thankfully, we are not saying “we told you so” about kathy sierra.
but we are sad to use the virginia tech massacre as an example of once again why markos was full of it in his recent dismissal of threats and stalking online.
the chitribe:
the suspected gunman in the virginia tech shooting rampage, cho seung-hui, was a troubled 23-year-old senior from south korea who investigators believe left an invective-filled note in his dorm room, sources say…
cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women…
= = more = =
professor carolyn rude, chairwoman of the university’s english department, said she did not personally know the gunman. but she said she spoke with lucinda roy, the department’s director of creative writing, who had cho in one of her classes and described him as “troubled.”
“there was some concern about him,” rude said. “sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it’s creative or if they’re describing things, if they’re imagining things or just how real it might be. but we’re all alert to not ignore things like this.”
[emphasis ours]
we have no proof at this time (and we admit we may never) that cho harrassed anybody online.
update: now we do. the houstonchronicle:
in november and december 2005, two women complained to police that they had received calls and computer messages from cho, but they considered the messages “annoying,” not threatening, and neither pressed charges, chief wendell flinchum said.
granted, the women characterized the messages as “annoying” rather than threatening, but they did feel harrassed enough to go to the police about them.
and granted, “troubled” essays in a creative writing class is not the exact same thing as photoshopped pictures of women with their heads in a noose.
but we maintain that unfortunately for us all, the tragedy of of virginia tech is a terrible example of how unchecked misdirected anger can go horribly awry.
markos, you could be right. the guys harrassing kathy sierra might be too cowardly to actually act upon their anger.
sadly for the students, teachers and parents of those at virginia tech, sometimes somebody crosses the line, and takes out their anger on those around them.
the point we, and everyone else, has been making, markos, is simply this: it does little good to ignore the warning signs. in fact, it may be harmful to dismiss them.
we will never know if the virginia tech shootings could have been avoided. we do know that if there’s signs of a troubled personality noticed by someone, it warrants caution, attention and concern.
not dismissal.
