Jack Dunphy: Misplaced Anger

re: "In the immediate aftermath of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, a collection of crosses was erected on a site near the school, one to honor each victim of the massacre. It would have been a fitting memorial but for one glaring defect: There were 15 crosses, which is to say that two of them were intended to honor Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who had killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide. Some well-meaning but morally confused person considered it appropriate that the murderers be honored along with the murdered. I also recall seeing a hand-lettered sign posted somewhere near the campus that read, incredibly, “We forgive you Eric and Dylan.” How long will it be before we see this kind of moral confusion at Virginia Tech? I’m afraid it’s already started...[snip]...The rush to blame the school’s administration and police is a reflection of a society that believes any and all misfortune can be averted by the proper application of government will. At this very moment, politicians in Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C., are exerting their tiny brains trying to be the first to propose legislation that will “prevent the next tragedy.” The number of laws the killer broke on Monday will probably run to more than 20, but there are those who actually believe he might have been deterred by a few more strokes of a legislative pen. I can’t put it any more simply than this: There are evil people in the world, and no amount of laws will make them any less so. / There may be a level of security that would deter a suicidal maniac from carrying out the kind of horrors seen on the Virginia Tech campus Monday morning, but I doubt anyone would want to attend the school that implemented it..."...