Well, for discussion, if you could...pull the Darned counselors notes he was referred to. Start with Chairwoman, Ms. Rude.

Going somewhere with this, I'd say the guy, aka ?????, was out for blood-drenched excitement. In any form.

There out to be a lawsuit. When questions are raised how Cho walked a great distance, bearing 20 pounds of chrome-plated chains. Rioting, I'm sure.

Those screenplays were bizarre to say the least. Face it...this kid just wasn't wired right. And you can sense the menace in his every word, even though it was written in a juvenile and crude manner. He seems to be obssessed with anger and negativity and violent notions. He must have let quite a sad and frighteningly painful existence. I wouldn't doubt at all if he would have been easily diagnosed as a sociopath, possibly bi-polar or schitzophrenic. I am just saddenned by the fact that someone didn't realize this sooner and act upon the information at hand instead of letting this time bomb tick until it exploded. This was probably his way of crying out for help, not that he deserves anyones compassion at this point, but these signs should have been seen as the warning that they were intended to be. Like an angry rattle snake rattling it's intentions of striking, this kid set out a clear warning to faculty and nobody took it seriously. I will wager that these types of things will no longer be ignored after the tragedy and loss of life that we all witnessed yesterday. Sad all around.

Yep, after reading that I wouldn't doubt he had mental-illness...and it seemed like people may have tried to ignore it or not make much of it....though I wonder if perhaps he may have been abused or something?

Those plays certainly didn't seem like the material you would expect a University student to write, the grammar and spelling was aweful.

Aside from this, from the topics of the plays, he certainly had alot of pent up anger. Either he had personally been abused, or just reacted as a first person witness to any bad news he came across. I've seen that before.

The anti-depression pills on top of that seem to conclude the same thing.

I have a friend in my college that hails from Taiwan. His aunt seems to be quite abusive toward him. Being from a family oriented culture, there isn't alot he can do about this, other than move out. (Which he thankfully has as of last month).
He comes across in a similar manor, allways holding back alot of anger. He isn't on any anti-depressants or anything like that, but he sure does talk about his aunt in a negative light alot. His control of the english language is pretty edgy, which doesn't help when he's trying to confide in his friends.

The shooter at Virgina Tech seems alot like my friend, however, pushed ALOT further.

As for my friend, he's out of his family's reach now, and has a steady girlfriend, and seems MUCH happier. His anger is steadily subsiding, which gives me alot of relief. I'm not afraid of him snapping at all, nor was I, but I know that if his aunt had continued what she was doing, or even pushed a little harder, he would certainly need more than just the counsil of friends.

I believe the shooter had an excessive version of the anger my friend held.

As I said in another thread. I think the route they are going with this is ridiciulous. Are we to think just because someone writes nuttyish screenplays that maybe we should report it as suspicious behaviour in the future to avoid this kind of situation? If so, then I think tht the majority of screenwriters and student screenwriters will be placed on a suspicion list!

Will Stephen King be on the future No-Campus list?
Not that Im comparing this kid to Mr. King as far as talent goes but Im sure he hadda start somewhere and I doubt he was creative at first shot.
For all we know these could have been works of absolute total boredom or as a joke.

You know what I'll admit his screen plays made me chuckle here and there, but that's only because they were so wack. However, if you put these plays and the person that wrote them together, something is definitley not right. He's an english major and he's failing at basic spelling and grammar skills; his behavior is unusual and he has been documented to have strong convictions against 'certain people'... On top of that was his apparant obsession with violent scenarios. He was a ticking time-bomb.

I took the time to read the plays and are you serious? Do you really find this stuff violent and disturbing? Compared to what? I mean I use to read Stephen King and he is way more disturbing. I mean he would have been put on a list for sure in school.

My point is this kid, had he gotten out of school and survived, could have been one of the great writters. (I doubt it, the stories were not particularly brilliant, and I felt like I was reading something written by someone in grade 7 or 9, not college.)

To call them violent and distrubed however, come on now. Are you people adults? If this was written by someone in grade 3, 5, 7. I would have been a little bit more concerned, but this was written by a young adult in college.

My point is his classmates and teacher reacted the same way to these plays, oh so violent and disturbing. Probably got him put on a list for monitoring, since teachers now routinly have to report this stuff, and it begins from there.

These people are then socially annexed, and they are treated in ever regard and aspect like they could be the next school shooter, and then low and behold, he does after some time as being treated like that, becomes that.

I think until we examine socities role in stuff like this, then we will never get to the heart of this stuff.

Are you the same society, that makes movies like saw, and all those other movies number one at the box office, and then you criticise this guy for writing plays that are considerably juvinille in relationship to plays like that?

I think we have a society that thrives on violence, and yet when someone writes a play like that, which was more juvinille than anything else, there is an over reaction, which then propably acts as a huge contributing factor to senarios like this one.

Please read those plays again, then look at some of the movies you are watching on tv, stuff you listen to on the radio, video games that grade 5's are playing and tell me that in comparison to that, you still find his writings violent, disturbing and like a nightmare. Give me a break, when did you become so squimish?

I think the more I read, and the more that comes out, it behooves me, as it should all of society to examine the role reactions like these play, in creating and bringing about future senarios like this. Remember this young man's words.

'You Caused Me to Do This' - Cho Seung-Hui,

Meaning he held society accountable. Now wither that is true or not, or has any bearings we don't know, and we won't know, untill we look at society, American society specifically and try to figure out what is behind this.

In doing research I have some very strong opinions about this, but until society can wake up and come to some of the same conculsions, then these senarios will just continually get played out, over and over again.

Originally posted by Harassment101
I took the time to read the plays and are you serious? Do you really find this stuff violent and disturbing? Compared to what? I mean I use to read Stephen King and he is way more disturbing. I mean he would have been put on a list for sure in school.

generally a Stephen king novel would try to get something good out of it, rather than just killing from anger.

The plays are a bit disturbing, but i can't really say that they are very disturbing to me. But you have got to wonder why people didn't get a bit suspicious.

Originally posted by laiguana
Yep, after reading that I wouldn't doubt he had mental-illness...and it seemed like people may have tried to ignore it or not make much of it....though I wonder if perhaps he may have been abused or something?

Although _Great_ at dis-alluding lawsuits, this common tactic would not apply here. He had girlfriend (1st victim) problems != loner. He had references in the psy. world, and was degrading, yes. But, explosively. There were signs.

Violence (not)=instability (not)=saved from impending lawsuits.

I'd say he was all bent out the way of H E double hockey sticks, and proved what he so oft wrote about. Exacting/.

Originally posted by apex
The plays are a bit disturbing, but i can't really say that they are very disturbing to me. But you have got to wonder why people didn't get a bit suspicious.

I am not sure that this would be a qualifier that would trigger someone to want to turn this kid in for help, society in the US right now is so filled with this type of angry sadistic, sexual, violent type of theme that it isn't considered "outside the norm" if you will.

All you need to do is turn on your radio and listen to some of the songs out there and this type of deranged antisocial attitude is rampant.

It sells very well otherwise the music industry wouldn't keep producing it, the same goes for some of the more recent gore movies, and television has even broadcast this type of behavior to a lesser extent.

I think the finger needs to be pointed out to our society as a whole for accepting this type of material to become the norm, not to go on a witch hunt to locate others who are producing this garbage as a result of it's acceptance.

Look in the mirror, and ask yourself, "Do I find this type of material offensive?"

If your answer is yes, then you need to voice your displeasure, remaining silent only helps to make this garbage an accepted part of society.

My $0.02 for what it's worth

Originally posted by laiguana
Yep, after reading that I wouldn't doubt he had mental-illness...and it seemed like people may have tried to ignore it or not make much of it....though I wonder if perhaps he may have been abused or something?

Although _Great_ at dis-alluding lawsuits, this common tactic would not apply here. He had girlfriend (1st victim) problems != loner. He had references in the psy. world, and was degrading, yes. But, explosively. There were signs.

Violence (not)=instability (not)=saved from impending lawsuits.

I'd say he was all bent out the way of H E double hockey sticks, and proved what he so oft wrote about. Exacting/.

Have to agree with a few others here, these plays are harmless. Crude, insensitive and poorly structured but harmless. You cannot seriously derive any type of intent from them and as PieMan stated "If so, then I think tht the majority of screenwriters and student screenwriters will be placed on a suspicion list!". Well said.

brill

Psychologically speaking these plays describe an immature person that has a problem with authority and has a need to prove his superiority. The guy doesn't seem all that intelligent and combined with his actions as described by classmates it would give an impression of someone on the edge. It's not the words but the story that shows the violent nature. There are plenty of red flags in these stories.

Today’s youth tend to gravitate toward the Anti-Hero. With all these sick horrific hostage/killer movies and violent video games as well as music about raping and killing, these types of personalities (like Cho) tend to identify and seek notoriety in emulating such actions.

I don't know...
After reading those plays it doesn't seem to me like he was abused, other than him abusing himself in his own mind.
He seemed more delusional than anything else.
He was probably quiet all the time because he was suffering from auditory hallucinations and wasn't sure which voices were real and which ones were the delusions.
He probably didn't even know how to respond.

His writings did seem like the result of some kind of psychosis, and very disassociative too.

They didn't really make much sense to anyone other than him, it's as though he left parts out because he could hear it and see it in his mind and didn't feel the need to record it all on paper. Like the world was sharing his delusion so he wouldn't have to go into deep detail.

He did seem very angry, which is usually characteristic of such severe delusions.

Well, either way, it's sad all around.
Starting from this tormented kid, to those he hurt.
We're going to be feeling the after-effects of this for quite a while.

What exactly is wrong with these plays?

Read them bith and I do not see anything indicating that they were written by a crazy killer or a madman?

Just a little amateuristic, that´s all.

Guns N' Roses fan eh? Axl and Izzy will be getting some lawsuits in the future I'm sure.

[edit on 18/4/2007 by enjoies05]

Originally posted by enjoies05
Guns N' Roses fan eh? Axl and Izzy will be getting some lawsuits in the future I'm sure.

But they have a song which even includes the line "Whats so civil about war anyway?"

[edit on 18-4-2007 by apex]

Originally posted by wu kung
I don't know...
After reading those plays it doesn't seem to me like he was abused, other than him a ...

e was suffering from auditory hallucinations and wasn't sure which voices were real and which ones were the delusions.
He probably didn't even know how to respond.
...

Yupper, I'd really like to get more info. on this guy. I think Mz. Rude ought be polled as to why he was referred to a psych. by her, which was later denied. Because, as you heard, he refused. Yet, we have reports of him being aptly described by, as a loner.

Just confused...myself. Sompin' s goin' on. There hidden in the fact that...


O.K., my theory. Units heard. Quelled others to play at a media sensation. Found out, there was a shooter. Mass panic ensued. And, BTW, really should have...

Originally posted by wu kung
I don't know...
After reading those plays it doesn't seem to me like he was abused, other than him a ...

e was suffering from auditory hallucinations and wasn't sure which voices were real and which ones were the delusions.
He probably didn't even know how to respond.
...

Yupper, I'd really like to get more info. on this guy. I think Mz. Rude ought be polled as to why he was referred to a psych. by her, which was later denied. Because, as you heard, he refused. Yet, we have reports of him being aptly described by, as a loner.

Just confused...myself. Sompin' s goin' on. There hidden in the fact that...


O.K., my theory. Units heard. Quelled others to play at a media sensation. Found out, there was a shooter. Mass panic ensued. And, BTW, really should have...



[edit on 4/18/2007 by bothered]