Was Easy Credit to blame?
In today's New York Times was an enlightening yet disturbing article by N.R. Kleinfield. His article described bits and pieces of Seung-Hui Cho's early childhood and pointed out the early red flags of his mental illness. Then, the reader is taken through a step by step account of Mr. Cho's planning up to April 16th.
As I read the article, one particular sentence jumped out at me: "All told, investigators calculate that Mr. Cho spent several thousand dollars getting ready for April 16, most of it charged on a credit card."
That is a key point that should not be overlooked. Mr. Cho was a typical full time college student who was not employed. So he did what thousands of college students do: he applied for a credit card(s), and after receiving it/them he charged thousands of dollars on the card(s).
Yet Mr. Cho had no intention of paying off his debts.
He was able to buy guns over the internet. He bought the chains used to lock the doors at Home Depot. He bought ammunition and a hunting knife at Walmart. He stayed overnight at two different motels and rented a van while planning his evil scheme.
And it was all mostly paid for on plastic.
Many people on the left want to place blame for what happened at Virginia Tech on "easy accessibility to guns". Yet, if it wasn't for a credit card, Mr. Cho would not have had such "easy accessibility" to the guns, ammunition, etc., in the first place. If it wasn't for the credit card, Mr. Cho would have had to come up with thousands of dollars some other way to hatch his gruesome plan.
One could make a case that Easy Credit is the real smoking gun here. Not guns.
Who knows how many credit card applications Mr. Cho received in his mail? He definitely received them. Seung-Hui Cho was a name in a data base like all of us. He was just another potential customer on hundreds of mailing lists. The credit card company who gave him the card did not screen him for mental health issues. As long as his credit score was acceptable (yet even when the score is low, many credit card companies still offer cards), Mr. Cho was issued a card with a credit limit worth untold thousands of dollars.
Parents of the Virgina Tech victims should consider legal action against those who put a credit card in Mr. Cho's hands.
In fact, one could make a case that Easy Credit does much more damage to our society than guns ever did.
As I read the article, one particular sentence jumped out at me: "All told, investigators calculate that Mr. Cho spent several thousand dollars getting ready for April 16, most of it charged on a credit card."
That is a key point that should not be overlooked. Mr. Cho was a typical full time college student who was not employed. So he did what thousands of college students do: he applied for a credit card(s), and after receiving it/them he charged thousands of dollars on the card(s).
Yet Mr. Cho had no intention of paying off his debts.
He was able to buy guns over the internet. He bought the chains used to lock the doors at Home Depot. He bought ammunition and a hunting knife at Walmart. He stayed overnight at two different motels and rented a van while planning his evil scheme.
And it was all mostly paid for on plastic.
Many people on the left want to place blame for what happened at Virginia Tech on "easy accessibility to guns". Yet, if it wasn't for a credit card, Mr. Cho would not have had such "easy accessibility" to the guns, ammunition, etc., in the first place. If it wasn't for the credit card, Mr. Cho would have had to come up with thousands of dollars some other way to hatch his gruesome plan.
One could make a case that Easy Credit is the real smoking gun here. Not guns.
Who knows how many credit card applications Mr. Cho received in his mail? He definitely received them. Seung-Hui Cho was a name in a data base like all of us. He was just another potential customer on hundreds of mailing lists. The credit card company who gave him the card did not screen him for mental health issues. As long as his credit score was acceptable (yet even when the score is low, many credit card companies still offer cards), Mr. Cho was issued a card with a credit limit worth untold thousands of dollars.
Parents of the Virgina Tech victims should consider legal action against those who put a credit card in Mr. Cho's hands.
In fact, one could make a case that Easy Credit does much more damage to our society than guns ever did.
This was very enlightening. I get those things in the mail all the time. You neve think about the ppl who get these and what they plan to do with them. But this did make me think a little.
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Thanks for the divergent take on this issue. Hadn't thought about it from that angle. My take is on how the liberal and media pundits will pounce on this tragedy to promote their campaign for more stringent gun laws. Our biggest problem is not a need for new legislation but rather how about enforcing our current laws.
It is now known that Cho violated the federal handgun regulations in that he made his purchase after falsely claiming that he had not been adjudicated as having a mental defect, one that branded him as being a potential threat to himself or others. We can disagree with the judge who ordered him to outpatient therapy, although this judge is hamstrung by the overburdened mental health system. But why in God's name didn't Cho's record stop the sale of the handguns?
I'll tell you why. I have bought my guns and obtained my concealed weapon permit the legal way. I filed my forms regarding my past. Had I lied about a previous felony or domestic violence arrest, it would have shown up on my FBI report and I would be denied. But were I to lie about having a mental defect it would not show up, because of the government's medical privacy laws. How dumb is that. When we are referred to a specialist we sign a waiver of our privacy rights. Why can't we do this for something as important a public safety?
Your idea is much more simple and direct. As a libertarian I realize that the Republicans and the Dems are just different sides of the same coin, with the Libertarians in the middle. As a realist I know that when you flip a coin it never lands on it's edge, which leaves me to pick heads or tails and spend the next four years regretting my choice.
We have firearm purchase laws, which by virtue of stupidity and bi-partisan buck passing, are not enforced. Maybe deciding this in the marketplace is the way to go.
Colonel Mike at the Poorfarm KCMO 4/23/07
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Simple Modern Math
Too Hot = Global Warming
Too Cold = Global Warming
Too Dry = Global Warming
Too Wet = Global Warming
Gun Violence & Mass Murder = Global Warming
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It's really good.
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