April 22, 2007
To most of us who recall the recent massacre at Virginia Technical College, the murder of 32 innocent people and suicide of the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, that might appear to be a curious question, if not a stupid one. Apparently, though, some feel it is the appropriate way to go. Virginia Tech pays respects to victims, and gunman, Students Forgive Virginia Tech Killer.
I am not directly faulting those who feel he deserves forgiveness. After all, they have been taught in today’s feel good culture that they must not harbor ill will or hold acts against others. They have been taught that this culture of ‘instant forgiveness’ raises the weight of anger from their heart and such.
If someone calls you a name in an angry outburst, cheats you from something, or performs another transgression against you, I could agree with their culture of forgiveness. But, a mass murderer? A person who planned and carried out one of the largest massacres in modern American history?
In December 1997 at Heath High School in Paducah Kentucky, a 14 year old killed 3 others and wounded more in another shooting. The day after the shooting, some students and preachers were urging ‘forgiveness’ for the student shooter, prompting Dennis Prager to pen When Forgiveness Is A Sin in the Wall Street Journal and reprinted in the March 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest.
Nine years later, we saw the horrific slaughter of 32 people at West Virginia tech and once again, some are not only issuing “instant forgiveness” of the shooter, they have actually erected a small memorial to Seung-Hui Cho amongst those to the other 32 he murdered. Found in that memorial is a note which says, "I just wanted you to know that I am not mad at you. I don't hate you, I am so sorry that you could find no help or comfort." It is signed, "With all my love, Laura."
Chris Chabalko, a 29-year-old graduate student at Virginia Tech added, "He was a student. Thirty-three people died. There's nothing anyone can do about it now. We've got to remember them equally." He sees a memorial to Cho as “fair.”
What we see at work here isn’t Christianity; it’s the infiltration of religion by the 60’s culture of “feel good doctrines.” It may be being taught in Churches but make no mistake, it is from the same 60’s leftist culture that has been gradually overtaking our lives for decades now. In reviewing several articles about this weeks shooting at Virginia tech we see Cho described as having been diagnosed autistic at age 8, bullied, made fun of due to his speech, outcast by others and on and on. Nearly everything but he was an evil person who struck out at others.
If we should issue instant forgiveness to Cho, why not others? Why is there such an outcry, even from the left, to get Osama Bin Laden? Shouldn’t he be “forgiven” for his acts, including the slaughter of nearly 3,000 on September 11, 2001? Why isn’t Charles Manson “forgiven” and released from prison?
In fact, why do we even have prisons and a Police Force? If we are expected to “instantly forgive,” why are criminals even labeled as such and locked up? Shouldn’t we just “forgive” them their transgressions and just move on?
HELL NO we shouldn’t!
While leftist infiltration of religion has moved us towards this “feel good doctrine” of forgiveness, it is noticed that Mass Shootings Are More Common Since the 1960s, the era that we saw the mass influx of leftist doctrines transfused into society. It should also be noted that along with this influx of leftist doctrine, gun control measures started making it much harder for law-abiding citizens to obtain and keep a personal weapon.
As this was starting we also saw a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1962 removing prayer from schools followed by the decades long removal of God from our public society. Yet, the same ones urging removal of God from our Public Institutions also insist that the “feel good doctrine of instant forgiveness” betters us.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
As noted in the Dennis Prager article above, forgiveness does come with stipulations. Evildoers have not met those stipulations and have no intention of doing so. Seung-Hui Cho is dead at his own hand. His eternal fate is in the hands of God, not us. Other evildoers still alive will one day meet a similar fate and face their own judgment. Only God knows whether or not they deserve forgiveness and only God will decide if they receive it. All we can do is eliminate them from our midst to protect our families and loved ones.
As we instantly forgive those who do such evil acts, we send a message to others that evil isn’t really as bad as said. Evil acts become minimized and move closer to acceptable in the minds of evildoers. There are no repercussions for evil and crime, just “instant forgiveness.” No repercussions, no deterrent. As we have seen, crime flourishes as does evil acts.
As for Seung-Hui Cho, his Maternal Grandfather said it all. Kim Hyang-Sik, 81, is quoted as saying, "Son of a bitch. He deserved to die.”
Towards forgiving and erecting a memorial to this mass murderer, I say not just NO, but HELL NO!
Lew
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Does Seung-Hui Cho Deserve Forgiveness?
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8 comments:
I was very surprised to see some students erecting a makeshift memorial to the shooter. I'm still mad as hell. And grieving, as I read each account of yet another funeral. (we've had several here in Northern Virginia.)
My youngest son's girlfriend is a freshman at Tech. I can't forget the absolute terror I felt when I first heard of the shootings, the lurch in my heart.
I don't hate him. But I can't yet feel compassion for him.
I don't think forgiveness is inappropriate. But it takes a lot of time and tears to truly forgive - no such thing as 'instant forgiveness', no forgiveness fairies tapping you with a forgiveness wand.
I can't even wish him 'rest in peace'.
Collency, I can only imagine the horror you felt until you found out your youngest's girlfriend was alright.
Still, there are requiremnts laid out for forgiveness and with him dead, he cannot meet those requirements. So, is fate is where he placed it, in God's hands.
I don't hate him either, but can't offer him any forgiveness or coompassion for what he put so many through, as well as the country itself. Even if mentally disturbed, he carried out a premeditated plan, chaining doors shut and all. Many people are mentally disturbed and still choose hundreds of other ways to deal with it and not by causing so many such needless pain.
I hope you had the chance to read the Dennis Prager article. I first found it in a copy of Reader's Digest and can see what he is talking about.
Whatever becomes of Seung-Hui Cho's soul is whatever he brought on himself. Our worries should be to helping those who suffered such a great loss and were terrorized by him, not he himself.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Feel free to vent here if you feel the need.
I just read the Prager article, thanks for the reminder. Interesting point he made, that only those wronged can forgive.
It's a hard quality to define. Is it the absence of ill-will and blame? Is it actively reaching out and signing a card 'all my love', as the Tech student did?
All of MY love is going towards the families of the students and professors who were murdered. Don't have any to spare for the person who caused it all.
His hatred is chilling.
Lew... what kind of "requirements" for forgiveness are we talking about here? So I guess people have to meet requirements nowadays to be forgiven is that correct? Its funny how you use God's name. Does it not say in the Bible forgive others without contempt. Im curious as to whether or not you met YOUR requirements yet. I mean after all killing all those "gooks", innocent women and children, raping them have you yet met YOUR requirements for forgiveness? Oh wait I forgot you lost the war. You dont deserve to be forgiven because you lost the war, right? It's OK though. I'm sure its anger that drives you to where you stand about this topic. After all I'd be just as angry if I came back from a war in which my own life wasnt appreciated by the majority of the country. It's one thing for your actions in "Viet Nam" to go unappreciated but its another to get angry that a man that OUR SOCIETY CREATED is being forgiven for his horrific, senseless actions. Remember monsters are created, not born. Cho deserves a memorial as much as his 32 victims do. I say this not to defend his actions but because morally, it is the right thing to do. I can only feel sorry for those who WILL NOT find compassion, sympathy, or forgiveness in their hearts for the shooter or his family. These inconsiderate actions are likely to GUARANTEE another school shooting. Thanks to the society who refuses to show compassion.
P.S. "Liberals dont rattle sabors, they raise white flags." Such an ignorant comment for a blog. You might want to brush up on your history a little bit. After all it was LIBERALS who won WW1(wilson), WW2(truman), Gulf War(clinton) and Conservatives who lost our wars Vietnam(Nixon), Iraq(Bush). Shall I name more? You're just an uneducated, miserable, and arrogant old man. Obviously for those who were educated enough in your time didn't have to go to "Viet Nam". For someone 25+ years older than I, you really need some credentials under your belt. After all ingnorance is bliss.
Dave, first of all, maybe you should read the Dennis Prager article in reference to what the Bible says. I see nowhere the Bible says "forgive without contempt.
Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
Since the 'sinner' is required to 'repent' of their sins to the one sinned against, how do others take it upon themselves to 'forgive?'
Cho deserves a memorial as much as his 32 victims do. I say this not to defend his actions but because morally, it is the right thing to do.
I'm sure you will 'forgive' me, Dave, but that is about the most asinine thing I have read yet. That is nothing more than the leftwing 'feel good' psychobabble that has permeated through religion today.
By your statement, where are the memorials to Hitler, Timothy McVeigh and even Nixon? Why does the "feel good left" mention Nixon in a bad light still? Haven't you found in your liberal heart to "forgive?"
You blame others for the actions of criminals and they end up going unpunished and felt sorry for. That ends up encouraging those of the criminal mindset to do more crime. But you still, in your 'liberal compassionate moment,' neglect the requirement of the sinner to 'repent.'
If a criminal knows there will be no repercussions, what is to stop them from more crime?
As for the next shooting, perhaps if it hadn't been a "gun-free" zone and law abiding and properly qualified students, teachers or administrators had a gun, his shooting would have been stopped long before he killed 32 and took his own life. Seems everywhere others were armed; shooters somehow were stopped before they killed so many. Imagine that.
For a 33 year old, Dave, you appear about as dumb as an ox. IN the days of Woodrow Wilson, Democrats weren't liberals. Liberalism didn't start getting a foot hold until Franklin Roosevelt and his "New Deal.' As the Soviet Union was growing in Russia, liberalism seemed to spread out.
In WW2, under Roosevelt, Republicans did not travel to other nations friendly with the enemy and make backhanded deals with them, nor did they constantly drone on about poor leadership, all is lost, and trump up kangaroo investigations against Roosevelt and his early mishandling of that war. They approached him and together worked out the best ways to win the war. Back then, both parties wanted it won, not score political points.
A small side note for you. The liberal left was solidly opposed to any intervention into WW2 until Hitler turned on the Soviet Union and attacked them. Then, liberals went bonkers demanding intervention to save their Communist Stalinist buddies.
Incidentally, the first Gulf War was fought and ended by cease-fire under George H.W. Bush. It was between August 1990 to February 1991. B.J. Clinton wasn't elected until November 1992, inaugurated in January 1993, long after the cease-fire. It was under Clinton's watch that Iraqis who were encouraged to stand up against Saddam received no support and were promptly cut down.
However, he did take "unilateral" actions against Saddam as well as bomb the daylights out of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Oops, just an accident. But he seems 'forgiven.'
As for Viet Nam, Nixon’s hands were tied, as were Ford's after the LIBERAL DEMOCRAT led Congress passed the Case Church amendment, barring any aid whatsoever to South Viet Nam, as China and Russia were resupplying North Viet Nam. It was LIBERAL Walter Cronkite who announced to the world that Viet Nam was lost after the Tet of '68 offensive fiasco by the North, in which their forces were literally decimated by the South Vietnamese and American Armies. Oh yes, that was under the leadership of DEMOCRAT Lyndon Johnson, go figure.
The only way Iraq will be lost now is if you pantywaist liberals get your way and make another mockery out of the sacrifice of the brave men and women over there currently begging Congress for support to finish the fight they know they are winning.
Since were are discussing past wars, maybe you can answer why DEMOCRAT John Fitzgerald Kennedy abandoned the Cubans he promised support to when they re-invaded the Island to depose Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs, causing them to lose their fight?
Maybe you can tell us why LIBERAL DEMOCRAT B.J. Clinton bugged out of Somalia instead of going after Al Qaeda then. Perhaps you can explain why he also declined some 3 times for Bin laden to be turned over and his administration never carried out any sightings of Bin laden for him to be killed or captured?
Perhaps you can also explain why the LIBERAL DEMOCRAT led Congress in the 1980's forced Reagan to withdraw our Marines from Lebanon after their barracks were bombed, instead of going after the terrorists that carried it out.
But, Clinton sure acted and cleaned up a small group of women and children in Waco, Texas, didn't he?
You said, "You're just an uneducated, miserable, and arrogant old man." No, you're wrong as can be. What I don't like are pompous LIBERAL know it all with their heads buried up their butts who don't know squat, like you.
You also said, "Obviously for those who were educated enough in your time didn't have to go to "Viet Nam"." Again, you prove how little you know. The only one "educated enough" that I know of is your sweetheart, B.J. Clinton, draft dodger. Even "educated enough" George W. Bush asked to be sent to Viet Nam, but didn't have enough points accumulated to qualify and it was too late in the war for him, after flight school. Unlike another LIBERAL DEMOCRAT opportunist and self proclaimed 'war hero,' who admitted in his own writing in 1986 that he only volunteered for Swift Boats because they were doing safe and easy off shore patrolling, Bush served his time and didn't go before Congress to lie through his teeth about other Veterans.
As for the education of Viet Nam Veterans, 79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or better when they entered the military service. (63% of Korean War vets and only 45% of WWII vets had completed high school upon separation).
You are correct in one regard, ignorance is bliss. You proved it here this evening with your total lack of knowledge of even rudimentary matters.
Be sure to stop back by when you learn some things.
Well, Lew...I was all primed to slam the little ass but it seems that you, once again, handed the little uneducated, driveling, sniveling, whining troll ITS butt.
Good job!
And Clinton one the Persian Gulf War? Really? I recall serving under Bush as the CIC back then. My My MY!!
Yep. You are correct. The liberals are dumber than a box of rat droppings.
Fuck you, Lew. I bet you cried when the Viet Cong came for your ass.
"Fuck you, Lew"
Sorry anonymous, I have to decline. Once with me and you'd never enjoy sheep or goats again.
"I bet you cried when the Viet Cong came for your ass."
Hope you didn't bet too much. The only tears I shed were tears of laughter watching cretins like you cringe in fear when a hooch maid walked in. Besides, I still have my ass, Charlie didn't get me.
But, thanks again for showing all what keyboard warriors you leftists are, hiding behind a non-name.
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