[lbo-talk] The system did not work, after all

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Thu Apr 19 06:18:17 PDT 2007


It appears now that Cho was diagnosed as presenting "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness" according to court records, and yet he was able to legally purchase fire arms without any background checks. Only in America. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070419/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting_276

"After the second complaint about Cho's behavior, the university obtained a temporary detention order and took Cho away because an acquaintance reported he might be suicidal, authorities said. Police did not identify the acquaintance.

On Dec. 13, 2005, a magistrate ordered Cho to undergo an evaluation at Carilion St. Albans, a private psychiatric hospital. The magistrate signed the order after an initial evaluation found probable cause that Cho was a danger to himself or others as a result of mental illness.

The next day, according to court records, doctors at Carilion conducted further examination and a special justice, Paul M. Barnett, approved outpatient treatment.

A medical examination conducted Dec. 14 reported that that Cho's "affect is flat. ... He denies suicidal ideations. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment are normal."

The court papers indicate that Barnett checked a box that said Cho "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness." Barnett did not check the box that would indicate a danger to others."

Another thought, Cho's ranting would make an excellent contribution to radical blogs and discussion lists, and I'm pretty sure it would likely receive sympathetic reading there as the justified anger of a non-white working class hero against "privileged" white middle class. Cf.

"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats," says Cho, a South Korean immigrant whose parents work at a dry cleaners in suburban Washington. "Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs. You had everything."

Wojtek



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