School Bullying, The Cho Factor by Robert Ringer
Robert Smith and Associates
January 09, 2008
The Cho Factor, Installment I
By Robert Ringer
www.robertringer.com/chofactor.htm
On April 23 and April 25 of this year, I ran a two-part article titled “Virginia Tech and Long-Term Solutions.” The articles were about the murder of thirty-two students and faculty members by Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho. Longtime readers will recall that I ended Part II of that article by saying:
There is almost certainly an underlying cause that has been the catalyst for virtually every school shooting that has ever occurred. Unfortunately, that underlying cause is not being addressed, because just about everyone — especially the media — has missed it. From what I’ve seen and heard, it’s clear to me that television pundits and “experts” haven’t a clue.
Forget about converting high schools and college campuses into locked-down fortresses. Yes, arming college professors with guns might be a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t address the underlying cause of what happened last week.
When the Virginia Tech situation stabilizes a bit, when the shameless politicians have stepped down from their soapboxes and stopped their politically rooted babbling, perhaps then people will be ready to consider a genuine solution to this grotesque problem.
And that’s when I’ll weigh in with one that I believe would dramatically reduce the risk of its continuing to occur with such frequency. Clearly, the time is not right. The ugliness of the past week is too close at hand and, understandably, emotions are still running high.
All I will say right now is that what I have in mind would cost virtually nothing, would not require the use of force, would not violate anyone’s civil rights, and would build the character of our student population.
In the meantime, I would like to find out how many, if any, Voice of Sanity readers see what I see. So please feel free to e-mail me at questions@robertringer.com and let me know what you believe to be the catalyst of this problem.
The response to my request for reader feedback not only overwhelmed me, it fascinated me. We’ve now had nearly eight months to think about the bloody events of April 16, and I feel obliged to make good on my promise to return to the subject when I felt emotions had cooled off to the point where rational discussion might be possible.
I should first point out that from the mountains of responses I received, I found only about a dozen that I considered to be within shouting distance of what I believe to be the true underlying cause of the Virginia Tech massacre.
Of course, the caveat is that I certainly do not claim to have a monopoly on truth. Clearly, a majority of readers who took the time to send me their views saw things differently than I did. Which is fine. I’m always open to other points of view.
When I tune out, however, is when minds are closed and the adjectives become abusive. The nastier and louder a person becomes, the more I discount — even ignore — what he has to say. It’s been said that learning stops at the point where the mind becomes fixed.
I believe that far too many people make the mistake of seeing every discussion as an argument, and every argument as a battle that must be won at all costs. This is the quagmire that most so-called liberals and conservatives find themselves in today. Rather than seeing themselves as being in the Arena of Goodwill and Well-intentioned Ideas, they are perpetually decked out in their finest suits of armor and prepared to fight to the death on the Battlefield of Mandated Beliefs.
Having said this, what I found more than just a bit interesting is how people with seemingly opposite views nevertheless succeeded in making excellent points. Which only underscores the reality that life is a complex proposition, and that good insights can come from all directions. The only requisite to a worthwhile idea is goodwill. The opinions of a person who lacks goodwill cannot be taken seriously.
In the next installment of The Cho Factor, I’m going to share some disparate reader viewpoints on the underlying cause of the Virginia Tech holocaust, and try to show how they are often not really that far apart. From there, I have no idea where I’ll be headed from installment to installment, because the subject is a vast one. So vast that I’m tempted to say that, to one extent or another, it affects just about every facet of life.
My preference would be to take the Will Durant approach to this all-encompassing subject and spend seventy years or so writing about it in a ten-volume series. But I guess I missed the window of opportunity on that one. A good time for me to have started on such a project would have been at about age ten.
So, since that isn’t an option, you’ll have to bear with me as I weave in, out, around, and about this very emotional topic and do my best to connect the dots as I go. Installments of The Cho Factor will not necessarily run in consecutive issues, and are likely to appear off and on over an extended period of time. Patience, as well as open-mindedness, will serve you well if you intend to be on board.
I’m not sure where all this will lead, but I’m confident that, for me, it will be a healthy intellectual exercise. I am especially looking forward to learning from my readers, who never fail to furnish me with fresh and thoughtful insights.
And to the extent I am able to expand your view of the world in some small way … well, that’s what I do for a living. I think it will prove to be an interesting ride for all of us.
www.robertringer.com/chofactor.htm
By Robert Ringer
www.robertringer.com/chofactor.htm
On April 23 and April 25 of this year, I ran a two-part article titled “Virginia Tech and Long-Term Solutions.” The articles were about the murder of thirty-two students and faculty members by Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho. Longtime readers will recall that I ended Part II of that article by saying:
There is almost certainly an underlying cause that has been the catalyst for virtually every school shooting that has ever occurred. Unfortunately, that underlying cause is not being addressed, because just about everyone — especially the media — has missed it. From what I’ve seen and heard, it’s clear to me that television pundits and “experts” haven’t a clue.
Forget about converting high schools and college campuses into locked-down fortresses. Yes, arming college professors with guns might be a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t address the underlying cause of what happened last week.
When the Virginia Tech situation stabilizes a bit, when the shameless politicians have stepped down from their soapboxes and stopped their politically rooted babbling, perhaps then people will be ready to consider a genuine solution to this grotesque problem.
And that’s when I’ll weigh in with one that I believe would dramatically reduce the risk of its continuing to occur with such frequency. Clearly, the time is not right. The ugliness of the past week is too close at hand and, understandably, emotions are still running high.
All I will say right now is that what I have in mind would cost virtually nothing, would not require the use of force, would not violate anyone’s civil rights, and would build the character of our student population.
In the meantime, I would like to find out how many, if any, Voice of Sanity readers see what I see. So please feel free to e-mail me at questions@robertringer.com and let me know what you believe to be the catalyst of this problem.
The response to my request for reader feedback not only overwhelmed me, it fascinated me. We’ve now had nearly eight months to think about the bloody events of April 16, and I feel obliged to make good on my promise to return to the subject when I felt emotions had cooled off to the point where rational discussion might be possible.
I should first point out that from the mountains of responses I received, I found only about a dozen that I considered to be within shouting distance of what I believe to be the true underlying cause of the Virginia Tech massacre.
Of course, the caveat is that I certainly do not claim to have a monopoly on truth. Clearly, a majority of readers who took the time to send me their views saw things differently than I did. Which is fine. I’m always open to other points of view.
When I tune out, however, is when minds are closed and the adjectives become abusive. The nastier and louder a person becomes, the more I discount — even ignore — what he has to say. It’s been said that learning stops at the point where the mind becomes fixed.
I believe that far too many people make the mistake of seeing every discussion as an argument, and every argument as a battle that must be won at all costs. This is the quagmire that most so-called liberals and conservatives find themselves in today. Rather than seeing themselves as being in the Arena of Goodwill and Well-intentioned Ideas, they are perpetually decked out in their finest suits of armor and prepared to fight to the death on the Battlefield of Mandated Beliefs.
Having said this, what I found more than just a bit interesting is how people with seemingly opposite views nevertheless succeeded in making excellent points. Which only underscores the reality that life is a complex proposition, and that good insights can come from all directions. The only requisite to a worthwhile idea is goodwill. The opinions of a person who lacks goodwill cannot be taken seriously.
In the next installment of The Cho Factor, I’m going to share some disparate reader viewpoints on the underlying cause of the Virginia Tech holocaust, and try to show how they are often not really that far apart. From there, I have no idea where I’ll be headed from installment to installment, because the subject is a vast one. So vast that I’m tempted to say that, to one extent or another, it affects just about every facet of life.
My preference would be to take the Will Durant approach to this all-encompassing subject and spend seventy years or so writing about it in a ten-volume series. But I guess I missed the window of opportunity on that one. A good time for me to have started on such a project would have been at about age ten.
So, since that isn’t an option, you’ll have to bear with me as I weave in, out, around, and about this very emotional topic and do my best to connect the dots as I go. Installments of The Cho Factor will not necessarily run in consecutive issues, and are likely to appear off and on over an extended period of time. Patience, as well as open-mindedness, will serve you well if you intend to be on board.
I’m not sure where all this will lead, but I’m confident that, for me, it will be a healthy intellectual exercise. I am especially looking forward to learning from my readers, who never fail to furnish me with fresh and thoughtful insights.
And to the extent I am able to expand your view of the world in some small way … well, that’s what I do for a living. I think it will prove to be an interesting ride for all of us.
www.robertringer.com/chofactor.htm
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