Tragedy

[Paul Mather]

On 17 Apr 2007, at 2:09 PM, M Holmes wrote:

> Carl Edlund Anderson writes:
>
>> On 17/04/2007 10:47, M Holmes wrote:
>>> Virginia seems like the sort of place I'd expect someone to
>>> shoot back long before we got to that number of victims.
>
>> Maybe some parts of Virginia, but not the VT campus itself, I  
>> think.  I
>> think a large section of its student body are not from the  
>> "gunrack in
>> the pickup" demographic -- and I'm not sure even those that might be
>> "carry" into their classrooms!
>
> I checked on the web. The students are victims of the federal law  
> which
> makes illegal any gun-carry in educational institutions. It's hardly
> surprising that the nutters pick on these places when the legislation
> guarantees them Safety At Work.

I didn't want to post on this subject because, being a Virginia Tech  
student and Blacksburg resident for so long, it cuts a little too  
close to home.  Given Mike's relatively recent e-petition advocating  
allowing law-abiding civilians to carry firearms, and his expressed  
desire to be able to shoot it out with "the bad guys," I predicted  
exactly this kind of response from him.  And to each his own, however  
ill-informed and poorly thought out I (and others) might think it to be.

But, being someone who knows Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, and the  
student body, and who doesn't have to "check on the web" to find out  
about the place, I can state that, statistically speaking, Mike's  
utopian fantasy of having classrooms with concealed-carry gun toters  
seeded about the place, like coiled springs ready to counter any  
rampaging nutters, is just that: a fantasy.  There just aren't enough  
students with concealed-carry permits---let alone ones who want to  
bring their guns to class---to make it a viable deterrent, because  
the possibility of an armed student being in class to shoot back is  
so low.  Get that: it's a VANISHINGLY SMALL probability.  With or  
without such a prohibition, a nutter could still expect "Safety At  
Work."   A possible way to improve the odds is to follow the odious  
suggestion that came in the wake of the Columbine shootings of  
mandating that teachers be armed.  (All the teachers I know found the  
suggestion odious, anyway.)  It's far from clear to me that "nutters"  
would be dissuaded from "picking on these places" (as you allege)  
whether or not there were firearms in class.  After all, there are  
armed police on the campus at all times; there's even a Corps of  
Cadets at VT.  And aren't these nutters, after all?  Is someone who  
is prepared to take his or her own life going to be that much more  
put off by the thought that some passers by might do it for them,  
instead?

Bonus points to Mike for divining the intent of the gunman in the  
spectacular absence of proven facts.  But why not play the blame game  
when it's free, eh, Mike?

I've read a lot of rumour, speculation, and ill-informed "facts"  
since yesterday about the town and institution I know and love, and  
I'm sick of it.  I'm tired of hearing news anchors and reporters who  
can't even get the university's name right tell me how things are  
having just turned up on the scene looking for an angle to "sex up."   
Some of it is laughable.  The rest of it is just sad.

No further postings about this from me.

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

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