-loving woman who made a difference in her community.

[RedHot25]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...0.html?ref=rss

Canadian friends and former colleagues of slain Virginia Tech instructor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak will gather Friday in the community of Bible Hill, N.S., to pay tribute in their own way to the popular French teacher.

....

Dulong described her mother as passionate about teaching, the French language and gardening.

"Every time I look at a flower now, I'll think of her. She was ecstatic to move to Virginia because we were crossing two growing zones and she could grow delphiniums.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

and she didn't like him.

Well, I sure that was comforting to Cho.