33 Dead in College Shooting

Seriously. Because, well lets face it, most white American's really CAN'T tell teh difference between random members of the same race, that is not thier own. Be it Afro-Americans, Latinos, Asians, middle-easterners, etc. This is not meant as a racist statement, but to most Americans they do "look the same to me"
This whole case is f***ed up 10 ways from sunday, already. And theyre already trying to cover their asses, rather than solve the case. It makes me FURIOUS.

That is true! Most American's don't know...but in this case all they said was asian....so any nationality from asia would have sufficed.

Have you seen the movie Crash? It's really good, and it showcases this problem.

Hm. I read an interesting study about this phenomenon. It may sound racist that people in one race (say whites) have a more difficult time telling apart people of another race (say blacks). But it works both ways. Blacks often have just as much trouble telling apart whites.

It's a deep-seated psychological phenomenon that has to do with physiology as well social upbringing. The brain (for some reason or another) has an easier time visualizing characteristics of that person's race (Asians can often tell apart other Asians better than they can tell apart Latinos). Now this may also be a factor of geography and experiences with people of the opposite race as well. Does a white person who has grown up with only blacks distinguish between blacks better than whites? It is unsure and still under study.

Sorry to get off the topic, but I thought it would be an interesting side note and not to just blame all of our racial prejudices on American ignorance, even though there is a lot of it in this country.

I really hate that we're calling Americans ignorant. I'm an American, and I do agree that a whole lot of us are ignorant, but I am not one of those ignorant/stupid/racist/whatever-you-want-to-put-here Americans, and I don't like being grouped in with them. Nor do I like how this keeps becoming a sort of hostile conversation....


What I would like to know is why the person did it. Psychological issues? Revenge? An anger toward someone? But I doubt will find out for a while, until they do background info on the shooter, if we find out at all.

I'm still mourning the loss, and I really wish we'd stop going on about the problems with this and that. Sure it's bad, but...I don't feel like it's the time/place to argue. Like said before, go make a thread in the debate form. (I'm not saying anyone was debating or being hostile I just don't want it to escalate into anything messy)

I heard it was over a girl. He went after his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. 'If I can't have you, no one can have you', I s'pose.

That is a rumor. I have heard many things surrounding his 'girlfriend' whether he did or didn't find her, whether it had nothing to do with a girl and he just wanted to divert the police to that shooting while he went across campus to do his real work--there are a million 'Ive Heards' and the fact is that no one really knows what happened.....this is how the rumors over James Jay Kim and Wayne...Chaing (sp?) got started. We should probably wait until an official reason is established before making assumptions.

Did anyone watch the convocation earlier today?

Haven't seen the convocation.

But I agree, There will probably be a press release today, or tomorrow, but for sure soon, and we will be given more information. Or, like the Govt. is, they'll tell us nothing.

I didn't get to see it either =[ I had class at the time and we don't have CNN in the rooms.

The way this case has gone so far with offering up information to the public, it could be awhile before we know anything about motive. Government, pfft.

I'd rather be in the dark and wait for factually correct information than have rumors and early developed ideas floating around. Which was exactly what happened with the whole "the shooter was Asian" thing.

The authorities are probably doing their best to get things sorted out. We'll just have to wait for facts and try to rule out speculations.

We'll just have to wait for facts and try to rule out speculations.

Which is true with most serious crimes/incidents. The facts are never 100% there, even when the ones reporting it think they are. We won't know for a long time what happened, who did it, why, etc. Rumors sometimes look all too true.

Well said, Trident. I agree.

And, write me, I was only repeating something I had heard. I didn't say I believed it was true. Though I have read cases where that was the core of the madness.

Claudette wrote:I'm still mourning the loss, and I really wish we'd stop going on about the problems with this and that. Sure it's bad, but...I don't feel like it's the time/place to argue. Like said before, go make a thread in the debate form. (I'm not saying anyone was debating or being hostile I just don't want it to escalate into anything messy)

Its only human nature to want to talk about/question/discuss this issue/event. Theres only so many times/ways you can say "Im so sad", Claudette.

In a related note, one of the professors that was murdered, Liviu Librescu, was a Romanian-Israeli holocaust survivor. The irony of the fact taht he was murdered on the Holocaust Rememberance Day is killing me.

Sab>> I heard that today! How coincidental is that? Maybe not at all ^.-

I've done my best not to argue...at this point we are simply just discussing the the specifics of the event. I agree that this should not be a debate, and if it turns into one it will go to the debate forum...but now we are just talking

Theres only so many times/ways you can say "Im so sad", Claudette.

True but for some reason I have an overwhelming respect for the death, especially in large numbers. Which is odd coming from me because I've never been to a funeral even (at least, not at an age where I understood what was going on). I've only had one family member in my life die, I'm rather sheltered from death. So it shocks me, more than anything. I've never really felt that loss that is death.

I'm scared for the families though. I mean, when your kids go to college, you are excited to see their future and the progress they are making and then...this. It's devastating.

But I do see your side as well There are bound to me discussions beyond "how sad".

It is devastating. What worries me more than what has already happened though is the possibilty of what could happen next. After Columbine happened, there were mock shootings all over the country...I just really hope that doesn't happen here.

There is a quote, by whom I do not remember, but it goes something like this: "When one person dies, it's a tragedy; when many people die, it's a statistic."

Unfortunately, I think that has happened here with many people who have been watching the coverage. This tragedy was quikly dubbed "the worst shooting rampage in U.S. History" which punched it into a statistic. Most people know how many were killed, many people know who they have identified the killer as, but how many (outside the VA Tech community and families) know the name of even one victim?

It's crazy how things go down sometimes.