Shooting at Northern Illinois University. (Chicago, Elk Grove Village: work, sick, home)

[eevee]

Originally Posted by arpschneider

Personally? I blame the VIDEO GAMES that kids have access to nowadays!! When children grow-up on a steady diet of things like "Cop Killer", they quickly blur what is reality from what is fantasy and the line is all too easy to cross with stimulation like that.

For example: we are helping parent our 7-year-old Grandson and just tonight, his Valentine's bag had pictures he drew on it of what appears to be the exploits of a video game he plays. There's dead stick-figure people littered all around the bottom of some castle he drew and dotted lines representing bullets emanating from the castle, killing other stick figures who are approaching.

I showed his Mother this stuff when she came home from work tonight and she says that he does this because: "he's just a boy", but this kind of stuff really SCARES me because I see it is as being WAY too easy in the future to blur right from wrong because of being allowed to develop attitudes like this from such a young age.

You want to send someone to jail? Then how about going after the writers/manufacturers of those STOOPID Video games??

To the extent possible, I'm "reigning-in" on those things with our grandkids and am trying to monitor the kinds of games that they are allowed to play. Maybe all of us who are responsible for helping raise young children in our lives need to consider what we're letting them watch and do much more carefully than heretofore.

SO, you won't blame the parents, the people who have probably raised this child from birth, but you'll blame the makers of a video game? huh? what, you wanna add rap music, Marilyn Manson, and the Sopranos to that list?

if you blame the video games, doesn't that blame swing back around to the parents who initially bought the games (or bought the child's first console)? I just always found it so, well, retarded, when people blame forms of media for stuff like this. but that's just me

anyways, it's way too early to play the blame game. let's at least wait until things have quieted done and more info surfaces before pointing the fingers at EA and other game manufacturers

[Muhnay]

Originally Posted by tcs1366

They are saying 5 confirmed deceased, 1 being the shooter.
With 14 others in Kishwaukee Community Hosp in various conditions.
8 in stable condition
6 in good condition
4 critical
2 transported to other hospitals

I just blows my mind.. There is another kid who lives in our town who attended or still does, NIU, who was beaten to a pulp on year -- I heard it was over a pizza.

what is the world coming to ??

Yeah when I typed that.. the news had reported 15 dead.. later they retracted that, and apologized. So I am also sorry for posting misleading info.

I don't know.. but its scary. I saw on the news tonight on CNN, that China has been causing problems, and that Russia is also been a pain recently.. and that these two countries have formed a coalition against the USA. Not to take away from what happened here.. sorry. This is just sad. I don't know why people have to attack school kids, be it young or older kids.

[Muhnay]

Originally Posted by arpschneider

Personally? I blame the VIDEO GAMES that kids have access to nowadays!! When children grow-up on a steady diet of things like "Cop Killer", they quickly blur what is reality from what is fantasy and the line is all too easy to cross with stimulation like that.

Thats silly. Have you ever watched a Popeye cartoon, or heck even an old Mickey Mouse cartoon.. then anything by Warner Brothers. Your going to say these cartoons were not violent? Before that what about Radio shows with cowboy and Indians, and mobster shows... with great graphic violence into the minds of children back then.

I recall these cartoons, well. I am not out killing people, nor are you. Lets put the blame where it belongs, on the person who commits the crime. You cant blame the parents either.. unless they are training the kid from birth to be a monster.

[Radek]

Oh Video Games and their undefined link to school shootings.

Maybe its the social stigma placed upon children?
Maybe its the pressure of high school and college and the need to 'succeed' in all aspects of life?

Maybe its a physiological defect?

You know what people? We really are at a loss for data here. 1) our data set is small, and 2) we don't have these kids around to ask them questions. They snap and they do this.

And I can guarantee you that every single one of them displays warning signs. And in the case of the VT Tech shooter, those warning signs were acted upon by concerned individuals, but ultimately ignored.

Yeah, he probably played video games. Yeah, they were probably violent. But there are now millions of people who play video games on a daily basis, and they ARENT out there killing people.

The issues remain in how one deals with the stress, and an individual's ability to cope with despair and rejection.

Not how one copes with learning how to aim for the head in Counterstrike, or running down cops in Grand Theft Auto.

Its about the individuals and their ability to cope with extra forces that push them into areas where they feel accepted and included. These include a diverse amount of online communities and games, but if one still isn't accepted... there may be a rage and a torment thats so internally great the person believes they have to take it out on others.

This is their belief, and like most beliefs not based on facts or logic, it is incorrect. Its a tragic tragic thing that this continues to happen across America, and even the world. But it isn't our video games. Its something in our culture, our upbringing, and I think it has a lot to do with the need to be 'in'. And the social structure requiring that for you to be 'in', someone has to be 'out'.


/rant.


Btw, I mourn for the victims and their families. I am a college student in Montana, and well... I worry about copycats these next few weeks.

[sgresident]

things have gotten so much worse. six confirmed dead, plus the shooter. 15 or so injured. so many of my son's friends are students there. i hope we can find a way to stop this. as a parent watching this stuff on tv is bad enough, to be a young adult, facing this trauma, unbearable! all are in my prayers.

[new2sa]

Just to let you know that you are in all our thoughts and prayers here in Texas...the students, faculty, parents, community and all others involved in this latest tragedy. Too, too sad... our hearts go out to you!

[gardener34]

Face it, these killers are all mentally ill. They have voices in their heads telling them to do these heinous things. That's why they all "copycat" - they are mentally ill.

Details will let us know further about this situation in days to come I'm sure.

[Justabystander]

Originally Posted by sgresident

things have gotten so much worse. six confirmed dead, plus the shooter. 15 or so injured. so many of my son's friends are students there. i hope we can find a way to stop this. as a parent watching this stuff on tv is bad enough, to be a young adult, facing this trauma, unbearable! all are in my prayers.

Now I heard seven are dead. Oh my god. The Lane Bryant store and now this. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of these sick, self-absorbed, careless, murderous terrorists ( enough adjectives ?) who want to go out in a blaze, and don't care who they take with them.

They may be able to wash away the blood, but never the pain they inflict to so many families and communities. A very sad day, and a long winter.

[moving123456]

Didn't he see the "Gun Free Zone" signs? Maybe they need to put up more of them.

[amyrachel]

I agree Steve. This sort of thing never happened when I was in college (in the late '80s). Its a different world now. A very sick different world.

Even the elementary schools are having to take actions and have lockdown drills these days. After the amish school shooting 2 years ago, the Naperville schools started locking doors at all times and making people buzz into the buildings. They actually practice lock down drills even in elementary schools these days. Sick but necessary.

There have always been mentally ill people in society, but the question is why all the gunviolence on campuses and society in general? Copycat crimes? More violence in the media? And how to stop it. It does not seem to matter WHERE you live, urban, rurual, wealthy, working class, its everywhere.