Following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the media found someone other than Seing-Hui Cho to blame -- legal businesses like Roanoke Firearms, Glock and eBay.
Roanoke Firearms' owner John Markell was treated as an accomplice to the horrific crime by ABC's Brian Ross:
“The Roanoke Firearms store where Seing-Hui Cho bought his murder weapon has a history of selling guns involved in murders. It is the fifth time a gun sold in this store has been used in a homicide, according to gun shop owner, John Markell,” said Ross on the April 18 “Good Morning America.”
and CBS "Evening News":
“Roanoke Firearms sells about 2,500 guns a year, and this isn’t the first time his guns have been linked to crime,” said Armen Keteyian. The CBS reporter cited ATF records that link 32 guns “to purchases from the Roanoke store” between 1999 and 2003. That would be less than 0.27 percent of all the guns sold at the Roanoke shop.
The backlash against Markell was so severe that he received death threats and had to shut down the store's Web site for a few days. He went on the April 18 "Larry King Live" to defend himself.
“The fact is, until he stepped on the campus with his weapons, everything about Cho’s purchase of those two guns was entirely legal under current U.S. and Virginia laws. And some say, Diane, that’s the scandal,” concluded Ross.
The Roanoke Firearms Web site includes a reminder of that: “One individual bears the responsibility for the heinous acts committed at Virginia Tech, and that is Cho Seung-Hui.”
Overall, the media had trouble remembering that one person is responsible for the 32 innocent lives ended at Virginia Tech.
CBS reporter Erin Moriarty punctuated her April 17 "48 Hours" report with anti-gun comments from a New Jersey Sheriff who called them "instruments of death."
All of the media finger-pointing was used to leverage the horrific event into a commentary on gun control. Ross called Virginia's gun laws "lax" and "the scandal" on April 18.
Dick's Sporting Goods, The Gun Source, an online firearms store, and eBay were also implicated in reports.
Gun makers Glock and Walther were blamed by Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America" April 18. Sawyer stated, "We're gonna be telling you more about the lives those guns took later on in the broadcast."
—Julia A. Seymour is an assistant editor for the Business & Media Institute.
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Cho was the ONLY person respo
April 25, 2007 - 16:05 ET by whatajoyCho was the ONLY person responsible for the killings at Virginia Tech. You can't blame store owners, ebay or factories that make the weapons. None of them forced Cho to kill people. Cho purposely killed 32 people and injured dozens more at the VT massacre. Cho is to blame. No one else. Why can't people just accept that? Sheesh! Don't blame doctors, his parents, teachers, the courts, ebay, the gun factories, stores or anyone else.
BLAME CHO.
dunder...Damn straight!The li
April 25, 2007 - 16:09 ET by Clear thinkerdunder...
Damn straight!
The liberal MSM has become an enemy of the USA.
gunz
April 25, 2007 - 18:11 ET by tejanodiablohell, i've seen ak's sold at flea markets in arkansas, missouri, tennessee and mississippi .. just whup out your cash .. no checks, please .. none of the other kind, either ..
never look a gift skunk in the tail ..
Hey, let's go after whoever
April 25, 2007 - 16:26 ET by Dave in TexasHey, let's go after whoever manufactured the chains that he used to barracade the doors shut as well. And didn't he conceal his guns inside of a backpack? Shouldn't we be holding the backpack manufacturer accountable as well? I mean, sure, they claim that the backpack was intended to hold books. But I think we all know what they really make them for.
Dave...Good points. I don't r
April 25, 2007 - 16:32 ET by Clear thinkerDave...
Good points. I don't remember how he got to the second shooting site, but if it was by an auto, the manufacturer needs to be sued. Or, if he walked to the site in a pair of Nikes, I say sue.
The liberal MSM has become an enemy of the USA.
Lets' also get all of the bus
April 25, 2007 - 16:40 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveLets' also get all of the businesses that sold or provided food for him for the past month too, if they hadn't sold him the food, he would've starved to death or at least been to weak and dehydrated to even see straight, let alone hold a gun steady.
Oh, and we need to get all the car dealerships that have sold vehicles to people that were involved in a DUI resulting in a death...can't forget the manufacturer too.
The media blame game is so idiotic...individual accountability and responsibility is never taken into account by the media.
"Yeah, right! Who's the only one here that knows illegal ninja moves from the government?!" --Napoleon Dynamite
Another guilty party
April 25, 2007 - 16:51 ET by c5thenCho walked between crime scenes. We need to go after the manufacturer of his shoes and possibly socks if he wore any. And don't forget that he wore glasses. We should go after the maker of his lenses, after all without them he wouldn't have been able to see well enough to hit anything.
Liberals can not fathom the concept of personal responsibility, therefore they must find some entity out of their "evil people that are the root of all our problems" group to blame (Republicans, conservatives, corporations or Fox News).
To borrow a page from "
April 25, 2007 - 17:14 ET by Ken ShepherdTo borrow a page from "Red Eye," sue the escort who wouldn't sleep with him too. I mean, she could have relieved his emotional distress after all.
Ken,That's creepy.First I've
April 25, 2007 - 18:22 ET by BlondeKen,
That's creepy.
First I've heard of it.
I thought her name was kind of clever, tho.
That's a new concept. Hot dog
April 25, 2007 - 18:41 ET by OttoThat's a new concept. Hot dogs as dangerous as Glock 9mm. So sue the supermarket. God you guys are unbelievable. I don't think any of you ever did a statistics paper though. Give 300 million people, hundreds of thousands of whom have serious mental disorders like Mr Cho, unfettered access to high powered firearms and the consequences are as statistically inevitable as traffic pile ups. You could ask why all the excitement. The 32 killed at VT is exactly the number killed in gun homicides EVERY DAY. If you roll in the suicides and accidents with kids shooting each other etc. it goes up to 88 A DAY. Mass shootings with 3+ victims occur every month. It's going to continue. Tough on those that have to die but it's after all more important to proctect the rights of crazies like Cho than to do anything effective to stop it. Perhaps you should set up a support organization: Newsbusters for gun loonies.
Otto...So what's your point?T
April 25, 2007 - 18:45 ET by Clear thinkerOtto...
So what's your point?
The liberal MSM has become an enemy of the USA.
If you think a Glock 19 and
April 25, 2007 - 18:51 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveIf you think a Glock 19 and a Walther P-22 are high powered firearms and you think we have unfettered access to guns in the U.S. you aren't very educated on the subject.
I asked you yesterday where you are getting your statistics, you failed to respond. Let's see some substantiation to your claims. You have to earn credibility around here, which you should know...you've been a member here longer than I have.
One does not have to do a statistics paper to understand statistical methodology, nor does doing a paper on statistics necessarily make one an expert on the subject.
"Yeah, right! Who's the only one here that knows illegal ninja moves from the government?!" --Napoleon Dynamite
Well, Otto,Time to put up or
April 25, 2007 - 18:52 ET by BlondeWell, Otto,
Time to put up or shut up.
What would you have done if you were in one of the classrooms into which Cho (I notice you give him the honorific of "Mr.", you are truly PC, congrats) entered and opened up with his Glock?
Try to talk him out of it?
I am anxiously awaiting your answer to my question. No deflections, no other scenarios. Answer the question I've posed.
Otto's a drive-by poster--o
April 25, 2007 - 19:48 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveOtto's a drive-by poster--or Otto is desperately trying to find anything to corroborate his made up statistics. He/she it did this yesterday...with pretty much the same claims.
60% of all statistics are made up on the spot. ;-)
"Yeah, right! Who's the only one here that knows illegal ninja moves from the government?!" --Napoleon Dynamite
Quite right, Dr. Love.One to
April 25, 2007 - 19:55 ET by BlondeQuite right, Dr. Love.
One to the point question is usually enough to make them either run for the hills....or devolve into demented 90 degree questions/statements, or downright name calling. Whatever.
I'm trying to rein in my troll bashing tendencies, but I sometimes have a hard time giving it up, it's such good sport after a rough day. :D
Otto, I know that critical th
April 25, 2007 - 21:34 ET by UnsaneOtto, I know that critical thinking will cause you extreme pain, but why is it that Switzerland is virtually crime free? After all, every able-bodied male is required by law to own a firearm!
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
Figures don't lie, but liar
April 26, 2007 - 00:15 ET by RowaneFigures don't lie, but liars DO figure.
The liberals will blame every
April 25, 2007 - 17:08 ET by NoMoreClintonsThe liberals will blame everybody except the poor, misunderstood, persecuted soul who pulled the trigger.
"The backlash against
April 25, 2007 - 18:43 ET by Mean Gene Dr. Love"The backlash against Markell was so severe that he received death
threats and had to shut down the store's Web site for a few days. He
went on the April 18 "Larry King Live" to defend himself."
The owner of the gun store got death threats!!?? So some people that are outraged that Cho legally bought a gun from Markell's store and then went on a murderous rampage of his own volition...and they threaten to kill Markell for a completely legal gun transaction. This is completely outrageous. How can anyone justify a making death threats against Markell?
The unknown crazies out there that make these wanton death threats are far more dangerous than 99.9998% of legal gun owners.
Blame the killer...he is solely responsible for the murders.
"Yeah, right! Who's the only one here that knows illegal ninja moves from the government?!" --Napoleon Dynamite
Come now
April 25, 2007 - 18:54 ET by Mr. BishopCome now MGDL -- you know that is not how liberals operate. Liberals believe that men (most especially men) are not a product of anything but the society that they live in. They believe that man is born without a conscious, and that all things must be taught to them, by superior liberal thought. As such, the mere fact that a boy decides he wants to go on a shooting rampage in a college setting, the reasons from it, must come from outside himself.
Let us look at the possibility:
School: We cannot question the morals and the thoughts taught to those in our nation's college settings, since the liberals control that avenue of training. So, we must discount that.
Friends/Love: At first, this was over a girl in school. Since blaming this on a girl would enable the primal animalistic tendencies of man, we can consider this. However, it is suggested, apparently, it was done in jealousy over the girl cheating on the guy. This cannot then be the case since doing so, would mean that a female is responsible... Nope, can't have that.
Guns: Ah, the "whipping boy" of every single violent action where a gun is even remotely involved. It's the guns' fault. This is an inanimate object that, the moment it is picked up, evil demons begin talking to people. These demons tell the bearer of the firearm, they should go and shoot someone. These evil gun demons, channel their energies through the gun from parts unknown, and force a person to pull the trigger multiple times on innocent peoples. Yes... this must be the reasoning since the person who pulled the trigger is obviously not at fault.
The bottom line is, it is the people who cause the violence, not the weapon in their hand, nor the person who sold/gave the weapon to them. The weapon is merely a tool. Tools are made to make a job more efficient, and that is all. Like a hammer, a gun is only as effective as the person who wields it. Also, like a hammer, if one is not handy, a person will use something else to accomplish the act which they are intending on completing.
"Stop global warming! Asphyxiate a liberal!" - Show us how far you're willing to go to stop "global warming"
I do not understand how the m
April 25, 2007 - 20:02 ET by Cape ConservativeI do not understand how the media can blame an inanimate object for mass killings!
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY is the key ingredient missing from all reports!!!!
Of course, that is the msm's main objective...everyone MUST BE A VICTIM so that the liberals can rescue them...and thereby make them beholden to their rescuers!
Freewill
April 25, 2007 - 21:36 ET by UnsaneIt is easy to understand why the media and Leftists - wait, is that a redundancy? - can blame inanimate objects.
The last thing Leftists believe in is the concept of freewill. Freewill is NOT just a great poem (set to music) by a Canadian percussionist and professor.
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
Blackout day 10...
April 26, 2007 - 05:55 ET by sarcasmoAnd at this point, we're in day 10 of the media blackout on brand name(s)/dosage(s) of whatever antidepressant drug(s) was/were -- as I predicted -- involved. How long will it take before SOMEONE does some elementary journalism, especially considering the fact that antidepressants are involved in these shootings so-often that people like me can play seer & accurately foretell it.
JMR