I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

[Feba]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-te...mes-252702.php


Seriously, http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/vid...earn-quit.html might be a waste of time, or even what experts deem "fucking retarded.", but this is just plain wrong.

[Eohmer]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Oh geez.

[Jei]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

I knew it the moment I saw the shooting news lol.

[Tekumel]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

I love this. Like...seriously. Jack, you rock socks. I'm your #1 fan.

[sarcasm]Not only is this guy a self-righteous defender of our society's purity,[/sarcasm] he's also a #*&@ing psychic. They haven't even released the damn shooter's identity, and he's already positive that he was a video game addict who was desensitized to violence by round after round of CounterStrike or whatever.

I SERIOUSLY want to see this shooter to be revealed as a hardcore right-wing conservative Christian Republican. Stick that one up yer pooper Jack.

[Neomage]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

[Jarre]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

I will say one thing.

If the gun culture in America wasn't the norm this incident would have less likely have happened, the fact that you can walk around legally carrying a firearm just gets me.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

If the gun culture in America wasn't the norm this incident would have less likely have happened, the fact that you can walk around legally carrying a firearm just gets me.

U.S. doesn't really have a single culture, though. Most people I know do not own firearms. One of my uncle does, however--he used to live in Texas. Where he lived, there were probably more guns than people...

Not only is the gun culture the norm here, so is the anti-gun culture...

Contrary to popular beliefs outside of U.S, these two opposing forces haven't been trying to settle their disputes by firing at each other--unless you count harsh language and inflated rhetorics as ammunition.

* * *

Disclaimer: I'm one of those anti-handgun people. I also have a few friends who are absolutely convinced more gun ownership means more peaceful and respectful society. They point to the Cold War as proof that M.A.D. is a good strategy, I point to U.K. and Japan as success stories of gun regulation.

We argued. Then, we went out for lunch. >_>;

p.s. Guns are heavy. Wouldn't you get tired of holding one after a while?

[Feba]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Saw someone else on CNN spouting basically the same shit, except it was media in general...

Basically came off as:

THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA TODAY. WE'RE RAISING OUR KIDS TO BE VIOLENT. I mean sure this person is a psychopath who had problems BUT IT WAS THE VIOLENCE IN OUR TV AND OUR VIDEO GAMES THAT MADE THEM THINK THIS WAS OK

I let my kids play paintball just a few days ago! I feel like a bad father!

Really... the shooting in 66 was an Ex-marine, are we going to dissolve the marines? Obviously they're more violent than anything you'd see on TV or most games you'd play. What did they blame Jack The Ripper on? Books?

"Damn you, literature, for implanting these evil thoughts in his head!"?

[Hantz]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Most people I know do not own firearms. One of my uncle does, however--he used to live in Texas. Where he lived, there were probably more guns than people...

I live in Texas. I'd say that everyone I know has fired a gun at some point or another. I have 2 family members that have their concealed hand-gun license. Shooting targets in a ravine with me is my father-in-law's strange way of bonding. I have received a shotgun as a gift before (I gave it away later). I actually permanently damaged (slightly) the hearing in one of my ears from shooting targets.

I would say your assumptions are correct.

Not that I approve of the massive circulation of firearms down here. It's like Texas is so bent on coming off as the fucking wild west, even after 100+ years have passed. I'll never understand.


Edit: Oh, and I'm sure every gun-toting redneck cow-hand wannabe asshole was extremely influenced by the video-games they were playing back in the '60s. Now, I'll admit though, if I had been playing tons of Pong back in the '70s, that would probably make me want to shoot a gun. At my brain. or...the Pong...machine...

[neokaril]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Random acts of violence and pre-meditated acts of violence occur, always have occurred, always will occur, the difference is today we hear about it instantaneously, people are not more violent these days, if anything they are less prone to act on these violent tendencies. Banning hand guns won't change the number of violent attacks, it may change the instrument, but I doubt that too. Most acts of violence aren't committed by law biding citizens who take the time to legally purchase handguns. If I am going to be involved in something nefarious, why take the time to legally purchase a gun when I can go down to South East D.C., or any other city and purchase a gun illegally off of the street. Criminals in Japan and the U.K. and just about every where else don't have a problem finding guns, only law biding citizens have a problem getting fire arms.
The idea that violence in media or video games adds to violent acts is absurd, I guess all those warring tribes in Africa and the primitive societies in the rain forests must be totally plugged in with GTA and MTV.
The reality is human beings are carnal violent creatures, we can attempt to educate and nurture civility and kindness, but by nature we are a violent species, the same instincts of self preservation that cause flight or fight responses (those instincts that keep us alive) will in some people cause unfortunate incidences like this.

BTW I'm a United States Marine, don't own a personal handgun, but I am very adept at shooting them, I feel every person has the right to protect themselves and there loved ones, I just don't need a gun to feel safe, if someone does need one to feel safe, I would much rather they procure one legally than otherwise.

Just my two cents

[Jarre]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

But if it is difficult to get a weapon, doesn't that reduce the ease of a crime like this being committed? yes we still ahve gun crime here in the Uk but it is rare, we have 1 gun incident dealt with by the police to every 1000 (for the same percentage of population) in the US. Our hospitals deal with drastically less gun related injuries. It is ilegal to carry a firearm here, it is illegal to carry an air rifel in public to which a 14 year old kid realised in nottingham last year when he was playing with it in the open (not shooting) and he gets a shock when an armed response vehicle (only specialist police officers carry a firearm) arrived and pointed real guns at him maing him throw away the weapon and lie down. If there is a known person carrying a gun, the police take it seriously. Gun crime has increased and more police are being trained to deal with it, but we are a long way off from arming every single police officer.

The gun in america is nearly an accessory and your constitution gives you the right to carry or "protect yourself" this unfortunately means that every physco, pissed off person and wanna be hero can legally carry them causing incidents like this to happen.

[neokaril]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

My point is it is much easier to get an illegal weapon than to get a legal one. I can get a illegal weapon just as easily in Westbourne, or Piccadilly as I can in S.E. DC, or L.A. The propensity of crimes and violent acts committed by criminals are not committed with registered, legally purchased weapons and once you take those weapons out of peoples hands all you have left are police who are never where they should be (because why would a criminal commit a crime in the presence of police?) and criminals.
In 2002 there were almost 1000 reported crimes involving guns in the Metropolitan Police area of London, 3 times the number from a year before, this increase wasn't attributed to or caused by a laxing in gun control policies, but illegal smuggling and increased cocaine import. Simply put the only people who can have guns in the U.K. are criminals and that wouldn't make me feel very comfortable.
We (the U.S.) as a country need more enforcement of existing gun control laws and I agree that something must be done to impede the sale and import of illegal firearms, but taking guns out of the hands of law biding citizens won't stop events like this from happening, sadly there really is no prevention that can stop acts like this from happening. Where there is a will there is a way, this applies to noble goals and nefarious goals alike.

[Feba]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

In surprising news, Rush Limbaugh of all people realizes this isn't the case: http://kotaku.com/gaming/rush-limbau...ame-253132.php

And Jarre, you're really overestimating how guns are in the US. The great majority of Americans do not own a gun, and the ones that do hardly ever take them into public. I know one person who owns guns, and he hardly ever takes them outside his basement, and when he does, he takes them to a shooting range, and there's STILL people telling him to get rid of them because they aren't safe.

I'd say that most Americans wouldn't even notice if the right to Bear Arms was abolished. The people committing the majority of gun crimes can't legally own guns anyway.

And from what I have read, Virginia Tech had rules against carrying or storing weapons on campus. Honestly, this has almost nothing to do with gun culture in the US, and everything to do with nobody paying attention to someone who seemed to be quite obviously troubled.

[Ziero]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Gun crime has increased and more police are being trained to deal with it, but we are a long way off from arming every single police officer.

....if gun related crimes in your country are on the rise, doesn't that mean that something's not working?

The average legal gun owning American does NOT commit crimes, especially these types of actions. It is not because they could legally own a gun that they commit these crimes, it's because people are seriously messed up. There were rules in place that prohibited him from having a gun at school and he ignored it. Just like there are laws that prohibit him from from shooting people. Someone like him would have ignored *any* law to do what he wanted to do so changing the law itself won't solve anything. Changing the way the laws are *enforced* is the only way to even come close to preventing things like this.

[Jarre]

Re: I suppose Jack won't ever learn to quit...

Nop the increase in foreigners and the drug culture is bumping up the statistics at the moment, but some good guna dn knife amnestys seems to have worked tos tart reducing the figures again.

Feba explain why the campus security guys have firearms, explain why any security guard has a firearm, here in the uk the most they have is a can of cs spray if that, yet incidents are still dealt with due to proper training and 95% of incidents security officers in teh uk deal with are dealt easily with one of two guys with nothing.

The biggest thing here int eh Uk is knife crime, though with a recent high profile knife amnesty and raising teh legal age to buy one to 18 from 16, it is proven that over the last 3 years this type of crime ahs dropped by 50%. It shows this type of thing can work.