Virginia Tech Massacre: The Blame Game

While we now know the shooter was a South Korean who had any possible number of motives (depression, jealousy, rage, etc.), here’s a small compilation of what was said in the past 24 hours by some of our favorite public intellectuals:

Political commentator Debbie Schlussel assumed the killer was a Muslim:

Why am I speculating that the “Asian” gunman is a Pakistani Muslim? Because law enforcement and the media strangely won’t tell us more specifically who the gunman is. Why?

Even if it does not turn out that the shooter is Muslim, this is a demonstration to Muslim jihadists all over that it is extremely easy to shoot and kill multiple American college students.

Jack Thompson, an attorney and “school shooting expert,” blamed video games:

Answers in Genesis president (and the man behind the Creation Museum) Ken Ham blamed Darwinism/Atheism/Abortion/Western Culture/Naturalism:

We live in an era when public high schools and colleges have all but banned God from science classes. In these classrooms, students are taught that the whole universe, including plants and animals—and humans—arose by natural processes. Naturalism (in essence, atheism) has become the religion of the day and has become the foundation of the education system (and Western culture as a whole). The more such a philosophy permeates the culture, the more we would expect to see a sense of purposelessness and hopelessness that pervades people’s thinking. In fact, the more a culture allows the killing of the unborn, the more we will see people treating life in general as “cheap.”

That paragraph was then followed by:

I’m not at all saying that the person who committed these murders at Virginia Tech was driven by a belief in millions of years or (sic) evolution. I don’t know why this person did what he did, except the obvious: that it was a result of sin. However, when we see such death and violence, it is a reminder to us that without God’s Word (and the literal history in Genesis 1–11), people will not understand why such things happen.

So Ham doesn’t know why the shooting happened… but he is content to blame it on all things outside the Bible.

Not that these people represent any rational subset of the population, but it just goes to show how far off the mark people can be when they jump to conclusions.

(via Infophilia)

[tags]atheist, atheism, South Korean, Debbie Schlussel, Muslim, Islam, Asian, Pakistani, Jack Thompson, Answers in Genesis, Creation Museum, Ken Ham, Darwinism, Abortion, Naturalism, God, Bible, Infophilia[/tags]

Bjorn Watland

Why do certain people have these reactions? Is it because certain people are working for a cause, so they make a statement which will support their cause? It is some degree of racism? Is it us versus them? It’s as if I championed people against wire framed glasses, and blamed the event on the glasses this man wore.

I have my eyes on you Hemant, you and your evil glasses.
L

If you can believe this, I even saw one news article that implied the first woman shot was supposedly an ex-girlfriend and was therefore to blame — that she possibly “sparked” or “led to” the shootings.

*found you through an atheist blogroll — had no idea there were so many of us out here!
Dan Harlow

Is there no respect anymore? These blow-hards go on and on about how little decency there is in the world while at the same time they swim around in the blood left behind in these terrible tragedies.

It makes me sick.

Sick.
Chinchilla

When they start addressing the real issue of Mental Illness and the stigmas attached, with more public awareness, understanding and education, not to mention healthcare reform will we “hopefully” see a decline in these sorts of horrendous, sensless acts.
Randi Mooney

Uh oh!

STR Demands the Death Sentence for Cho Seung-Hui

Shelley’s at it again with her own brand of cross-carrying, flag-waving racism, mixed with a double-helping of lunacy. Somebody has to put a stop to this site.

Randi
Bruce

Preachers say God could have stopped the maniac but did not want to interfere with his free will. But what about the free will of the 32 students who were massacred and what about the free will of their parents? So preachers will use the vapid “God’s mysterious ways” explanation. Primitive religious nonsense! And our faith-based president goes on national TV to urge us to fall on our knees and pray to our loving and merciful god. This is absolutely surreal.
Mriana

OH PLEASE! Lack of religion in schools and colleges has nothing to do with it! I get so sick and tired of the religious accusing the godlessness and sinfulness of such things. Has he looked at prison stats lately? Most are supposedly Christians. *rolling eyes* Has he looked at the last minister who was anti-gay and then preyed on boys on the internet? What about the other one who did drugs and had sex with a male prostitute? Jim Bakker who did that money scandel or Jerry Farwell who had sex with a prostitute? Christians are just as guilty if not more guilty of doing things that are considered immoral and illegal. Where to the so called righteous people get the idea that these happen due to the lack of the word of god?
Richard Wade

Mriana, you may be thinking of Jimmy Swaggart who got caught having a good time with a prostitute, then broke the Guinness Book of World Records for crying crocodile tears way back in 1988. I haven’t heard anything about Falwell having anything other than holy water in his veins, but then I don’t follow the Gospel Gossip columns that closely.
Hard to keep the hypocrites straight without a catalog.
Julie Marie

I just read that the shooter claimed to have “died like Jesus.” Good grief – talk about missing the point!
Mike C

I just read that the shooter claimed to have “died like Jesus.” Good grief – talk about missing the point!

Maybe he meant the South Park Jesus…
Lyz

This morning it was all quotes from students and parents:

“If he had to seek counseling, and got reported for IMing these girls [in a way that was reported by the recipient as “annoying,” not “threatening”], he shouldn’t have been on campus.”

So evidently it’s not that our mental counseling systems need improvement, we just need to exclude from society everyone who’s ever had to see a counselor. They don’t need education or a job or social interaction. In fact, we can just cage them all up in the basement and beat them with sticks occasionally, because then they might get better.

/ bitter sarcasm
Loren Petrich

Mriana had in mind the Rev. Ted Haggard, I think; he was discovered to be cavorting with a gay prostitute while buying meth from him.

And over at IIDB, a certain police detective has stated that numerous suspects have told him that “only God may judge (them)”.

As to the free-will defense, that runs into trouble when one considers Jesus Christ had taught that one ought to amputate parts of one’s body that make one commit sins (Matt 5:29-30, 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-47). So if free will makes people commit sins, then get rid of it.
Mriana

Richard Wade said,

April 18, 2007 at 8:45 pm

Mriana, you may be thinking of Jimmy Swaggart who got caught having a good time with a prostitute, then broke the Guinness Book of World Records for crying crocodile tears way back in 1988. I haven’t heard anything about Falwell having anything other than holy water in his veins, but then I don’t follow the Gospel Gossip columns that closely.
Hard to keep the hypocrites straight without a catalog.

Yes, that’s the guy I meant. We really do need a book of “Who’s Who of Hypocrits”. They all sound alike after a while and you can’t remember who did what.
Darryl

After the blaming is over, what will be done, if anything? I see further restrictions upon privacy and liberty coming down the road.
Karen

After the blaming is over, what will be done, if anything? I see further restrictions upon privacy and liberty coming down the road.

I predict that absolutely nothing will be done; not as long as the NRA has got a stranglehold on our politicians.
Chuck

If I wanted to, I could buy a gun and make headlines tomorrow. Just about any one of us could. We are a country of over 200 million. It just one nutcase to snap and go on a massacre. Really, with the weak gun laws we have in this country, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often.
MTran

However, when we see such death and violence, it is a reminder to us that without God’s Word (and the literal history in Genesis 1–11), people will not understand why such things happen.

Huh? Didn’t he just say “I don’t know why this person did what he did”

So, with or without a literal understanding of Genesis, this guy doesn’t understand what caused the murders.

Freakin’ idiot.