Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Even Idiots Can Be Right

See previous post.

You may not believe it at first, or at all, but JB is right about two things (maybe even three). The national tragedy that occurred yesterday at Virginia Tech is not the fault of the university and it is not the fault of the gun industry. Talking heads on the news programs might want to us believe as such, but they are only in this for themselves, despite the insincere blessings and calls for prayer. First of all this news coverage makes for great ratings, possible awards and lots of money, and the news is always about ratings and money as opposed to quality news coverage. I suspect you already knew that, so I’ll leave it alone.

Tony Messenger, Editorial Page Editor for the Springfield News-Leader wrote about this on his blog today. So many are quick to judge the work of the school for its response. That criticism may be justified and it may not. It is simply too early to tell. But to be the first to say so is what the news business is all about. Messenger is right in that it is disgusting to jump to conclusions. Journalism isn’t supposed to be about that.

It will not be long until the gun industry is blamed as well. Forget the fact it is already illegal to kill people. I would suspect that most universities have policies in place regarding the carrying of weapons on campus. Getting the gun is the easy part, legally or illegally. The blame should rest solely on the part of the perpetrator. It is he that caused the tragedy. Who knows why. Sometimes there are no real answers to why things happen. Sometimes stuff just happens. The rest of JB’s rant is what it is. As awful his perspective might be, there are plenty who agree.

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