Yes, amazingly, the students of Virginia Tech have it right: it's a tragedy, not an excuse to float one's agenda. I think we should be more like them and mourn the fallen. Here's my personal opinion: this happened not because guns are evil and must be banned, or because Koreans are evil and must be deported, or because the University was dangerously negligent and must be shut down, or because the cops were incompetent and must be fired. This happened because a set of circumstances came together, the guy went nuts, the guy got guns and started shooting. It was a crime of passion, unpredictable and unpreventable. If he had no access to guns, he would've made a bomb from household cleaning products. If he were not Korean, he might have been Swedish.

It's a tragedy, it's tragic and the dead should be mourned. My heart goes out to the students and their families, because their world will never be the same. But. This is neither the time nor the reason to debate gun control policy or the virtues/vices of Korean Americans. We need to fly the flag at half-mast, we need to figure out if the folks at Virginia Tech need help and then we need to provide them with that help. That's where this ends. We DO NOT need to freak out and ban handguns or heap on blame or try to figure out exactly what circuitry in Cho's mind went haywire.

We really should not be having this conversation. It's shameful! We are Americans, dammit, we are supposed to be better than this. Aren't we?

Listen, I hate the guy as much as 70% of this nation, but come on. Criticize him for what he does wrong when he does it. Bringing up something he did wrong (yes, there's enough of it there to fill the Library of Congress) during the time when he actually is, for once, doing something right (for whatever reason) is just... I don't know, unpleasant.

You know how when you mourn someone you have a moment of silence? Tim Grieve spoke during that moment. Yes, it was inappropriate to say what he had said at the time, and yes, now we can lay into Bush again. Also, when we talk about how he dawdled on Katrina, how he lied about... everything, how he is a stuck-up, arrogant, stubborn, incompetent nincompoop, let's not compare his haste in coming to Virginia with his sloth in addressing the Hurricane Katrina. Let's not use these kids' deaths as a prop for more criticising. Because you and I both know that we've got PLENTY of material without that, don't we? Compared to the monumental damage this man's administration has done to our country, his appropriate and timely reaction to the shooting at Virginia Tech is ... rather inconsequential, isn't it? So let's take it for what it is and move on to the fun stuff.

And please don't get snarky. We hate the guy, we really do. We are not the enemy.

Now, just a wild guess: I've a feeling people who are most ready to criticize someone else's "lack of heroism" never really had to face someone with a gun. They mostly base their opinion on Hollywood films, where the hero charges, uh, heroically into the gunman's stomach, easily overpowering the said gunman. Now, let me tell you what happens during a real shooting.

I witnessed one in San Francisco, on 16th and Mission, a few years ago. It occurred right behind me, about ten feet away. There were four guys, one of them with a gun, and he shot a fifth guy. Pop pop pop. There were two reactions, one from me and one from everyone else. Everyone else started running. In all directions. I stood and stared for a minute, until my companion dragged me by the hand as she started running as well. I was in a bit of shock, confused about what was going on. Nobody on that street, and I mean NOBODY had it even enter their MINDS to attack the guy with a gun. Because, you see, the guy had a GUN and we didn't have anything but our bare hands. So we all ran. Ask any trained soldier and they'll tell you, when you have no weapons and some schmuck is pointing a gun at you, the first thing you do is SEEK COVER.

Now, for those of us who are starved for some good ol' American heroism I have a suggestion: visualize yourself one-on-one with a guy who has a loaded gun. Then think about what you'd do. Think about how fast bullets move, think about how fast YOU move, think about how much you want to enjoy this wonderful life. THEN, if you still want to criticize others, think of this: when someone points a gun at you, your brain shuts down. That's why people receive MILITARY TRAINING, so that they would react automatically, without thinking, to an unpredictable, fast-developing situation involving armed people. Did any of the students and professors in Virginia Tech have any military training?

Now, if those of us who are bent on criticizing others actually HAVE military training and are capable of taking out an armed guy while unarmed, great! They should go to Iraq and put their military prowess to good use. What this nation does NOT need is their two cents on what is heroic and what is not.

Oh, and by the way, the fact that the conservative scream-machine is effective is due not only to their loud voices and lack of scruples, but also to the fact that our "fair and balanced" mass media gives them 99% of airtime in which to express their vile views. Shrill shrieking is not the only way to drive a point. (And yes, I know that I've just spent a while shrieking, but I just get so angry sometimes...)