This letter is in response to the report of the Review Panel's report on the Virginia Tech killings of April 16, in which the Panel criticized various agencies for not "connecting the dots" linking together the indications that the murderer could pose a danger to the university community.
Submitted to the Washington Post August 30, 2007
Dear Editor:
The Virginia Tech Review Panel correctly notes that "no one connected all the dots" but it is the Review Panel that fails to make the most important connection. The Panel analyzed a great many relatively peripheral issues, but missed the most salient fact: the Virginia Tech killer, like murderers all across America, easily acquired his deadly arsenal. When will we recognize the significance of our firearm homicide rate being more than quadruple that of any other advanced country -- and about ten times the rate of our otherwise very similar neighbor to the north? The difference is not that the people of Canada, Japan and Europe are better than us; the difference is that our country is flooded with legal handguns and other deadly firearms. Yes, improved coordination between schools and mental health providers and law enforcement agencies should be encouraged, but if we do not want more Virginia Techs or Columbines, the first thing we must do is get rid of the guns.
Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 30 August 2007
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5 comments:
Okay, so I’m a Hokie and was torn up about the shootings at Tech. But, I find myself upset all over again by the concept that as soon as there is a tragic event, people affected file a lawsuit. I can understand survivors suing to get their medical bills covered — especially for the psychotherapy they will be needing that insurance will never cover. But, the families of the slain? There is something inherently wrong about cashing in on the murder of your children. What will you buy with that money? Would you really want to drive the car or sit in the new den built in your home paid for with that money?
Note: submitted by Anne Lindenfeld 7 September 2007
I can only speculate, since thankfully I’ve never walked in their shoes. Anger? Lashing out at anybody seen as connected to their pain? A feeling of justice thwarted, necessitating some sort of judicial action? Denial, that as long as something is being done, the child isn’t really gone? It’s hard for me to believe that it’s greed.
Note: submitted by Sanderling 7 September 2007
No, I would hope it’s not greed. But I do think there is a sense of entitlement that we Americans walk around with…that I don’t believe is in other cultures to such a degree. We believe that we should be paid for suffering. I mean, are there people in Northern Ireland suing the new government for emotional distress during the troubles? Litigation is an emotional deadend for people who should instead be healing themselves.
Note: submitted by Anne Lindenfeld 7 September 2007
You’re opening a very broad discussion into the uniqueness (or not) of American culture, for good and for ill. I tend to agree with your analysis, but then I’m really quite conservative despite my politics, and feel we as a people and we as individuals should shoulder more responsibility for our lives, and look elsewhere less frequently for succor or justification. But to complicate matters — or possibly expose some internal contradictions — I would also call for a greater sense of community, and responsibility to community. Oh, okay, I’ll put a positive blush to that, and echo JFK’s famous line about asking not ….
Note: submitted by Sanderling, 10 September 2007
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