Another VA Tech murder....

[mnealtx 0]

... damn the NRA!!!

Oh, wait....

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Police: Grad student knew suspected killer

Student from China was having coffee when decapitated at Virginia Tech

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[JohnRich 4]

She was only killed with a knife. Her death isn't important. No one cares.

[quade 4]

I think the reason this isn't getting as much press has nothing to do with the knife, but rather that it seems to be a relationship gone wrong and only involved one person. Sadly, this sort of thing happens every day and the only, even vaguely, newsworth items in this story are the fact it happens at VA Tech (for the historical tie) and was a decapitation.

Had it been a mass killing spree it would gotten a lot more press, but generally speaking a single person with a knife is unable to kill 32 people in a single killing spree. To do that, you generally do need more than a knife. Guns, however, are quite effective at it. I seriously doubt the events of April 16, 2007 at VA Tech would have been possible had he used a knife rather than two guns; a .22 and a 9mm.

If a person denies killing lots of people with guns is easier than killing them with a knife, there's something wrong with that person's ability to perceive reality.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[1969912 0]

VA Tech needs Asian-control laws.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[quade 4]

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VA Tech needs Asian-control laws.

Because crazy white guys don't load up trucks full of explosives and kill people?

Oh . . . kaaaaayyyy.

Crazy comes in all races and religions.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 3,107]

>She was only killed with a knife. Her death isn't important. No one cares.

Exactly. To continue with the usual gun nut approach, the next few posts should be:

- a list of people who defended themselves with a knife

- mocking of the victim (i.e. "they were incompetent" "if they had a knife too they'd have been fine")

- claiming that anyone who does care about the murder is a "knife o phobe"

- a flurry of stats showing steak knife vs. ice cream sales in Puerto Rico and DC

- an indignant string of posts saying "well, if you are worried about this, why not blame pebbles? You can kill someone with a pebble!"

[1969912 0]

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VA Tech needs Asian-control laws.

Because crazy white guys don't load up trucks full of explosives and kill people?

Oh . . . kaaaaayyyy.

Crazy comes in all races and religions.

You're right, I was being serious.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[normiss 891]

or nationalities as well.
I notice the German AK-47 incident didn't garner much coverage either.
Apparently purchasing assault weapons over the interweb is ok in some countries.

[Halfpastniner 0]

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VA Tech needs Asian-control laws.

Because crazy white guys don't load up trucks full of explosives and kill people?

Oh . . . kaaaaayyyy.

Crazy comes in all races and religions.

You're right, I was being serious.

I thought it was funny

BASE 1384

[1969912 0]

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VA Tech needs Asian-control laws.

Because crazy white guys don't load up trucks full of explosives and kill people?

Oh . . . kaaaaayyyy.

Crazy comes in all races and religions.

You're right, I was being serious.

I thought it was funny

Me too. And Quade's still wandering around lost in Oklahoma or some fuckin place.....

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[rhys 0]

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Sadly, this sort of thing happens every day and the only, even vaguely, newsworth items in this story are the fact it happens at VA Tech (for the historical tie) and was a decapitation.

In the USA maybe but not where I am from, have been and currently reside.

That would be in the headlines for a week.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[quade 4]

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In the USA maybe but not where I am from, have been and currently reside.

That would be in the headlines for a week.

The US is a much more violent country for a number of reasons. We also have more than 10 times the population of Australia, so "smaller" crimes really just aren't as out of the ordinary because they're going to happen roughly 10 times as often nationwide.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[JohnRich 4]

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In the USA maybe but not where I am from, have been and currently reside.

So there's very little knife crime in Australia, eh?

News:

Murder snapshot: At home, at night, by knife

YOU are now far more likely to be murdered with a knife than a gun, new Australian crime statistics reveal.

Some 44 per cent of homicide victims were killed with a knife or other sharp instrument in 2006-07.

Only 11 per cent of murder victims were killed with a firearm, the lowest proportion on record.

"The data reflects the general trend toward a lower proportion of homicides using firearms and a higher proportion using knives," the Australian Institute Of Criminology's Judy Putt said...

Source: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24741693-5006301,00.html

And for all you gun-control folks who don't want to do anything about knife crime in America because it's only a minority of the problem, well, what about this situation in Australia? Since the majority of the murders there are by knife, would you advocate that Australia implement some tough new knife control laws, like knife registration? Would you also say that they now shouldn't worry about their gun murders, since they're just a minority in the statistics?

In order to be consistent with your arguments, that's what you would have to do.

But I don't for a minute expect it.

[wmw999 2,584]

True that. Of course, since the murder rate in Australia is roughly 25% that of the US (from wikipedia), that would mean that while knives are a bigger percentage of the murders that happen, overall there are fewer murders per hundred thousand.

I think that's a good thing. Don't you? I'm sure that the families of the victims of the knife murders aren't so happy, but overall, for society, the net result is fewer deaths overall.

Sometimes things that are individually not so good are better for society overall.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Capt.Slog 0]

Ingenious use of a very misleading statistic, Mr. Rich.

The knife murder rate in Oz is slightly lower than the knife murder rate in the USA.

The gun murder rate in Oz is way way less than the gun murder rate in the USA.

So the question you should ask is WHY is the GUN murder rate in the USA so out of line with other developed nations?

[mnealtx 0]

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Ingenious use of a very misleading statistic, Mr. Rich.

The knife murder rate in Oz is slightly lower than the knife murder rate in the USA.

The gun murder rate in Oz is way way less than the gun murder rate in the USA.

So the question you should ask is WHY is the GUN murder rate in the USA so out of line with other developed nations?

Societal issues.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[AWL71 0]

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I think the reason this isn't getting as much press has nothing to do with the knife, but rather that it seems to be a relationship gone wrong and only involved one person. Sadly, this sort of thing happens every day and the only, even vaguely, newsworth items in this story are the fact it happens at VA Tech (for the historical tie) and was a decapitation.

Had it been a mass killing spree it would gotten a lot more press, but generally speaking a single person with a knife is unable to kill 32 people in a single killing spree. To do that, you generally do need more than a knife. Guns, however, are quite effective at it. I seriously doubt the events of April 16, 2007 at VA Tech would have been possible had he used a knife rather than two guns; a .22 and a 9mm.

If a person denies killing lots of people with guns is easier than killing them with a knife, there's something wrong with that person's ability to perceive reality.

Had this murder taken place with a pistol it would have gotten much more press. This story has gotten next to no coverage. The issue is not the knife, but the nutjob using it. But had he used a gun the incident would have been used to further how evil guns are.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

[quade 4]

I respectfully disagree. It's unfortunate but single victim murders with guns happen every day and very few get even half as much press as this story has.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[JohnRich 4]

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True that. Of course, since the murder rate in Australia is roughly 25% that of the US (from wikipedia), that would mean that while knives are a bigger percentage of the murders that happen, overall there are fewer murders per hundred thousand.

That doesn't change the ratios. The whole argument being made by the gun-o-phobes is that we should be attacking the primary source of murder. And in Australia, that's knives. So are any of them calling for more Aussie knife control in this forum? Nope. Nary a one.

It just proves my point once again - nobody cares about knife murders.

What's good for guns, is not good for knives. Regulate the former out of existence, and do nothing about the latter. Ho-hum, knives are boring. Not to worry.

[JohnRich 4]

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Ingenious use of a very misleading statistic, Mr. Rich.
The knife murder rate in Oz is slightly lower than the knife murder rate in the USA.

12% of murders in America are with a knife. But we shouldn't worry ourselves with that, because it's just a minority in the statistics.

11% of murders in Australia are with a gun, but guns are a horrible thing that should be eliminated from private ownership, and we shouldn't do a thing about knives, which are responsible for four times as many murders.

See anything contradictory there?

[normiss 891]

Here in Central Florida, I'm concerned with baseball bats no matter what the percentage is.
and machetes.

[wmw999 2,584]

If murders are an issue, then you attack whatever is the primary cause of murders. Maybe folks in Australia aren't sharing what they're doing to control murder with you. Of course, they only have 1/4 the problem with murder that we do, so maybe they're working on other, worse, problems right now.

BTW -- I like making things go bang too. But somehow we have a high murder rate, and guns are a strong contributor to it. I'm not sure that "it's the price of freedom" is the only answer. There is no answer that will fix everything.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Capt.Slog 0]

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Ingenious use of a very misleading statistic, Mr. Rich.

The knife murder rate in Oz is slightly lower than the knife murder rate in the USA.

The gun murder rate in Oz is way way less than the gun murder rate in the USA.

So the question you should ask is WHY is the GUN murder rate in the USA so out of line with other developed nations?

Societal issues.

Very TRUE - In Australian society only 5.2% of adults own and use firearms.

[Capt.Slog 0]

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Ingenious use of a very misleading statistic, Mr. Rich.
The knife murder rate in Oz is slightly lower than the knife murder rate in the USA.

12% of murders in America are with a knife. But we shouldn't worry ourselves with that, because it's just a minority in the statistics.

11% of murders in Australia are with a gun, but guns are a horrible thing that should be eliminated from private ownership, and we shouldn't do a thing about knives, which are responsible for four times as many murders.

See anything contradictory there?

No, because OZ has already taken realistic steps to control firearms, unlike the USA.

Your arguments are specious.

[Andy9o8 2]

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Had it been a mass killing spree it would gotten a lot more press, but generally speaking a single person with a knife is unable to kill 32 people in a single killing spree. To do that, you generally do need more than a knife. Guns, however, are quite effective at it. I seriously doubt the events of April 16, 2007 at VA Tech would have been possible had he used a knife rather than two guns; a .22 and a 9mm.

If a person denies killing lots of people with guns is easier than killing them with a knife, there's something wrong with that person's ability to perceive reality.

You know, Texas does have a somewhat storied history of infamous snipings of multiple people with rifles from elevated perches, like a university bell tower, the 6th floor window of a certain book depository building, and quite possibly a certain grassy knoll. Somehow I think that if JFK's murder had been a knife crime, had Arlen Specter offered-up a "single sword-thrust theory", he'd have been laughed out of the Warren Commission.