Posted by
Augsal on Thursday, April 26, 2007 7:21:32 PM
I know the Virginia Tech tragedy has been done and overdone but the story has caused debate in of all places "Academia."
I say this with a half-joking smile on my face because Academia in recent years has steered clear of honest debate on the most crucial
of issues. Just recently an Economics professor at Emmanuel College in Boston (of which I have a particular fondness) was fired because he attempted
to discuss the possible outcome of the Virginia Tech massacre if students and security personnel were allowed to carry guns, His attempt was
quickly halted and he was fired. WHY? Since when has honest debate become stifled in the place where it most belongs- the classrooms of higher education.
Our colleges and universities are the factories of our future movers and shakers, but I guess you can't be a mover or a shaker unless you
tow the leftist line. In this case- all guns are bad and all guns must be removed from society. Because, you see, if Cho Seung Hui had lived in a world
where there are no guns, then he wouldn't have killed anyone. The big bad guns made him kill, kill and kill again.
As a Catholic I am ashamed that a school which purports to be Catholic would shy away from discussing the TRUTH. That is the real issue here.
The Truth as harsh as it can be to face sometimes should always be dealt with in an open and honest way. Immediately after the tragedy in Virginia,
the media was quick to paint Cho Seung Hui as a loner with mental and emotional problems. He wasn't to blame. No! The convenience and
readily available access to a gun was to blame. His teachers, though they noticed mental and emotional problems "should have been able" to
prevent Cho Seung Hui from carrying out his sick and twisted ideas. The truth of the matter is simple- Guns don't kill people. PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE.
If Cho Seung Hui had not been able to get a gun, he would have used an axe, or a hammer or a kitchen fork, Cho Seung Hui was determined to kill- period.
Our society has to come back to its senses. The State of Maine destroys every gun used in a violent crime. As if the gun has a life of its own and has been
found guilty. The criminal will get probation but the "evil" gun has been destroyed never to kill again. Believe me, I am not making this up. Common
Sense has left the building. The halls of Law and Justice are being filled with lawyers trained at institutions of higher learning that refuse to hold people
responsible for their actions. Institutions like Emmanuel College. Likewise future journalists are filling the airwaves of radio and television.
Our society is in grave danger when it refuses to acknowledge the truth about itself. The truth that we are all responsible for our own actions and that
we must hold accountable those persons who wish us harm. The awful truth about Virginia Tech is that if someone on campus was armed with a gun
might have been able to disarm or kill Cho Seung Hui before or soon after his rampage. Academia and our society as a whole must take its head out of the
sand and face the TRUTH.