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Shooting brings back painful memories
February 21, 2008 9:37 AM
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Chaos. Feeling powerless while witnessing fellow classmates and professors being shot at, but most of all fearing for your life in the one place you would think you can never be in danger: your campus. The Northern Illinois University shooting last Thursday, which claimed the lives of six students, had a revolting aftertaste of déjà vu. It brought to the surface pain-ful memories of past deadly tragedies like last year’s Virginia Tech shooting, during which 33 people died—victims of a disturbed indi-vidual engaged in a killing spree. One student who lost her best friend during the NIU shooting was interviewed the next day on CNN. “It was a scene from a movie […] This is something that never should have happened,” she said. It should never have happened, but it did. And the worst part is that it is not the first time. Something that the foreign press was quick to catch on, talking about “yet another shooting in an American university.” One thought must have crossed the minds of many students as they watched the tragedy unfold in front of their eyes on national television: what if it had happened on my campus? Indeed, what occurred Thursday begs the following questions: how safe are we? And most of all, what can be done to prevent such horrifying tragedies from taking place? As unpredictable as these might be, it doesn’t mean that we can’t prepare ourselves. Prevention has always been better than cure. A number of universities in Europe have restricted access and students can only enter the facilities upon ID verification. So what about closed campuses? Or maybe an increased security or police presence? Would a more tho-rough psychological monitoring of students and/or compulsory psychological exams help? The most effective solution of all still remains to tackle the root cause of the problem: gun control. Our European neighbors don’t just seem better prepared—they are. If in Europe these shootings are viewed with a very skeptical and critical eye, it is because there is no such thing as a right to bear arms over there. Frankly they seem better off without one. Ask any French, German or British citizen—guns are to blame. Yes, the Second Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution, part of the country’s history as a nation, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t flawed or can’t be adapted to remedy a worrisome situation. What was meant to be the answer—giving civilians the power to protect themselves—ended up being the problem. Some will undoubtedly argue that all these solutions—however effective—are too time-consuming, too controversial, too costly. They might be, but in the long term, and considering that it is none other than human life itself that is at stake here, it might be worth the sacrifice after all.
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COMMENTS
Ken Davis said February 22, 2008 4:15 AM
Dear Mr/Mrs (whatever your gender is this week), Selecting from the many factual errors in your editorial, I'd like to offer two corrections. First, comparing the US to "our European neighbors" and inciting the reader to "ask any French, German or British citizen" requires much more thorough analysis than your convenient summary. Since banning guns, the UK has seen its violent crime rate skyrocket to 4x that of the US. The average Briton is 4x more likely to be raped, or assaulted, or murdered than the average US citizen. Is that a desirable outcome that you wish to copy here in the US? You've also neglected to account for Switzerland, a country where the majority of homes contain a fully-automatic assault rifle and ammunition courtesy of their federal government. Where are the mass shootings, if "guns are to blame" as you assert? The US has a cultural sickness, addiction to drugs legal and not, and narcissism that guarantees violence whether guns are banned or not. The difference is that today, in some places, law-abiding citizens can fight back. Interesting that these self-absorbed murderers retain enough intelligence to carefully plan their attacks at locations where this is not the case, and all occupants are guaranteed defenseless. Guns aren't to blame. Narcissistic, poorly raised, drug-addled people are to blame. Richard said February 22, 2008 4:42 AM
Car control would be a better way to reduce deaths in this country. More people die in car accidents than from the misuse of guns. For those calling for European forms of gun control, just remember, we fought a war to NOT be like Europe. Also, anyone with a brain can look up the information and see that England has a higher violent crime rate than the U.S. even with (because of?) their gun control. BTW, it amazes me that those people who dislike President Bush are more than willing to give his administration (and future administrations they may not like) control over ALL of the guns. That sounds like the definition of insanity to me. fsilber said February 22, 2008 4:47 AM
The danger of being shot in such a manner is much lower than the danger of falling victim to a rapist, burglar, mugger or carjacker. Because of gun control, many people in bad sections of London and Paris are prisoners in their own homes -- fearing that if they go out at night they will be attacked on the street. Even so, they can only stand by while burglars rummage through their possessions before their eyes, and suffer torture as burglars demand to be shown where the good stuff is hidden. Nor is there any reason to believe that guns can be made more difficult to obtain (for those willing to risk prison) than cocaine, heroin, or marijuana (all of which are long outlawed, and which get used up much faster than guns). So the best approach is to commission professors and older students with exemplary behavior records as reserve policemen, to carry secret concealed weapons wherever they go so they can stop these outrages. Uncle Lar said February 22, 2008 8:11 AM
By all means, let's look at Great Britain and their total ban on handguns and severe restrictions on long arms. Since that legislation their violent crime rates have doubled and gun related crimes are significantly more common. Tell us again how well that's worked. Sam Goodwin said February 22, 2008 8:14 AM
Hey, if things are so better in England, France, etc.., then you may leave the US. Please don't let the statue of liberty smack you in the bum on the way out. Of course, you know that things are not as good as you would believe. Hasn't gun crime in those countries, especially England, been recently reported as "out of control?"
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HOW long did it take u to think up & research this article - 1 visit to the bathroom or 2?
Sheesh... what a shallow idiot!