Comments on: Mind Of The Assassin

Scott Pelley On How The Secret Service Studies The Minds Of Assassins

[booyaw_77]

Its a common diagnosis is my point. Most schizophrenics get diagnosed their senior year in college. Thats when the auditory hallucinations? The paranoia? Everything comes out. Look it up! Its common.

[booyaw_77]

HE EVEN SIGNED UP FOR YOU POETRY CLASS! What kind of an engineer signs up for a poetry class? Did he sign up for your poetry class to get kicked out of his engineering program? Huh? Is that why he wanted to be poetic? To get *** from the students AND the professors?! Huh?

If I were you, I wouldn't brag too much about the "I knew everything" if I were you.

[booyaw_77]

People talk about this guy as if he was this big secret. He wasn't a big secret. He lived there! He went to your behavioral psychologists! He told you! Everything! And there was no one. Not even a professor..

"I'm not worthless. I'm not a loser."

[booyaw_77]

"Well this is like the chicken/egg debate (like what came first, the chicken or the egg). I guess one could speculate that if he really hated this prof as opposed to people in general then wouldn't he have targeted her instead."

Maybe, maybe not. The guys a loner. Possibly schizophrenic. Goes for help, and they release him. Now they got his records. His deepest, darkest, eccentric secrets. "Why is she treating me like this?"

How much of paranoia is real? How much of what a schizophrenic is afraid of is real? Not being accepted? Getting bad grades? Teachers who talk about him behind his back? Students? "They're stuck up." He said.

Could you give your only hearfelt confession and then the next day find out that everybody knows about it? And they're laughing at you?

[jerry_in_va]

I think one needs to question not only why this student was allowed to remain in school while refusing to participate and follow instruction, but why he was admitted in the first place. Virginia Tech, while a public institution, is also a leading and prestigious university. As such, their admission requirements are geared to the acceptance of intelligent, well-rounded individuals. Admission is partially based upon demonstration of leadership skills, community service/volunteer activities, extra-curricular activities, hobbies, references. Every interview has indicated throughout his entire high school experience and continuing throughout college, this guy was a loner, never communicated with anyone and never participated in anything. Many of his fellow college students didn't even know if he spoke english. Who provided his references? Exactly what did the admissions department think they were getting when they accepted him? When you provide special policies for groups and individuals, you never know what you're getting in return. This is the 2nd time in as many years that Virginia Tech has been thrown into the national spotlight in other than a positive manner. It wasn't that long ago Marcus Vick tainted their image by stomping on an opponent's leg, engaged in underage sexual relationships, DUI and driving on suspended license, carrying a concealed weapon etc. It's time to end minority quotas and athletic academic exemptions.

[tkmclelland]

As an educator for 35 years and am currently responsible for safe schools in my district, I took much interest in your segment. Many eduators have so much on their plate right now that this is just one more thing to worry about; however, we need to be sensitive to these children hurting.
In Texas we are consumed by the TAKS test but we are a time bomb waiting to happen. Until we address the emotional needs of our children, we will never get them up to speed with learning. Wheather we like it our not, educators will need to be stand in parents with many.

[sandy19731]

The line between suicide and homicide is very thin indeed. When someone doesn't care about their own life they usually don't care much about yours either. And, if they are angry or have an agenda we are in big trouble.

The suicide angle is very interesting and hasn't been focused on very much in the psychiatric literature as regards to homocide. We certainly see it in terrorist situations.

[cathaleen]

You can get all the experts in the country and you still won't be able to stop someone from killing people if that is what they set out to do.

We are an open society with over 350 million people. It would impossible to stop.

We can start by doing little things like starting in grammar schools, teachers, along with parents, put a stop to the bullies who terrorize
others. So many times, the teachers do nothing to stop it. If you start with this, it may help prevent these horrific crimes. This is where the trouble starts. It may not be the answer, but it can help.

[prelgovisk]

It is a lot easier to wear shoes than carpet the kingdom. If everyone expects psychologists to weed out students like this, they are just setting themselves up for another similar incident.

He paid his tuition and did not break any laws. You can't jail or expel someone because they are creepy. Lots of students come to class and don't participate. The only punishment for that is a bad grade.

At the end of the day, the only thing that can stop or minimize such horrendous crimes is to carefully follow security procedures, like locking doors after class begins or having armed security guards.

[rhs648]

These two professors are not psycho. They knew this student had problems, made special arrangements to help him, and reported his strange behavior to the administration. Unlike high school, college professors are not expected to be disciplinarians. They are expected to transfer their knowledge to mature and interested students. My question is why the school kept this student. He certainly doesn't seem like the type of person a college should keep. When a university confers a degree upon a student, that student should meet the requirements and standards expected of a college graduate. Refusing to participate, refusing to answer questions when asked by a professor, and responding with "question mark" when asked for his name should have lead to dismissal from that university.

[Ju-suk.Han]

r

[samthetvcat]

"Have you guys listened to those two psycho professors talk about how "they knew" everything? I think that there might be one possibility everybody's overlooked: They drove him to it. I mean, have you listened to those psycho professors? "I ain't gonna teach him."? "It's him or me."? What the hell is that?

You teach whoever pays tuition, sister!"
Posted by booyaw_77

Well this is like the chicken/egg debate (like what came first, the chicken or the egg). I guess one could speculate that if he really hated this prof as opposed to people in general then wouldn't he have targeted her instead.

[samthetvcat]

"You forgot a very important link between all the school shootings. All of these children were prescribed by doctors anti-depressants and other medications. Google the video "Prescription for Disaster" After Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore even admitted that both those boys were on prescription drugs. Is CBS allowed to report on this, even though you advertise for drug companies? I think that Americans need to be made aware of this common thread. When a doctor or teacher suggest to parents that their kids can concentrate more, but they can become suicidal or even killers I think this can make decision making alittle harder. You are a very good news show it would be nice to see you report on this."
Posted by karenburns2

It turns out this idea caused suicide rates to skyrocket after doctors stopped perscribing anti-depressants to at-risk teens. Perhaps that's why nobody's wanted to touch on this angle . . .

[samthetvcat]

rhs648

And yet I lived on a major fault line for years - how dumb was that? lol ;)

Meh, I guess we're all just doing the best we can . . . all you kids at VT it wasn't your fault - take care of yourselves and good luck. We are all thinking of you and wishing you the best! :)

[rhs648]

SamTheTVCat - Your analysis and insight is very thought provoking. You seem to have a grasp of what makes people tick.

[rhs648]

The Nazis passed laws prohibiting Jews from owning guns. Further, the Nazis were supprised that the Jews offered very little resistance. If a member of the gestapo were shot each time they entered the home of a Jew,there would have been thousands of dead gestapo members. Further, this might have encouraged the Jews to organize themselves and resist. Six million armed people could have killed hundreds of thousands of gestapo, soldiers, and nazis. An unarmed population is defenseless. Why allow onself to be a sitting duck?

[samthetvcat]

"In 81 percent of school shootings they studied, other kids knew in advance and said nothing. Today, the Secret Service is trying to figure out why with a new study due out in the next few months."

Well I'm no psychologist but my guess would be for the same reason Condi read the security briefing about the 9/11 possibility and couldn't anticipate the magnitude of the destruction - human beings are social creatures and it's not in our nature to think up horrific scenarios that have never occurred before in our area of the world. The US had never been attacked before 9/11. Kids don't think shootings are going to happen in their school by kids that they know.

It's the same kind of thought process that allows one to live on an earthquake fault line and think that the big one's not going to happen in one's lifetime - sometimes you lie to yourself because if you allow every possible threat no matter how horrific to reach the level of plausibility you'd have problems functioning.

Also, I think hindsight can be deceptive - like how many false positives would result from taking action on this profile of a bullied loner who talks about wanting to kill himself, or who owns a gun if you live in the South. And what's the plan for these kids if the majority of them would have course corrected on their own but now instead end up tagged as would-be shooters and under the watch of authorities . . .

[roadracer9x]

Didn't the Germans take the guns from the Jews in Nazi Germany?
Posted by LNorigby at 11:26 PM : Apr 22, 2007

Read your history. The Jews did not have any guns because they believed that Germany was a civilized and enlightened country and that nothing bad would happen to them. They had no use for guns nor would guns have saved any of them. The Nazis were very good at disguising their intentions to the Jews and the rest of the world for a long time.

Here%u2019s a novel idea. Make purchase and possession of bullets illegal. That will satisfy the intent of the 2nd Amendment and make it more difficult to kill people with guns.

[lnorigby]

VA Tech sounds like it is populated by such wonderful students. I wish that boy Cho would have done this in high school where the people were treating him badly instead of killing VA Tech students that seem to have tried to make friends with and accept him. I wonder what his childhood in South Korea was like. Was he bullied there too, or did he get to belong until he got stuck in this country?

[lnorigby]

No gun, no one dies. Get the guns.
Posted by lawandorder6 at 09:29 PM : Apr 22, 2007

Didn't the Germans take the guns from the Jews in Nazi Germany? Native Americans didn't have or use guns when they should have to keep us Europeans from stealing their lands and killling off their buffalo. No gun only makes one more helpless when another with a gun comes after the unarmed one.