How easy it is for this man, who speaks for millions of Christians, to simply claim this explanation and asked “Did God abandon us?”

That seems to cancel any questioning of how to keep the responsibility in the area of the killer and disregard any concept of searching for others who might continue the killings. Could this be why no responsibility is pointed at President Bush for being responsible for the deaths of our servicemen and women in the Middle East? Did Satan have a hand in this too?

Franklin Graham also told us the killer must be forgiven.

Now is a time for mourning for these families, but they should seriously consider launching a suit against the staff and management of this university for not taking proactive measures against this kid a long time ago. From what I’ve read certain professors did try to alert their superiors concerning this guy, but nothing was done. Gee it sounds just like the intelligence that was sent to the top prior to 9/11 and a management failure allowed the Twin Towers to come down. Different situation yes, but in our times it seems to be atypically a give-a-care management, enforcement environment that leads up to disasters. These schools have a greater responsibility to the youngsters under their care than simply dispensing knowledge. From the look in his eyes he needed to be in lockup years ago, heavily dosed on Haldol. The tragedy is so many fine lives were wasted because of this “mad squirrel” in their midst.

My personal condolences go to the these familes…
Carl Nemo

The University was caught in the middle of Cho’s behavior. They were bound by law, not to sound any alarms for Cho, without violating his Privacy rights. They couldn’t even notify his Parents because of the law.
They would’ve been within their rights to expell Cho, siting any reason with little proof submitted.

There was no reason except for ratings for NBC to air the material Cho sent to them. There was no need to prove he was angry, planning revenge and very disturbed.
NBC should have used a little common sense which would have shown compassion to the Students of Virginia Tech, the Families of the victims and those that survived the horrofic event.

I see this as total disrespect for the victims and families. This isn’t good news reporting…this is a sensationalism opt for the media to pull in the green stuff.

I don’t think an illustration of Cho’s insanity is in anyway necessary. I actually find the photo on this site offensive. It serves no good purpose but to martyrize Cho, in my opinion. Knowing his name and the fact that he was a man with serious mental issues is enough.

Understanding why my son or daughter was killed would help me deal with it more than anything else would. Nothing could be worse than not knowing why, who he was, what went through his mind, and, if possible, how he got that way. We all must live with the reality that lunatics walk amongst us, often unsuspected, and we have never given any real effort to identifying them nor have we attempted to create a way to mandate any treatment programs if they are identified. Under current laws and attitudes, those attempting to label someone as mentally unbalanced opens themselves to liability unless they can absolutely prove their concerns. But by that time it is too late. The insane deed they do is the proof.

The why naturally leads to looking for someone to blame. But one of the most despicable things about our society is how we automatically reach for a way to profit from tragedy. Just look at what has occurred with Katrina. I don’t believe for one instant that any of those parents are concerned with “punishing” the school. They want the money if they can get it. But from what I know of it, so far, there is no way the school could be held liable. As in any of these situations, hindsight will show that it could have been handled better. But VT is in no way responsible for any deaths. Cho alone is responsible. The parents must accept the fact that if a nut job wants to kill he will do so and they would not accept the conditions necessary for a society make that impossible.

Like everyone else, I sympathize with the parents and siblings. As a parent myself I can only try to imagine the pain they feel. I hope they come to understand why it happened and find a way to live with it.

Upon reading your commentary I admire you for your beneficent views on how to cope with this type situation in the event your family had been victimized by such a psychopath, but I beg to differ.
Many people confuse the purpose of a civil suit. Yes, most are predicated on the size of the possible settlement, but they do serve another purpose. If the plaintiff’s should prevail both on the initial ruling and also on appeal, it sends a powerful message to college administrators everywhere that they have a responsiblity to provide reasonable protection and security for their students and staff. This includes the possibility of threats from within, be they from fellow students, staff, even security personnel.
It’s no different than suing a doctor or hospital organization for malpractice or failing to perform with due diligence.

As I steep myself in Cho’s troubled psychological background, along with Matt Apuzzo’s article above outlining his continual run-in with professors and local campus authorities it leads me to believe that they failed to protect the greater student population by using reasonable measures. I’ve already heard all the whining on the part of university officials about Cho’s civil rights etc.?! The guy was a ticking time bomb and they knew it! A university campus is not a public park or playground, it’s an institution that has a staff,students, security forces, and real property to protect from dangerous entities such as Cho, trespassers, etc. Cho didn’t have “right” to attend VT. He was there to attend school, hopefully to perform in a satisfactory manner both academically and interpersonally, then graduate and move on in life, hopefully to a successful career. Instead of he performing within these institutional constraints and guidelines, he began to demonstrate abberative behavior early on in his college stay. I’m not a university president, but I do have a background in management and know where the “buck stops” unlike the current leadershp from the nations capitol down to the lowest levels of corporate America. If this guy had continually popped up on my radar screen; i.e., my “in basket” as a problem, he would have been given the boot in a summary fashion off my campus; along with an alert to authorities that he’s possibly dangerous to the general public at large.

If he or she wants to meet me in a courtroom so be it. That’s the purpose of insurance. I’d be damned if I’d let a wacko intimidate my establishment and the students I have a responsiblity to not only teach, but to protect. So I personally feel that VT needs to be sued for the purpose of sending a message to smug, entrenched university bureaucrats that they best be on their toes and pay attention to what’s going on in their “tank”; i.e., their campus. Thirty-two students killed like sitting ducks is totally unacceptable in my opinion. They definitely need be sued.