VA Tech

[NewHummerGuy]

Not sure but I believe he lives (lived) about 5 mins from me. I am going to stroll by his house later. Figured I will know if its the right house or not by the signs of media. Just curious what the home of a mass murderer looks like.

Neighbors have been quoted as saying the family was very quiet and kept to themselves.

[KenP]

Originally Posted by NewHummerGuy

Just curious what the home of a mass murderer looks like.

The sad thing is, it looks just like anybody else's.

[Hmmm2]

Originally Posted by KenP

The sad thing is, it looks just like anybody else's.

They have been showing the home on FoxNews. It's a neatly kept, trim townhome, seemingly in a well-kept neighborhood. His parents live there .. while he was at VT he was in a dorm. His sister graduated from Princeton. Knowing many Asian people here, I have no doubt that his parents were very hard working, honorable people. They run a drycleaning business in their town. Academics play a big part in Asian family life, having their children strive in education. (At least, that is what I witness in my area). Perhaps it was more than this guy could take .. or, was pushed so hard in academics that his behavior went unnoticed. The Chicago Tribune has stated that in the killer's note, he expressed hatred towards the 'rich kids'. He obviously had many issues and a lot of hatred. So many ruined lives now.

[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by Hmmm3

They have been showing the home on FoxNews. It's a neatly kept, trim townhome, seemingly in a well-kept neighborhood. His parents live there .. while he was at VT he was in a dorm. His sister graduated from Princeton. Knowing many Asian people here, I have no doubt that his parents were very hard working, honorable people. They run a drycleaning business in their town. Academics play a big part in Asian family life, having their children strive in education. (At least, that is what I witness in my area). Perhaps it was more than this guy could take .. or, was pushed so hard in academics that his behavior went unnoticed. The Chicago Tribune has stated that in the killer's note, he expressed hatred towards the 'rich kids'. He obviously had many issues and a lot of hatred. So many ruined lives now.

Reminds me of the Far Side comic where the guy is lying on the couch in the psychiatrist's office and the psychiatrist writes on his notepad simply: "Just plain nuts."

There's no need to look further. He committed mass murder for no reason because he was CRAZY.

[h2co-pilot]

Some stuff:

Links to students Myspace pages/ Blogs etc

Shooters Plays he wrote-

Mr. McBeef wtf

Mr. Brownstone

From the student that published the plays online-

What happened yesterday:

When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."

Cho was in my playwriting class last fall, and nobody seemed to think much of him at first. He would sit by himself whenever possible, and didn't like talking to anyone. I don't think I've ever actually heard his voice before. He was just so quiet and kept to himself. Looking back, he fit the exact stereotype of what one would typically think of as a "school shooter" ? a loner, obsessed with violence, and serious personal problems. Some of us in class tried to talk to him to be nice and get him out of his shell, but he refused talking to anyone. It was like he didn't want to be friends with anybody. One friend of mine tried to offer him some Halloween candy that she still had, but he slowly shook his head, refusing it. He just came to class every day and submitted his work on time, as I understand it.

A major part of the playwriting class was peer reviews. We would write one-act plays and submit them to an online repository called Blackboard for everyone in the class to read and comment about in class the next day. Typically, the students give their opinions about the plays and suggest ways to make it better, the professor gives his insights, then asks the author to comment about the play in class.

When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.

After hearing about the mass shootings, I sent one of my friends a Facebook message asking him if he knew anything about Seung Cho and if he could have been involved. He replied: "dude that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! No, I haven't heard anything, but seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard he was Asian."

While I "knew" Cho, I always wished there was something I could do for him, but I couldn't think of anything. As far as notifying authorities, there isn't (to my knowledge) any system set up that lets people say "Hey! This guy has some issues! Maybe you should look into this guy!" If there were, I definitely would have tried to get the kid some help. I think that could have had a good chance of averting yesterday's tragedy more than anything.

While I was hesitant at first to release these plays (because I didn't know if there are laws against it), I had to put myself in the shoes of the average person researching this situation. I'd want to know everything I could about the killer to figure out what could drive a person to do something like this and hopefully prevent it in the future. Also, I hope this might help people start caring about others more no matter how weird they might seem, because if this was some kind of cry for attention, then he should have gotten it a long time ago.

As far as the victims go, as I was heading to bed last night, I heard that my good friend Stack (Ryan Clark) was one of the first confirmed dead. I didn't want to believe that I'd never get to talk to him again, and all I could think about was how much I could tell him how much his friendship meant to me. During my junior year, Ryan, another friend and I used to get breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Shultz Dining Hall, one of the cafeterias on campus, and it was always the highlight of my day. He could talk forever it seemed and always made us laugh. He was a good friend, not just to me, but to a lot of people, and I'll miss him a lot.

[K9sH3]

I watched as VATech held their candle light cermony tonight, Man I wish I wouldn't watch the news.. I work with kids everyday and I just think of what it must be like to be that parent that has to get the call...That is has to be numbing to the soul.
Like most teachers ( which I am not a school teacher) I try to teach the kids right from wrong and how to be a good person.. As we watched on Monday at the Sk8 park, the kids were looking at me for some answers. I saw in thier eyes the true meaning of being kids. And I couldn't explain such an horrific act by another human. I am sure Thursday when I get back I will be able to talk some more with them.

[Scouts Out]

I have just stopped watching the news, it is so depressing. I have experienced the suicide bombers, the terrorist, being shot at, rocketed, mortored, lost friends over seas. This being close to home, close to the age of my kids... that sad.