3rd May 07The recent issue of the Virginia Tech massacre, starring South korean Cho, has left people in regret. There were 33 casualities; including killer Cho himself, and many more injured. Those who escaped the clutches of death suffered psychological traumas. In fact, almost everyone across the globe was deeply affected by what the media deems to be the 'worst mass murder case in the entire U.S hiory'. However, the issue here is whether this tragedy could have been prevented right from the begginning.Technology was a factor which was running at full effiency when it was needed to the most. According to a Straits Times article, the first email sent through the campus emails warning them of possible imminent danger was only done at 9.26am. By then, the students were already in classrooms attending lessons, oblivious to the content of the email. To complicate matters, the same article claimed that rumours were spread around at the initial killings in the dorimtory. Some speculated that it was a lovers' tiff, with nothing too significant to take note off. Thi sismple rumour could have distracted the police's line of investigation, putting them on the wrong route. Hence, should technology have been correctly utilised, this tragedy might be halted in time.Not to mention, the arising debate about gun control also serves as a possible factor. With reference to a Straits Times article, it claimed that Virginia had one of the least strict gun control laws. Couple with the simplicity of getting a gun in the United States, it could explain how an English Major student could have in his possession, a weapon that would end 33 innocent lives. Some stood with the stand that loose gun control indirectly caused the deaths of these peopl, while others tried to explain that even without a gun, Cho could still have gone on his rampage using another weapon.I feel that while the loose gun laws made Cho's job easier, it is his personal grudge and inferiority that drove him to such an ending. The newspapers reported that Cho had sent weird and violent ramblings to the media, involving some ramblings about the other students being 'rich brats' I think that this was the prime reason.Time cannot be turned back, but it can heal most wounds; the familes of the deceased. However the public should learn a lesson from such a matter, and not let history repeat itself.
# posted by ^Ic0n^ @ 5/20/2007 08:29:00 PM
