article
Rachel
Today, announced in the "Drexel University Triangle", the student newspaper
is who is going to be speaking at our June 20 commencement. Sarah Brady.
I'm going to vomit.
Also, a wonderful little editorial on page 11:
Someone Getting On Your Nerves? Just Kill 'Em
At first I pitied Jason Michael Smith. Smith, 15, a student at Upper Perkiomen
High School, took a handgun belonging to his mother's boyfriend to school with
him May 24. Fifteen minutes into biology class, Smith took the gun out of his
bag and approached Michael Swann, a classmate whom Smith claims bullied him.
"You want to make fun of me?" Smith asked. He pulled the trigger, shooting Sw
ann in the face. "Make fun of me now," he said to his victim. He shot him aga
in. Smith left the building and sat under a nearby tree, waiting for the polic
e.
No word on whether the biology class was allowed to dissect Swann.
Smith's claims that Swann, who was more than a foot taller than Smith, constant
ly bullied him were backed up by his classmates. Many people viewed Jason Smit
h as a victim; a small, tormented boy who could take no more.
Wrong.
Recently released excerpts from his confession to police paint an entirely diff
erent picture indeed. In this picture, Smith is loonier than Proky Pig high on
crack.
"It was not just {Swann}," Smith told police. "I was thinking of other people,
too ... Just random people who give me trouble ..."
"I figured I could walk into the lunch room and basically kill everybody - or b
low up the school.
"I just hate being pushed around."
Obviously, this guy had more problems than being pushed around. Smith is curre
ntlybeing tried as an adult. His attorneys, however, want him tried as a juven
ile. An adult conviction would only keep him in jail until he's 21, but he wou
ld have a better chance to receive quality counseling through the juvenile syst
em.
More important than the issue ofthe length of Smith's sentence, however, is the
disturbing emergence of guns as a solution to conflict in our society.
On June 2, Ronald Peden, 33, and Gregory Morrelo, 26, got into a brawl arguing
over who was ahead in the checkout line at a Center City convenience store. Ac
cording to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, they "knocked over shelves an
d a pretzel maker before the manager got them outside, locked the door and call
ed police."
Two nearby police officers arrived in seconds. End of fight, right? Not yet.
With the police officers no more than five feet away, Morrelo drew his trusty .
357 Magnum and blew a hole in Peden's chest. "He told investigators he fired t
he shot because he was losing the fight 'and had to do something'," according t
o the Inquirer.
Had to do something? I guess shooting a man in front of two police officers is
doing something.
Handguns are very strictly controlled in England. Eight people were killed in
gun related homicides there in 1992. How long do you think it taked for eight
shooting to occur in Philadelphia? A week?
Don't give me that Second Amendment "right to bear arms" crap. That was writte
n when the only available firearms were six foot long muskets that took a minut
e to load a single shot. They didn't quite fit in a book bag.
Jason Smith was wrong to kill Michael Swann. He is certainly a danger to socie
ty and should be incarcerated. But he should be tried as a juvenile. If convi
cted as an adult, he would serve his time in a prison meant for hardened adult
criminals like Gregory Morrelo. Not to mention having a hard time sitting down
, he would have little chance at receiving help.
In the 1980s, Americans went to court and sued when someone pissed them off. No
w, we just blow a couple holes in their head.
Also, on page 1 of the "Triangle", under the announcement of honorary degree re
ceivers, there's this line:
"Keynote speaker Sarah Brady and her husband, James Brady, will also receive ho
norary degrees. Brady is the chairperson of Handgun Control, Inc. Her husband
was seriously wounded by a gunshot during the 1981 assassination attempt on fo
rmer President Ronald Reagan. Her organization advocates stronger gun laws, wh
ile its sister organization, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, on whose b
oard of trustees Mr. Brady serves, works to reduce handgun violence by educatio
n, research, and legal advocacy."
Why don't I believe this?
On the flipside, page 23 has a teensy article:
"Rifle Club Wins National Championship"
Hmmmmm...
Rachel M.
Michael A. Shaffer
>Today, announced in the "Drexel University Triangle", the student newspaper
>is who is going to be speaking at our June 20 commencement. Sarah Brady.
>I'm going to vomit.
And after you vomit I think you should make a big stink and also see if you
can organize some sort of boycott or protest.
WRT that article on the kid killing the other kid I suggest a reply. In
reply to their statement that even more troubling is the use of guns
to solve problem balh, blah, blah you could counter "no the disturbing
part is the increased acceptance of violence as a solution to problems".
Point out that while in the past proportionally more people carried guns
than do today the level of violence was lower because people learned
to respect their fellow man. You could point to the study that shows that
the "wild west" was not only far less violent than today's cities but
less violent that the eastern cities of the time. Point out that it
doesn't help the situation when people confuse the implement with the
act or the motive. Our society suffers from violence not from guns.
mike
Hope this helps.
Jim Conforti
On Fri, 11 Jun 1993, Michael A. Shaffer wrote:
> In reply to their statement that even more troubling is the use of guns
> to solve problem balh, blah, blah you could counter "no the disturbing
> part is the increased acceptance of violence as a solution to problems".
How true, the main problem with Industrialized Society is that the masses
become fat and lazy ... willing to relinquish both responsibilities and
rights for peace and comfort.
Having just joined this reflector, I'll add my 0.02 ...
People, we have ALREADY LOST the fight against GUN CONTROL ...
How might you ask ...
Well sometime READ the 2nd amendment ..
It says right to keep and bear arms (or was it keep and arm bears?)
not ...arms EXCEPT for felons, EXCEPT for Class-3, EXCEPT for silencers,
EXCEPT ... blah blah blah ...
At each point in the grand "gun-grab" they use some touching reason why
group X or type-of-gun Y should be banned ...
Look, it's simple until they blame the person, not the device or possession
thereof ... GUN CONTROL will SUCCED and CRIME CONTROL will fail ..
IMHO let every released felon have $100, a suit, and a gun ..
If he goes straight and narrow ... fine
If he breaks in my condo when I'm not home the alarm will get him
and if he does it when I'm there .. well...
(In voice of Honeymooners Ralph Cramden ... TO THE MOON!)
We'll just get to see what a 10mm +P SXT (Talon) will do at 7m range
Just thought I'd jump headlong into the fray, wearing my asbestos underwear
so FLAME AWAY .. :)
*********************************
Jim Conforti <j...@cpu.us.dynix.com>
"Those who would give up Liberty for a little safety...
.....deserve neither"
*********************************
to...@schunix.dmc.com
"Drexel University Triangle", a student newspaper.>
> At first I pitied Jason Michael Smith. Smith, 15, a student at Upper
> Perkiomen High School, took a handgun belonging to his mother's boyfriend
> to school with him May 24. Fifteen minutes into biology class, Smith
> took the gun out of his bag and approached Michael Swann, [...] He
> pulled the trigger, shooting Swann in the face. [...]
> Don't give me that Second Amendment "right to bear arms" crap. That was
> written when the only available firearms were six foot long muskets that
> took a minute to load a single shot. They didn't quite fit in a book bag.
Wrong. Flintlock pistols existed during this period.
> Jason Smith was wrong to kill Michael Swann. He is certainly a danger to
> society and should be incarcerated. But he should be tried as a juvenile.
> If convicted as an adult, he would serve his time in a prison meant for
> hardened adult criminals like Gregory Morrelo. Not to mention having a
> hard time sitting down, he would have little chance at receiving help.
Why am I suddenly remided of a certian Warren Zevon tune about an "excitable
boy"? This punk committed premeditated murder. I say he's already a
hardened criminal and should be treated accordingly. Eight years ago a
16 year old named Joeseph Perkins murdered his mother, and both his grand
parents. Because of the law here in Massachusetts at the time, Perkins was
tried and convicted as a juvanile. Perkin's family had his custody extended
a couple of times. About a month or so ago the extensions ran out and
Perkins was released at age 24 after serving only eight years for a triple
murder! If this kid is tried as a juvanile chances are that he'll be back
on the street before his 21st birthday. I don't give a damn if this punk
has to "service" every big hairy sweaty guy in that jail to stay alive. He
was old enough to know right from wrong. He deserves what he gets!
This is typical of the way many gun-grabbers think. Most hard core
gun-grabbers are adamant opponents of the death penalty and mandatory
sentancing laws. Kennedy and Metzenbaum are prime examples. These people
see criminals as victims of society instead of society as the victim of
crime. Therefore, they feel that they need to change society instead of
placing the blame where it really belongs -- With the offender. Listen
to the rhetoric. Notice how a crime wave suddenly is now called an
"epidemic of violence."
> In the 1980s, Americans went to court and sued when someone pissed
> them off. Now, we just blow a couple holes in their head.
Maybe if we put some teeth in our criminal justice system people would
seek justice in the courts rather than the streets. Actually
I'm willing to bet that the overall homicide rate is lower now than
it was in say 1983. I wouldn't be surprised however if the demographics
have shifted to the inner cities and minority communities. Does anybody
have any stats on this?
> Also, on page 1 of the "Triangle", under the announcement of honorary degree
> receivers, there's this line:
> "Keynote speaker Sarah Brady and her husband, James Brady, will also
> receive honorary degrees.
> On the flipside, page 23 has a teensy article:
> "Rifle Club Wins National Championship"
May I suggest you organize the members of the rifle club and other
like-minded folks and protests Sarah's speech by turning your backs.
I wonder how your press coverage will compare to say, the gays
protesting Colin Powell at Harvard last week?
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