Enlighten me please. Tell me of your heroics. Don't reference your credentials without producing them.

Probably done loads........on his computer:roll:

Do direct personal insults really help? Unless you know otherwise you're not helping the discussion at all.

I think U-533 doesn't get it. No one is saying that the people on United 93 were not heroes - they did the right thing. It's just downright unbearable to see him call scared victims "pussies" or how he is trying to make a point by stressing the mass murderer was asian.

Wow. Just wow. That is the country going satisfyingly nuts, some students comments? Are you a journalist in real life, because you put as much thought into that post as most headlines that I see in the media. These things happen after shocking events, probably in the old ruins of europe as well.

I'm not one who normally posts in this type of thread but I thought I'd add my 2 cents...

I think I attribute this to a lot of people in the Western World have a false sense of security that nothing bad will happen to any of us. We read and hear about people dying in Iraq on a daily basis, genocide committed in Africa, or any other bombings, killing and tragedy that goes on in the world on any given day. However it really doesn’t affect us in any way, it just some text we read in a paper or on a website or we hear it on our news broadcast.

It’s the “It won’t happen to me,” or the “Bad things can’t happen here” mentality that a people tell themselves that builds up a sense of security that really isn’t there. In my opinion, this is why we see the reaction from the article Tchocky posted. That false sense of security has been shattered so now people are afraid. When people are scared they tend to not be rational. This (again, in my opinion) is why we saw so much violence against kids that wore trench coats after Columbine, or people from the Middle East after September 11th. Now it’s just going to be that quiet kid in class that tends to keep to himself (doesn’t matter if he’s shy or not, or if they are just the quiet type). It’s just now the fact that the person responsible for this latest tragedy was a “quiet loner” and now anybody like that should be watched or arrested because they might be dangerous.

The truth of the matter is any of us could die tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if it’s a madman with guns on a killing rampage or if I get hit by a bus or if I get struck my lightning. None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow, and I feel a quote I once heard applies here (I can't remember the source, so please excuse that), “A life lived in fear is a life half lived.”

Thanks for reminding me of that. :-?

But yes, you're right.

Sure, why not? You ask that like i'm advocating teaching them how to smoke crack. Knowledge of firearms isn't some black art that people have to be protected from. Teaching children how to handle firearms has been shown to reduce accidental shootings. Heck even the Boy Scouts teach gun handling and safety for their marksmanship merit badge program like since forever. Tell me again who's being paranoid and terrified of difference?

Whether he does nor not you must admit there aren't too many tanned, gregarious, and colorfully dressed school shooters out there.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. The worry is there whether you talk about it or not and school shootings aren't the only times in a kids life they might have to defend themselves. Human beings are not sheep and they shouldn't be trained as such.

You're right Steve and I apologise for it, however I do think that Nightmare has it spot on and we could do a lot worse than read and digest what he's written, and stop trying to lay the blame with the poor students who were probably frozen with fear.

Do Schools and Univesities in America have metal detectors fitted? It seems the obvious answer to this problem, I mean I doubt Americans as a whole will ever want to give up their guns (and I'm not getting into that argument - It's your country you do what you want) So a way is needed to
A: Stop nutters getting weapons
b: Stop nutters killing people with weapons
I'm just glad that we don't have this problem to this degree over here.

Yes sir, no offence taken and none to you either. That was what I meant.

It's a problem behind the idea of trying to identify "warning signs" and intervene before these tragedies occur. There is a gentleman in my Chinese class who could pass for the shooter's twin (in appearance and demeanour only, of course). And as you say I described you without even knowing you. Yet I seriously doubt you'll be involved in anything like this, and from what I know of the other guy I can say the same for him. And as much as I would have loved to have thrown those stinky kids out of my store on the grounds of being potential school shooters, I don't really want to see our society take those kinds of steps backwards.

As I said, some can handle it. Some handle it but dress up weird and stop taking showers, and that's cool I guess. And then some cannot handle it at all :nope:

Sorry that this is so OT.

The thread rambles, and we are insulting each other. It is time for this to go bye-bye.