Virginia Tech shootings

It's a tragedy.

That much is absolutely for sure.

But this is also a tragedy that could have, possibly, been avoided. How?

Not by taking away weapons, or even semi-automatic weapons, from the citizens of our FREE country. But by paying attention to people. In today’s day and age, everyone is only concerned about themselves. I’m guilty of that as well. If it’s not directly affecting myself, my family or my friends, I have a hard time feeling directly affected by the events. However, within recent years that’s changed a bit (definitely since 9/11).

Professors who noticed this man’s strange and dangerous behavior needed to do something. People who recommended that he seek counseling should have notified the school. There were lots of clues that they were dealing with a completely unstable individual. He was loosely linked to 2 bomb threats. Within a campus, professors, teachers and law enforcement need to be working together and have good, open communication.

Because taking away guns, that were purchased legally, would not have stopped this tragedy. This man was hell-bent on creating panic, killing people and making a name for himself. And the media has done that for him, that’s for sure. Someone who is going to go through the process to legally purchase guns, think ahead of time to take locks and chains with him to the engineering building and write a rambling suicide note, would have very well carried out this mission by building a bomb and could have killed lots more people. Or for that matter, he could have gone on a rampage across campus in his car running pedestrians over and killing several people. He also could have just as easily taken a hunting rifle or shotgun and killed just as many people. I read another’s opinion about how the gun-toting amendment to the Declaration of Independence was written for foreign terrorists and NOT for someone stepping on your shoes. I believe that statement to be half right. It wasn’t meant for people to be vigilantes and kill someone for looking at them the wrong way. However, it wasn’t written for foreign terrorists. It was written for the citizens to have the ability to overthrow the government. It was written so that in the absence of law enforcement, people could defend themselves (ever have anybody break into your home. Where’s the police at that exact moment?)

So is the cure for this eliminating all guns from the hands of the citizens? I don’t believe so. Guns are absolutely overused in today’s society. But removing them all together? Then the only people who would have guns would be criminals. But the guns would still be there. And no, I'm not a gun-toting, hunting, backwoods redneck who has a gun rack on the back of their F-150. In fact, I've never owned a gun, never shot a gun, never held a gun. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel I should have the RIGHT to own one.

I think it’s for people to start looking around them and paying attention. For people to not think “oh, it’s somebody else’s problem that he’s crazy”. For the media and the citizens at large not to sensationalize the horrible news every chance they get and turn these people into celebrities, even if for only that “5 minutes of fame”. To think that people don’t go on these homicidal, suicidal rampages for some type of fame is absolutely asinine. There are actually cases reported of the criminals bragging about how they stumped police, how everyone was watching their every move. The sad thing is you do not very often see the reverse of the coin being held true. The teens or adults who are trying to make a difference just don’t get that type of news time. WHY? Because it’s not sensational enough.

There is one more thing that irks me a bit. And it’s loosely tied into this topic, among some others. My husband is a bit of a conservative. I think on some issues I’m even more conservative than he is though. I’m so fed up with hearing things like “Oh, I guess that’s Chuck talking”, or “well, no wonder you feel that way, look who you’re married to”. It’s true that I didn’t take any active opinions about political or hot topic issues until I met my husband almost 10 years ago. But, I’ve become even more opinionated since I’ve had the kids. Maybe I feel I have a responsibility to them and to society to raise them to be educated, informed citizens. Whatever the reason though, I do have a mind. I’m almost 30 years old , I’m not a child. I can make decisions for myself and Chuck will be the first one to tell you that I’m not easily swayed once I’ve read the information and made an opinion on that. Even if it is different from his. So, stick it up your ass. How’s that for childish behavior?