digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Virginia Tech - Profiles of Every Victim of The Shooting - (Never Forget)

nytimes.com — Profiles of every person killed in the Virginia Tech shooting. Don't spend your time reading about Cho Seung-Hui, and how he destroyed lives; read about these people, and how they enriched lives.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • Blakovitch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+107Go here for an easier-to-navigate graphic:

    http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20070418_VICTIMS_GRAPHIC.html
    • Moebaca, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13This is a way better link
    • bitmanip, on 10/12/2007, -27/+6A nice profile of the weapons here:

      http://www.wayodd.com/guns-used-at-virginia-tech-shootings-by-cho-seung-hui-with-video/v/7017/

      Includes some additional videos.
    • coolian, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11RIP, my fellow Hokies.
    • pcsperson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Very nice link! thank you for posting it.
    • dougdown, on 10/12/2007, -30/+1http://digg.com/gaming_news/New_Wii_game_to_portray_Virginia_Tech_Shooting_Spree_FPS
    • meez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19I just saw this very touching comment I would like to present, under the link for comments and memories on Professor Liviu Librescu:

      "I herd about what happened.I was not there when it happened.I think that Liviu Librescu would be a good person but I have never met her before. I am just eight. I really feel bad about what happened. My whole school, Kenwood Elemetry is going to pick a family for the classroom and give them baskets for them."
    • robmoff2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Thank you for this post. I think it is sickening that we always remember the names of the murderers but their victims always get lumped together as a faceless group.
    • Tiak, on 10/12/2007, -5/+41Sorry if this seems a bit insensitive, buit does anybody else find the "Never Forget" tagline incredibly stupid at this point?... The least people could do is invent a new sentimental tagline to play up the disater. Yes, a bad thing happened, but many times more deaths happen on a daily basis elsewhere in the world.

      Someone died in our Ivory Tower! OMG! Let's obsess about it for weeks on end while thousands die outside!
    • BESTenemy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6 There is a suicide note. Release that damn thing already! They're diluting our attention with just about anything except the clues as to why it happened. I guess they'll leave that till last, till every line has been re-interpreted, re-edited for media and quoted out of context to push various agendas.
    • satanatnmtedu, on 10/12/2007, -5/+25I suppose I will be dugg down, but I wonder how many of the victims would have tried to befriend the shooter. And, how many of them would have taunted him for talking differently or being extremely shy? Maybe all of them would have. But, when we dole out blame, we can pile some on Cho's doorstep, but we should look in the mirror and ask how we could treat others differently - less viciously.
    • Skrilla360, on 10/12/2007, -20/+9Never Forget huh? Most of you on this site have forgotten WTC already. This site is infested with idiots.
    • TroopaDoopa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+22This is great. So...when can we expect a web site that profiles every victim of the war in Iraq? All 3,000 of them?! Perspective! Get some!
    • BESTenemy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14@skrilla360

      We "never forgot" 9/11 by pulling movies off the shelves that had the World Trade Center in them and removing all the references, as if the towers never had existed.

      The phrase is just a cliche that originates from the desire to remain ignorant and see only what's pleasing. Seeing the meaning that comforts us and focuses us on the effects as oppose to the cause. Continuous distortion of our perception of reality.
    • agjimenez, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4@TroopaDoopa

      I agree that we should honor everyone who has been killed, whether in war or in terrorism like VT and WTC. But maybe you should spend some time to look up the definitions of "soldier" and "civilian".
    • texxmexx, on 10/12/2007, -17/+22How about a profile on the almost 300 dead in Iraq yesterday?

      What's that? White lives are more important than brown ones?

      Anyone caught up in this media spectacle is beyond racist. How can you look yourselves in the mirror?

      Any loss of life is tragic, but some of you need to pull your sheep heads out of your sheep asses.

      Peace!
    • mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@satanatnmtedu,

      Having been an outsider as a child, I urged my daughter to befriend a girl in elementary school who didn't have many friends. Later I sort of regretted it because the girl was really annoying. But not really, once you got past the annoying part she was a good person like most anyone else.

      I guess the point is, if you want to befriend someone like Cho, you have to be willing to pay the price which might be steeper than you thought. But somebody's got to do it, someone has to be strong enough and wise enough, like my daughter.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4That is a richly diverse group of people. All of them were very bright. I'm sure that they had a lot to offer the world. I would much rather read the academic works of those people and see videos of what they had to say than anything put together by the psychotic killer. I have no hatred for him, but I think everything that he wanted shown as a result of the murders should be shown only to law enforcement officials, psychiatrists, and policymakers. I feel bad that he had such a ***** life, but it doesn't mean we should give him any attention for doing a horrible thing.

      In response to some of the comments above:
      @satana..
      "I wonder how many of the victims would have tried to befriend the shooter. And, how many of them would have taunted him for talking differently or being extremely shy? Maybe all of them would have."

      I think we should always strive to be better to one another. But it's outrageously unfair for you to suggest that the victims had any responsibility in this at all.These people may not have interacted with him at all. They may have gone out of their way to be nice to him. Don't mar their reputations with baseless suggestion like that.

      @texxmexx
      "White lives are more important than brown ones?"

      Did you even look at the victims? Nearly every race was represented and several different countries were represented. It's disgusting to me how you come onto this thread accusing people of being racist simply for mourning lost lives. How do you know we don't mourn the lives of people in Iraq? Should we not care about death at all? Your comment was beyond messed up.
    • koretico, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1don't forget, you war forwarder, this only happens in your under-developped coutry...i cry each time i think about US... u could do so much better...
    • feralwombat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@TroopaDoopa
      The NY Times already has perspective on that. Here you go.
      http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20061228_3000FACES_TAB1.html
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@TroopaDoopa
      @FeralWombat
      And the 45,000- 650,000 innocent civilians killed?
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Maybe I'm just a heartless bastard but is every human responsible to "never forget" every death? I personally hate hearing that term everytime someone dies.

      "Never forget" is a term that's meant in the context of "never forget the past to prevent it from occuring in the future". Never forget makes sense for world wars, major (avoidable) disasters, etc.. A maniac on a killing spree is not a world-altering event that forever needs to be ingrained in our heads.

      /rant
  • versionist, on 10/12/2007, -23/+3Oh here we go. Let the kooks and their theories begin!
  • kahjah, on 10/12/2007, -6/+45I hope this dosent become something that we have to hear about like 9/11, oh boy i can feel it. There will be memorials and things on TV about it for years to come. Let it go already. It's sad yes but how long are they gonna dwell on it.
    • DryvBy, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21Exactly. Sad it happened but I'm not going to remember or care in a few weeks.
    • douggmc, on 10/12/2007, -4/+38Per Lou Dobbs article a few days ago:

      "... over 1400 college students die per year due to alchohol related deaths."
      "... over 1000 college students die per year due to suicide..

      I hope to god the media circus stops soon and that people put this into perspective. The overly dramatic reporters, anchors, news executives along with most Americans seem to relish the incident. Its sort of like drinking a glassful of pure honey ... just too much.

      (PS - I'm an American. I don't think we should ignore/"sweep under the carpet" the incident ... but think a little proportion is appropriate.)
    • RyandaPimp, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14@ douggmc: there is a big difference between drinking yourself to death and killing yourself and being murdered in cold blood...
    • catalysis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Guys, it only happened 3 days ago. Just relax and turn off the TV if you don't want to hear about it. It's gotten to the point where people complain about every single news story no matter what it is. I'm just as sick of people saying, "oh my god, all they talk about on the news is (insert any story here)" as you are of the story. There is no reason to try to find negativity in everything.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3You guys are messed up. Let people grieve over a completely unexpected and horrific loss to their community. What would you rather read about? Why don't you go find it instead of clicking into this story? You're such utter losers.
    • techtriumph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0if you were a family member of the victims at the vt shootings, you could never forget it. once more, if you knew anything about compassion, you would know that the relatives of the slain in blacksburg disliked the way the coverage was being done. its easy to sit back and talk that kind of language when you yourself have nothing to lose
  • Afreyt, on 10/12/2007, -16/+80Um... how many people, who were just as important individuals, just died in Iraq yesterday?

    I think we've already spent enough national attention on this. Let the families mourn in peace. Go ahead, digg me down.

    • Str8Dog, on 10/12/2007, -35/+9I went ahead and dug you down. Just because this post shows concern over the VT shootings does not mean we do not also care about the deaths in Iraq. Take your anti-american-ism somewhere else.
    • Fhionnlaoch, on 10/12/2007, -6/+41I think about 200 died yesterday in Iraq, 11 so far today.
    • phmfthacim, on 10/12/2007, -10/+10str8dog, why don't you shove your nationalism up your ass
    • Str8Dog, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Would you rather that every post end with ".. but alot of people died in Iraq that Americans don't care about."

      I can see it now... Top 5 Amazing AJAX Secrets Revealed.. but alot of peopled died in Iraq that Americans don't care about.

      What an awesome headline.
    • BohicaTwentyTwo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1So if we were told that there were still 100 more Chos in Virginia, would you suggest that we pull out of the state or should we stay and try to help the people there.
    • ArrEmmDee, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8@Str8Dog:Would you rather that every post end with ".. but alot of people died in AMERICA. WE MUST NEVER FORGET."

      I can see it now... Top 5 Amazing AJAX Secrets Revealed.. .. but alot of people died in AMERICA. WE MUST NEVER FORGET.

      What an awesome headline.
    • ameba, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3The difference is that suicide bombings in Iraq are common and, unfortunately, expected. This was completely unexpected and unnecessary (not to say that the death's in Iraq are necessary). The main difference, though, is that this happened on our soil and in a college community. I feel more pain for the family's of victims in VT than in Iraq. I know it sounds wrong, but at my age the victims in VT could have been anyone I know or even me, when I am positive that I do not know anyone in Iraq. Along with that, citizens in Iraq are aware of the rampant suicide bombings and are and should be cautious, while school shooting are very uncommon, especially since a college campus is normally a safe and friendly community.

      Maybe I am just selfish, but thats how I feel.
    • Afreyt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I am amazed there are not more school shootings. America hasn't changed all that much since Columbine, so frankly, I expect a major school shooting every couple of years because a disaffected delinquent got spurned by a girl. I'm saddened that it happens, but this is a local issue, and its being drummed up into a major media event. It doesn't lessen the impact on the families, of course, but there are, strictly speaking, more important things happening elsewhere. This is an extension of the "missing white girl theory." These students were good looking, smart, and generally speaking, descended from Europeans. Its perfect mass media material.

      And as far as it goes, we are all about as capable of stopping the next school shooting as we are of getting the troops out of Iraq, or preventing the genocide in Darfur, yet VT is getting a full week of coverage, wheras Darfur barely registers, and Iraq has become "suicide bombers are sort of expected there -- 200 dead, move along, nothing to see here"

    • Afreyt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2And "Never forget" has become a cliche. We can Never Forget 9-11. Now I've got a whole list of "Never Forgets"
    • digginestdogg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3How long does it take 32 US soldeirs to be killed in a pointless war in Iraq? One month and every month it will continue while the even more pointless and fruitless 'surge' foolishly pushed by Bush goes on and on. And he tries to prenten it's a change of strategy when is just an escalation. McCain is almost as big a fool.

      And how long does it take 32 Iraquis to be senselessly killed? A day and nearly every day since we invaded that nation based on lies and deceit of men and women still in office.

      Not to diminish the terrible tragedy that it is, but it pales in comparison to the daily events in Iraq. Even 9/11 does--more US soldiers have died than peopel in WTC and several times more Iraqui children. Our government is deliberately and directly involved. Not some loner nut job. The Iraq War is a concerted and deliberate campaign of murder for no useful purpose to our country. How abotu getting upset up over that?
    • techtriumph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0iraq is a war zone, first of all. so there is an understanding that loss of life is possible. virginia tech was a college institution where 32 STUDENTS had their whole lives taken away by a senseless killer. they were not at war, they were in class. they were taking advantage of the great freedom we have in america by going and doing generally as you please. sadly, seung hui cho used that very freedom against those helpless students. a huge difference
  • misterblommer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+82"NEVER FORGET" - I am so sick of that phrase.
    • Otto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Agreed. I've already forgotten what it was that I'm supposed to never forget.
    • phmfthacim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8It's good to remember lost loved ones, but I think that phrase sometimes has a political attachment. If you strongly identify with certain hegemons it also might mean "never forget to keep oppressing minorities in order to protect your privilege."
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4The sad thing is it *will* be forgotten by the average American once it drops off the news cycle, and by the politicans who will forget it as soon as they can no longer capitalise on it. It'll be forgotten, and that will pave the way for some other insane psycho to do the same thing again at some point in the future.

      This should be remembered. First and foremost it should be remembered for the innocent lives that were taken. But it should also be remembered as the time when America stood up and said 'enough is enough, we have to change something to stop the ability for mentally ill people to mass murder'. But I feel like that's just a pipe-dream.
    • Tiak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Luckily for me, it will forever be a phrase attached to AquaGate in my mind. Somehow, I deam that far more worth remembering and dwelling on, both for entertainment, and to illustrate that incompetence knows no limits.
    • mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@tizz66,

      But if you dwell on it day in and day out, then the psychos will have won! I'm only half kidding, though.

      I don't even remember how I felt about these kind of things before I was a parent, but I'll tell you what, parents have so many threats to dwell on already, this is only a drop in the ocean. I can't even think about those young people who died at VT without starting to cry, but everyday I read about young people getting killed one way or another, and I shed a little tear for them and their parents too. The aggravating thing about this massacre is the parents are thinking "Whew, got 'em through high school without them getting killed by some drunken teenager in a car," and then this happens.
    • crashflow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1TOP TEN THINGS WE MUST NEVER FORGET:
      ...
  • dshPls, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Wow that's upsetting. Hearing peple died somewhere you've never been to is almost numbing now, but to put faces to the numbers is still a shock and a feeling of awe.
    • nanboya, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And why aren't they doing that for Americans who are dying in Iraq on a regular basis? Let's see, probably because it would stir up even more anti-war sentiment...
  • Zreitan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+32You know.... and this is not meant to defame the memory of the victims at VT..but if we "NEVER FORGET" every single tragedy that comes by..soon the world will be full of shrines and memorials to everyone who died in an uncommon way
  • oxyfx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1CNN has also posted profiles.

    http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/virginiatech.shootings/victims/index.html
  • typographics, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12im still waiting for the car magnet industry to start making money off of this. ribbon anyone?
  • Karted, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2Boo ***** hoo.

    PS. I think by the pictures he only went after the ugly people.
  • uptown, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11How come TV networks don't show fans running onto sports fields to prevent immitators, but they've got no problem showing the video rantings of a murderer?
    • mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Also, suicides are vastly underreported for the same reason. Did you know that of all deaths by firearms in the US, suicide regularly leads homicides by about 5000 incidences each year?
  • TwilightKing, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32I'm sorry, but "and how they enriched lives"? Really, it's sad that they died, but the fact that they were murdered doesn't make them saints. I mean, some of them could have been real assholes! They were just normal people, now they are dead. Look at the fatality statistics for one day in Iraq and get a sense of perspective.
    • icaruscollapse, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4I'm not really behind the war, but the fact remains, they're fighting for a cause. They know the risk involved. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of deaths related to the war (Especially because they vastly outnumber the fatalities at Virginia), but these were innocent people, where the only "risk" they took was getting an education.
    • EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12The numbers of innocent Iraqi civilians that have died since the invasion dwarfs the number of US casualties. Virginia Tech style violence is a daily occurrence for them.
    • immolation, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@ TwilightKing

      You're forgetting. Every artist or musician that dies becomes a genius, and every college kid at the wrong place at the wrong time who dies becomes a hero that "enriched lives"...

      And, yes, to the US Gov't an American life is worth more than an Iraqi life. If this wasn't true, we'd have troops on the ground in Darfur right now.
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6icaruscollapse: Great, now what about the thousands of dead Iraqis who didn't ask for a war and who couldn't give a crap what risk there is to US soldiers? Stop looking at stuff from one angle.
    • icaruscollapse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@tizz66

      I totally agree with you on that. The thing is, it's not like Iraq hasn't gotten daily coverage for years now, and we're downplaying the importance of this war. It's an awful thing for all parties involved, but so is what happened at Virginia. Maybe the "never forget", putting it on the same level as September 11th is pushing it, but I don't think it's right to say that we shouldn't give a ***** just because not as many people died.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I would trade you for any one of them. Really. Why shouldn't your life be ended abruptly and followed by everyone saying "Why should we care about him? He was probably an *****. Why should I take time out of my important life to find out if he wasn't an ***** before saying that?" ?

      You can't just let people be mourned? Seriously...what is wrong with you?
  • ongie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I'm glad there's a story about the victims and the families out there instead of just another in a long line of stories that put that sick freak on a pulpit to the world.

    I will digg this (a story about the victims and celebrating them), but bury any story that pays any attention to the twisted killer and/or his agenda.

    People like us give monsters like him credibility. Let's forget about him, and remember the real casualties of this ordeal. Good story.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No idea why you were Dugg down. There are a lot of sick people on Digg.
  • hoowahman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Stuff like this happens and it's sad. In a world with billions of people and sites like digg this was bound to happen. Whos going to be taken away next from these random shootings? Probably me from the karma put upon me from this comment.
  • Sube6491, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Aye, it hurts a little inside to know that a fellow Romanian was killed (Liviu Librescu) You think it doesn't really matter to you, but when this happens you can't help but feel even more saddened.
    • Str8Dog, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11If I were going to die, I would want to go out as bravely as Liviu Librescu did. That man is a hero in my book.
    • oesj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3absolutely - if only the news programs focused as much on the bravery killed instead of the stupidity of the killer - if i see any more over-analysis of this guy's video i will scream (i'm not even in america)
    • bayonetblaha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@str8dog

      You are going to die.
  • onefinalsunset, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Put the 9/11 "never forget" bs aside and look at the real issue at hand. Too often the media glamorizes those who commit these horrible acts, and shows their disgusting videos to the world. The media is giving sick people like this time in the spotlight and skipping over those who truly deserve the attention, such as the lives lost. It's time to stop focusing on the delusions of a killer and remember and cherish those who were lost.

    A lot of great people were lost that day and we all owe them our respect. It's about time someone focused on what is really important...
  • sporg, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2I heard a rather funny joke today. Someone pointed at a sorrority girl and said "Look its one of the CHO-sen ones" Sick wrong and hilarious.
  • fooplex, on 10/12/2007, -18/+8They are the first wave of the Ritalin generation. Bred from birth to be sheep so they will simply line up like cattle to be shot in the head by a gun-wielding madman when their time comes. The bravest thing any of them did was to hide behind a door.

    Not me. In my day, me and a dozen or so classmates would have tackled that guy and beat the crap out of him before he got to victim #2.

    These are not victims of Cho Seung-Hui. They are victims of our government school systems which teach kids to not fight back against bullies, give the mugger everything he wants and do exactly as you're told while you're being raped and beaten or shot to death.

    If the Ritalin generation had been on flight 93, I shudder to think how much worse 9/11 would have been.
    • MrFatalistic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9he had a ***** gun, not a box cutter. Good thing your generation is dying out then...
    • sporg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Well you are a hero in your own mind fooplex. I have five bucks that says you would ***** your pants and cry for mommy.
    • SilverBack101, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Right...I'm sure you can also dodge ***** bullets?
    • SilverBack101, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Oh also forgot...your name is just filled with irony.

      A fool with a complex. Fits.
    • PatNolan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6*****. You've watched rambo a few too many times sparky. If you were there, you'd probably ***** yourself cower behind the girl in the corner.
    • garg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I agree about your point that society has taught people to give up, run and hide instead of trying to defend them selves. I don't think it's their fault and they shouldn't be attacked for it. Also, it's not easy to get into that group mentality that would have allowed them to team up and attack together with out earlier planning, so asking them to cooperate with out any planning is just unfair.

      Of course, it is easy to say these things from the comfort of a couch at home. No one can truly know how they will react when something like this happens.
    • Jagula, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Back in your day, fooplex, you geezer, I'm sure anyone would be able to tackle someone like Cho.

      Can't be too hard when he'd have to manually reload each shot.
    • fooplex, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5It doesn't take a 'hero' to realize that this dude is killing everybody in the room one by one, so why not try to take him out? If you don't try, you're gonna die anyway. So at least if you try to tackle the guy, you have a chance of at best saving yourself, at worst you've interrupted him and maybe saved someone else. That's not being a hero; that's just using your head.

      With this in mind, why the hell would you just sit there and try to hide while this guy is killing innocent people? The only possible reason is if you were trained from birth to be a good little girl/boy and don't cause trouble, don't fight back, do whatever you're told and shut up while your teacher/principal/professor/policeman/government comes to save the day.
    • garg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4People should probably be trained to take on the crazy person with the weapon instead of running away and getting separated.

      It would obviously be very difficult to get organized in a short amount of time, so training is a must. These killers like cho get glamorized each time something like this happens and it's only a matter of time until the next attack occurs. These people are also cowards and if they knew that they would have a huge fight on their hands if they went bursting into a class room then they wouldn't dare.

      What do you guys think? Wouldn't it be worth teaching our kids how to organize and take down an attacker? Or would it save more lives if they just split up, leaving the weakest behind to get killed? Heck, I'd even support a semester of military training for students so that they don't lose their heads at the smallest sign of something that isn't supposed to happen.
    • catalysis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12For the record, I would have round-house kicked the guns from his hands and then thrown down kung-fu style. After about a 15 minute battle, I would have given him the crane and then went behind him and snapped his neck while screaming "whadaaaaaaa!" at the top of my lungs. Then I'd turn around and put my sunglasses on, say something clever like, "you messed with the wrong french student" and toss away my cigarette that I smoked through the whole fight as I walk out the doors and into the sunset.
    • CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow... too much effort.

      If it were left up to me, I would have just thrown my ninja stars, which would get lodged in the barrels of his guns. When he then pulls the trigger, the barrel of the gun would explode and curl back in the shape of a flower. His face will be all black with gunpowder residue and the only features you will be able to see are his eyes and his teeth.
    • cquinnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3fooplex, aren't you assuming that they knew there was only one gunman?

    • MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5While his statement was extremely blunt and self-stroking, I see where he's coming from. We do live in a nation where the public system is always trying to protect us from ourselves these days. I'm trying to instill some street smarts in my teenage kid for this very reason. If I ever find myself in this situation, and I have a good chance of getting killed, I believe strongly that I would prefer to go down trying to stop the *****.

      One of the things that struck me as odd is, this guy was walking through doorways into rooms. It wouldn't have taken much effort to jump the guy or hit him in the head with a desk as he was coming through the door. I'm not saying the kids were cowards, but I do wonder where the fight in them was. A whole lot of them just got shot point blank where they were hiding.

      I suggest people sit down and reflect on this event for this reason. If you think you would hide in fear under a desk until you got your head blown off, then you might want to do a little soul searching about what your life and the lives of others mean to you. Like I said, I'm not calling these people cowards, but we live in a world these days where you might want to reflect on this situation and decide NOW what you would do. Maybe, just maybe you will be a little more mentally prepared should something similar to this happen to you.
    • PatNolan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"What do you guys think? Wouldn't it be worth teaching our kids how to organize and take down an attacker? Or would it save more lives if they just split up, leaving the weakest behind to get killed? Heck, I'd even support a semester of military training for students so that they don't lose their heads at the smallest sign of something that isn't supposed to happen."

      You train your kids for that; I'll train mine to get the hell out of dodge while your kids die.

    • garg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1patnolan >

      Like I said in an earlier post, I would prefer that people fight back if there are no alternatives left. If you can't dodge or escape then you must defend your self instead of simply giving up.
  • MrFatalistic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8with all the stuff I'm supposed to never forget to today...it's getting a big naggy folks...
  • weside, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Wait, what happened? I've already forgotten.
  • rnelsonee, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9One of the professors is a Holocaust survivor. How sad that a man and his wife can escape from a madman's orchestrated effort that wiped out 6 million people, only to be shot by some dickwad who was sad because no women would talk to him.
  • haral, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5RIP. It's hard to understand this kind of cruelity. What drives a human being to do something like this? I'm from Finland and we never had anything like this happened here. I just can't understand the emotions people are having there right now. Deepest apologies for all you student mates and families there. :(
    • sporg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Psychological abuse probably played a large part in his insanity. America is full of cruel spoiled little brats and people like Cho are only one of the lovely products they produce.
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2How the HELL does this turn into America bashing?

      With all the talk about 'sheep' in here, Digg is getting pretty ***** predictable. Everything is America's fault. Always. Shut the hell up! You sound soooo stupid.
  • Kalimotxo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2This is exactly what is needed. This media frenzy surrounding the perpetrator is reinforcing a world where malicious acts will bring you fame. To the media: stop sensationalizing bad people so you can make money.
  • bluezinc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18If I was killed my profile would have been something lame like "Harry: Liked watching TV".
    • unbreakable, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9That's pretty much the profile of most Diggers.
    • insovietrussia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Ah, it feels good to laugh again. Cheers.
  • rishqo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Lives of all those people became familiar to broader public merely due to fact they were massacred by this insane Korean student. Doesn`t seem that pretty cynical?
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's because the time the opportunity to make names for themselves for positive things was stolen from them by an insane killer. I think it's only fair that we tak the time to look at what potential they had to bring more good to the world. They can no longer do it for themselves thanks to a very sad individual.
  • wush, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3nevar 4get
  • rmetzger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3i agree Never Forget should be reserved for WWI/WWII related remembrance and ATHF/boston.

    not at all to diminish the tragity that was VT.
    • insomniac8400, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I'd hope those upset over this become anti war nuts. Because if this gets you upset look overseas and you will cry.
  • h2g242, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Jeremy Herbstritt... Penn State Grad before pursuing a higher degree at VT, brother of a kid in my year here. I didn't know him or his brother, or any of the people really invovled... but everyone on the campus here at State has felt connected to them somehow. All around me i see spaghetti dinner fundraisers, free hugs for vt, and even turning our spring scrimmage from the blue and white game to the Maroon and Orange game. You should have seen how many kids rushed downtown to pick up custom shirts to show their support. It's a horrible tradgedy, but good to see that people are still honestly and truly concerned for their fellow human beings.
  • ScottY07, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2R.I.P - was just wrong taking innocent lives.
  • Danltn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This is really what should be remembered by this crisis, not the shooter becoming worldly famous, but for the victims, and in a sense the heroes to be enlightened and shown in the public eye. They might be gone, but they'll never be forgotten.
  • insomniac8400, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2This has to be a joke. Why would anyone want to read about 33 dead people who were nothing? Tons of people die every day in much more tragic and preventable ways. The only thing people should take away from this incident is that you are never safe and there is nothing you can do about it.
    • Firehunter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10You know jackass, maybe they were nothing to you, but they were something to someone.

      Jarrett Lane was a friend of mine. I knew him well. It was devastating to learn the news that he was killed by a madman with a gun.

      It is people like you with no compassion that fill me with rage.
    • ikimashokie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Nothing??? Maybe they don't mean anything to you, because you didn't know them.

      Maxine was an awesome person. I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd developed something that was going to change the world

      I don't expect everyone to care, they don't know the dead. But when people laugh, say it was deserved, call the people "nothing"???

      WTF, people, WTF.
    • insomniac8400, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1You are what is wrong with people today. Just because someone is something to someone else doesn't make that person something to me. You don't seem to be upset about anyone else dying in this country or the world. You are a jackass. I am realistic. No one should give two ***** about this unless they personally knew these people. To care about this and not about everything else bad in the world makes you worse than hitler. And don't say you care about everything else in the world, because it's impossible.

      AND YES THESE PEOPLE ARE NOTHING. 33 out of how many in the world? How many people died in Iraq? Other wars. You need to ask yourself, WTF?
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@insomniac
      "You are what is wrong with people today. Just because someone is something to someone else doesn't make that person something to me."

      I didn't realize that the news was supposed to be catered specifically to YOU. Thanks for informing me about that.

      "You don't seem to be upset about anyone else dying in this country or the world."

      Where's your evidence for that? You're the only person who's said he doesn't care about someone's death. The rest of us were busy mourning people who died.
  • origclubsoda, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Never forget? We are going to forget in 2 days. Just like we forget everday the 10s of thousands of americans who die every day.

    Get yourself a hobbie, hippies.
  • Morelia, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Of course, we need to do exactly what this post says not to do. How can we ignore Cho and only focus on the good people that died. That is what we always do in the USA. We don't want to examine reality and find root causes and make changes. Let's just plug along and ignore societal shifts and maybe the problem will just disappear. Maybe there is something to learn here. Maybe we should be attentive and searching. Maybe we shouldn't just walk away from these clues that come our way. We certainly don't do anything with the more subtle ones, like teachers turning a deaf ear to a student being called a ***** in the hall (which is common). The same teacher will step in if a girl is called a b*tch. We need to rethink how people are disenfranchised and culturally segregated and how those systems play out in society so that we can make adjustments to parenting, schooling, community building, spirituality, self-discovery, etc. I certainly don't think this guy is a Martyr but he definitely should not be ignored either! History repeats itself when we ignore it's offerings! This dualistic attitude that we can't focus on Cho and only on those that lost their lives it nonsense, uneducated, nonthinking and ignorant dualistic polarized shenanigans .... black or white? No!
  • ArrEmmDee, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3And now for the truth, whether you feel more comfortable pretending otherwise or not: nobody cares.

    The interest is in Cho, not necessarily the fact V TECH got shot up, or people. It's the fact some guy decided to go on a shooting spree, the news sensationalized it, and now it's an interest for the time.

    I hope they don't end up doing memorials for this thing every year now, the only thing worse than the ceremonies themselves would be the false sympathy people would be scrounging up.
  • OropheR, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7How many people died in the last suicidal bombs attack in Irak this week ? 200.
    • Morelia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8You forgot to make your "worthiness" deflater adjustment as follows:

      1 Anglo-Saxon = 50 Iraqi (so the adjustment for 200 Iraqis murdered is only 4 equivalent Anglo-Saxons). Twenty+ (adjusted for non-Anglos killed) is greater than 4, so a more important event.

      Other deflaters would be:

      1 Anglo-Saxon = 200 Africans, etc. etc.

      Unfortunately, we do take a view that American lives are more valuable, when in fact all lives are valuable. 1 person = 1 person.
  • mcbeef, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1More exploitative crap. What's next? 3D wound tracks: graphic multimedia. Click here to learn more!
  • SwissCamel, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Any hot girls?
  • AsylumAleikum, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Although I am sorry about the needless loss of life, I do not see why a tribute should be paid to those victims who were slaughtered like sheep, as opposed to those who went down fighting. My heroes are those who survived by jumping out of a window, or holding ground behind barricaded doors. Add to the list a former boyscout who got shot in a leg, lost a chunk of his artery, and managed to stay alive.
  • nbrunetti, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Look at this: http://nonpartypolitics.blogspot.com/2007/04/was-v-tech-gunman-punish-comic-book-fan.html

    It might explain SOME of the killer's choice of poses in the pictures he took of himself, his demeanor and his weaponry when he committed these awful attacks.

    But then again, it could be a complete coincidence.
  • thesoze, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2i am not dead...and i'm sort of enriching lives....but this sucks though - poor kid was crazy - some people say people who commit suicide are selfish - but not this kid - he took a lot of good people with him
  • bterr004, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I would like to point out that this is NOT a list of all the victims. My friend, Lauren McCain, died at Virginia Tech on Monday. She was an amazing and inspirational person. I thought it was important to not that the list is incomplete and there are other victims.
  • Bingster, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9RIP, shooters victims from all walks of life: white, black, Chinese, Indians, Jews etc.

    We had the ceremony, we had half-staffed flags, we had presidential speech and around clock coverage. As it rightly deserved.

    But just the other day, over 180 people died in nation's capital ... of Iraq. But few will care about who they were, and few will try to remember them, except their families.

    The daily death toll or collateral damage in Iraq is easily over 30. But few will be remembered. There will be no speeches, will hafl-staffed flaged, no papers publiching their names. The Iraqi war dead are just some abstract numbers, faceless and nameless victims.

    Clearly American lives are valued more than Arab ones, but is this kind of hypocrisy so prevalent, so accepted in US that people don't give it a second thought?
    • Morelia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I sort of said the same thing about 6 posts earlier ... but with a bit of sarcastic play. I agree!
  • agjimenez, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2My prayers for everyone involved.
  • Radan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1(For once I don't feel like joking)
    Oh god. That got to be the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read. This is real news, and a hell lot more effective than just writing "X killed in massacre". God damn that ***** bastard for taking the pusy way out if it. He didn't deserve to die there. He should have been thrown into an isolated cell for the rest of his pitiful life, except for the daily visits of his close friend Rüthger.
  • edrift101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+630+ dead in Iraq would barely make the front page anymore...
    • Radan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Do you want to know the reason for that? When you see a news title "200 killed in suicide bombing", it's just a number. While it's as horrifying as anything else, people will never feel any compassion more than "Oh, that's too bad" if they don't get to know who those people that died were. (that is not my opinion, but sad reality) Though, this is an excellent way of making people actually care about the victims, by letting people know who they were. News today, really need to start focusing more on the actual victims instead of just writing about criminals. People with such a lack of respect for human life isn't worthy this amount of attention.
  • LatinHeart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Oh please this happens often in several countries, it's nothing new, It just happens to be on the U.S. and since the media is always looking for a way to see those rating #'s go up they go to any leght to dramatize the event.
    I do not support what that ***** did, however many people sadly miss this point.
  • squiggie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3seeing all those faces really hammers home the number 32! 32 didn't seem that large at first, but this makes it more real.
  • hurtstobesoemo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yeah, the "never forget" ***** is old and over used by country singers and republicans. BUT a tragedy is a tragedy and don't let the use of stupid words distract you from what this is really about.
  • Genjeta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I'll never forget because I'll never even bother to learn their story or even their names. Why bother? So they got shot, why would anyone outside of Virginia give a *****? Thats not even a significant fraction of the people who die every day. Should I "never forget" every single person who died? So these people had a bit more extravagant death, they've made headlines because its the biggest mass school shooting. If you ask me, they got a better deal then most people who die every day. They get acknowledged by all the ***** media who exploit the story to make news. So unless those people mean something personal to you, get over yourself and read about something that is actually relevant to your life. Those people were no more special than any other college student in America. The loss of their lives shouldn't improve the respect they got before they died.
    • takepills, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1My parents are dead, yet they are still alive. This cult called "America" or sometimes it goes by "USA" killed them by boring them to death. I am a victm, we all are. I want a house please.
  • MikeDugg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@TroopaDoopa

    Regarding your comment: "This is great. So...when can we expect a web site that profiles every victim of the war in Iraq? All 3,000 of them?! Perspective! Get some!"

    BEST COMMENT I HAVE EVER READ ON DIGG. So true. 100% correct.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 79 of 79 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.