Oh, fine, let's take break to get disgusted at conservatives.

[prog]

The meme that the victims were a bunch of mincing cowards too sissified by their liberal environment to attack the gunman bare-handed seems to be rapidly spreading through the other camp. See comments by John Derbyshire, Nathaniel Blake, and Rush Limbaugh (as paraphrased by derspatchel).

Of tangential interest is a striking thought-experiment by bradhicks of what would have happened had any of the students been armed. I have no personal experience with guns or their use, so I don't know how accurate or relevant this is, but it made me think. (Gun control is an issue I stand absolutely neutrally on, and no recent events have changed this.)

Comments

[chocorisu.livejournal.com]

After the initial shock wore off I rapidly came to the same conclusion; that it was a one in a million tragedy and I'm far more likely to die from being run over by a bottle-blonde trophy wife in a giant Range Rover while she chats on her diamanté-encrusted RAZR, like nearly happened this lunchtime.

And having a gun in that situation would not have helped anyone, especially not her. My views on gun control stem mostly from the feeling that if I had one, I probably would have shot someone by now.