Tough time in Virginia, USA!
 

Hey Accyweb family!

Following news that ~21 kids have been either shot or injured at the Virginia Tech university. At least 2 have been killed. One of Annie's (and our) favorite guys is currently in a lock down in the engineering building where some of the shootings have occurred. I just was IMing with Scotty (the guy in the pic). So at least he is alright. Not sure about the many other kids from Culpeper who go to this college.

Cindy works for Virginia Tech at their Cooperative Extension Agency here locally.

Also, the weather, especially the wind is just wicked. Many trees down and some building damage.

Brian

Update, the news conference now says that at least 20 kids are dead!

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The most recent info is now 22 are dead and 21 wounded! This is now become an incredibly horrible tragedy!:(

I guess I feel a bit like you guys did after the bombings in England almost 2 years back. I'm sick to my stomach:( . Off to get more info. and to clear some trees from the road. Then to tell the kids:confused: .

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That's really sad news.:(

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Terrible news.

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how awful

our thoughts are with you all

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Now it's up to 32 fatalities! Looks like 2 heavily armed "gunmen!" I'm too distracted to do much outside plus it's really to dangerous with winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour!

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its such a shame - they're sayin the shooter was some asian/oriental guy

its such a tragedy that people feel the have to resort to this.

surely now america has to realise stricter gun control is the way forward regardless what alot of those republican loones say

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Oh Mani, evil is evil! The kind of guns that would have done so much damage aren't the type you can buy from your local 7-eleven. People sick enough to do this kind of stuff can find all kinds of ways to commit such horrendous deeds.

Whether poisoning the water supply, cafetaria food, mixing fertilizers for explosives, . . ah forget it not in the mood to get into that. Although not a "republican loone" I do support the right to bear arms.

Now back to the tragedy at hand. Have yet to hear from a couple of Annie's close friends. Hopefully do to lock down they're not able to get messages out.

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hmmm on the bbc website there's a few really moving accounts of eye witness accounts

apparently the oriental fella killed his family last nite b4 doin this?

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oh brian how awful for you & yours hope you are all ok, my heart goes out to all people concerned in this horrific shooting.....

hope the winds have not done too much damage ......our thoughts are with you all ....love from the accywebbers x x x

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What a nightmare...my thoughts and love go out to all those affected by this atrocity... its just beyond comprehension that someone could walk into a place and just start killing like that :mad:

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Gun laws vary across the country. It's interesting to note that the jurisdictions with the strictest laws, (such as Washington DC for example), are also those with the highest crime rates.

Guess it was just an oversight that you failed to mention the Democrat loonies who are also strong supporters of the Second Amendment, eh?

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Its really quite shocking, I can't believe it, but I also can't believe that the USA does not have stricter gun laws.

I really don't think the founding fathers envisaged how the second amendment would impact life in the far future (ie now). I think it was more for the times of the original foundation when things were still unstable and developing, but now the USA is a huge thriving country and its just really not the kind of place for people to be carrying guns around.

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My thoughts are with the families of those who have been touched by this tragedy. I can say no more.

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Its just awful, its happening more and more frequently too, my thoughts are with you Brian.

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As great students of history, the founders knew exactly what they were doing. The Second Amendment was put into place first and foremost to deter tyranny. The First Amendment was to guarantee the right of free political speech. It is no mistake that these two amendments appear first in the Bill of Rights.

In addition, self-defense is a natural human right.

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Okay back on after loosing electrity fo a few hours.

Annie just got home and most of her friends have been accounted for but she is still quite rattled. Every kid on this campus as well as the whole state and Country have been affected by this horrific act.

Brian

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Just reported 33 teenagers dead.

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Before any debate takes place about the rights and wrongs of gun culture perhaps a decent amount of time should be given to enable these young people to be buried and for their families to grieve- surely thats where peoples thoughts should be at the moment. The debate needs to take place just feels a it too soon to me.

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I agree, now is not the time for debate about gun contols. Let the victims of this tragedy be laid rest first.

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my thoughts and prayers are with all the families...and you too l.y.y.

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Terrible news ... CBC reported the death toll is up to 33 ... My sympathies are with all those who suffered in this tragedy, relatives, friends, Virginians, and all Americans.

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Thoughts and prayers go out to all concerned.

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Gosh, just finished writing this. Sorry for the long read but appreciate being able to express myself, for what it's worth!

Cheers Mates!

Brian


Thanks for all the encouragement and well wishes. They've close the campus for the rest of the week. The poor kids are coming home like walking wounded. Although our immediate community loss no one, surrounding communties have. Also, we have kids who's roommates were killed or wounded, close friends killed and wounded as well as some of their professors who were killed!

This generation of Virginia kids have had it quite rough. Last year at about this time there was a lady police officer, and the policeman she was trying to protect, killed in a bloody shootout. Between news media, church services, and the huge funeral procession, it made for a heart wrenching time here.

But worse then that this Detective, Vicki Armel, was our very close friend. She went tour church and Cindy and I were in a Bible study with her. Actually one of the first pics. I sent to Accyweb Intro. had me and her little boy out looking for frogs and turtles during a church picture but I digress . . . .

Before that this whole area was terrorized by a bunch of sniper killings. They took place about 5 years ago. Again between constant news stories, warnings, sitings, schools closed or open with policeman standing guard, the whole recreational soccer league cancelled for the kids, etc. It was just a terrible time for eberyone, especially parents sending the kids off to school or any open field or market place for that matter.

I know it sounds just awful and get rid of guns blah blah blah but as flashy so sensitively said earlier, that all can be debated at another time. I wanted to take the time not to sensationalyze the situation, but to emphasize what this latest horror must be having on this generation of Virginia's youth. I fear that in the next few weeks we will begin having suicides again. So many of these kids, and adults, just get overwhelmed by these horrorfying situations!

I end by saying thank you Accyweb for allowing me a place to share so much "stuff!" You guys know more about certain issues and weaknesses of mine than some of my almost close friends!

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We lost two good Georgians in the VT massacre. Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez, GA. Saw his twin brother on one of our local t.v. news stations last evening, talking about Ryan. He was so dignified and strong. Brought tears to one's eyes. Ryan was a triple grad in psychology, biology and English. He intended to pursue a Ph.D in psychology with a focus on cognitive neuroscience.

Christopher Bishop, 35, of Pine Mountain, GA. He was an instructor at VT and was teaching a class in introductory German in Norris Hall at the time of the shooting. He was married to a fellow faculty member, Stephanie Hofer.

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thanks for sharing Brian, brought a lump to my throat and a sadness in the pit of my stomach.

god bless them all

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So much death and destruction of lives Brian. I know that you said Flashy was right that now is not the time to discuss the right to bear arms when we should be sending our thoughts and prayers to those involved in this latest massacre, but since you brought up the subject of all these terrible things that have happened and ask how it will affect a whole generation of Virginian youth not to mention the adults who are overwhelmed by all this horror perhaps now is the time to rethink it. How awful that people are driven to such despair by it all as to commit suicide. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like :( I'm only going to end up saying all the wrong things. I watched the story on the TV news today and my heart went out to those surviving students telling of their shock and fear.

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Me too HR .. can't stop thinking about it .. when you have children of your own (or otherwise, of course) .. you tend to put yourself in the position of those parents, don't you ? and create visions of how you would feel and the long term effects of it all.

I'm truly sorry for your loss of life in Virginia Brian.

Sorry that this gunman also turned the gun on himself, would have been useful to try and talk to him to understand what made him do this in the first place, may have helped, God forbid, other crazy people ever thinking about it in the first place.

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Did you hear the teacher who said she'd wanted to refer him for counselling? If only something had been done then :(

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I know that at this point it is hard to imagine, but maybe some good could come out of this tragedy. Who knows if someone connected with the college will start some kind of revolution(not the violent kind, but the productive kind) to bring the bearing of arms under closer scrutiny and perhaps legislation.

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Very sorry to hear about Vicki Armel.:(

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Under Virginia law the VT campus was already a gun free zone.....making it, of course, a perfect target for any perp. Strangely enough, the Virginia lawmakers had quite recently been considering a bill that would have reversed that - making it legal for anyone who had qualified for a concealed weapons permit to carry their gun on campus. But the bill never got out of subcommittee so was not voted upon. A spokesman for Virginia Tech said at the time that he was grateful for that as it would make everyone at the school feel so much safer. Huh, huh. If only a handful of people at VT had been allowed to have their weapons with them on Monday, I believe we would have been looking at a much different scenario today.

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Well maybe Bullseye, but who could say what other incidents may have happened if all the kid's were allowed to carry guns on Campus. Even the smallest of disagreements, etc.

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I think that now is the time for grieving, recrimiations and debates about gun control can wait. Think of the pain the families are suffering. Think, maybe, of the heroism of a seventy + holocaust survivor. Other stuff can wait.

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Yes, of course, Eric. Sorry.

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I didn't say all. Only those who could qualify for a permit. Lots of hoops to jump through. FBI checks, fingerprinting, forms and more forms, etc., That's why you don't see many instances of concealed weapons permits being revoked, because they are for law-abiding people who follow all the rules.

Apologies to those who think we shouldn't be discussing this topic at the moment.......but it keeps cropping up.

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Why would law abiding folk need a gun/permit in the first place?

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Please Pardon this brief interuption:

Martina McBride just sang this on American Idol:

God is Great but life aint always good;
when I pray, doesn't always turn out like I think it should,
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway!

Words that we try to live by, but it aint always easy at all!

Brian

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#1 For home protection, maybe home invasion robberies are not a problem where you live , but they have happened here in my area , what do you expect people to do , phone the police and hope they have someone available, maybe 5 miles or more away , and in the meantime .............

#2 I also have one at work for killing rattlesnakes which like to hide under the stacks of pipe in the storage area , ever raised a lift of 8" steel pipes and come across a couple of them ? , when you have a 20 odd acre dirt lot in a semi-rural area, these thing like to hide under anything giving shade and even if you re-grade and compact the whole area they come back, the critters have some kind of homing instinct and will return to areas cleared 10 years ago for new suburban housing developments .

:confused: :confused: :confused:

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Robberies are not just an American problem, we get them just like you do. We are unable to defend our property with force of any kind, if we do we are dealt with more harshly than the robbers, violence begets violence. As for dealing with homing snakes I'm sure there are companies, even a local authority unit that deal with this problem, without every Tom dick and Harry up and down like John Wayne.

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This morning i watched the video of the gunman ,before he commited the crimes, it sent a shiver down my back, ...if only someone had sensed the impending horror that was to happen, but hindsight is a wonderful thing,

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just seen it myself granny, he looked very disturbed!!

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I find it amazing that some of the people on here cannot even show the lowest standard of decency. 33 are dead, go and have your petty arguements somewhere else, this is a topic is for condolences.

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who do u mean samF??

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DO YOU MEAN LIKE THIS???????????????????????????

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Irrespective of the arguments for and against gun control, it now appears that the young man who carried out this atrocity had previously been certified by a local judge as being a loonatic.

Could one of our dear friends from the USA possibly explain as to how and why such people are allowed to obtain lethal firearms?

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Hello Mr. T,

When a lunatic goes into a gun shop to buy firearms, he doesn't usually present his certificate of dafthood to the guy behind the counter. How are the gun salesmen supposed to know?

JW.

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That makes sense John ,
but it seems like you can pick up a gun at a car boot sale .or such like without any i.d. or licence

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Its not too difficult to spot a loonatic, JW. After all, there are at least half a dozen of 'em regularly contributing to the Accy Web.

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All of the people discussing the rights and wrongs of the second ammendment. There is a time and a place and it is not here and not now.

Wait until the dead have been buried before the finger pointing starts.

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I see the dead students will receive postumous degrees. If my memory serves me correctly, degree ceremonies in the USA are usually accompanied by the music of Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March"; will they be playing this at their funerals?

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During my senior year of High School, my best friend, as well as 4 others, were killed in various car crashes. They all (their families) received their degrees at the graduation ceremony. Their names were read off and the degrees were proferred. Yes, "Pomp and Circumstance" was played at our graduation. Not that I should have to say but no, "P&C" was not played at any of the funerals!

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way too much is made of all this graduation stuff , College degrees , ok I can see that , its an acheivement , but graduating from elementary school and high school is in my opinion a bit over the top , we have got to the stage now where you even get a certificate and ceremony for graduating from drunk driving school
:eek: :eek: :eek:

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Agree 100%

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Statewide Day of Morning today. Although the sun is shining brightly and the temperature will make for a beautiful day, there is a dreary, callous pall that envelopes us; yesterday, today, and tomorrow's tomorrows.
:( Brian :( .

So today we will grieve, as we've all grieved before and will face another tragedy, and grieve yet again, as life sees fit. However, tomorrow will come, our hope will rise once again, we will notice the sunshine and the warmth of the day. We will Be Stong, Keep Faithful, and Keep Smiling (no matter how much it hurts)!

Thanks for sharing my Accyweb family!

:o Brian:o :rolleyes: :)