Virginia Tech One Year On: The 'Silent Scandal'

Allowing the Rest of the World to Speak Directly to Americans
Promoting Peace, Diplomacy and Cross-Cultural Understanding.

About Us

Archives

Media Kit

Non-U.S. News Sources

http://www

Pictures of deranged killer Cho Seung-Hui, which were sent

to NBC news as part of his 'Manifesto.'

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany

Virginia Tech One Year On: America's 'Silent Scandal'

"The way people with psychological problems are handled, however, is a silent scandal. Even after Blacksburg, American society is so uncomfortable with the topic that it was quickly suppressed."

By Dietmar Ostermann

Translated By Ulf Behncke

April 15, 2008

Germany - Frankfurter Rundschau - Original Article (German)

Shock. Horror. Outrage. Frustration. A year ago, the usual pattern that the United States has of dealing with bloody killing sprees repeated itself once more, after the worst-ever massacre at an educational institution. On April 16, 2007, Cho Seung Hui, a student at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, whom a judge had arranged psychiatric treatment for two years earlier, shot and killed 32 fellow students and professors, then himself. Shock and horror were followed by outrage. Proponents of stricter gun controls were indignant about the fact that someone like Cho, who a judge had declared dangerously mentally ill less than two years before, was able to purchase firearms unimpeded.

Gun rights advocates were indignant, because the university forbids the carrying of firearms. If the victims in Norris Hall would have had guns, so the logic goes, Cho couldn't have killed 32 people.

Shock. Horror. Outrage. Frustration. Somewhere amid all of these emotions, reforms are inevitably promised. In the case of the Blacksburg massacre, there were hopeful signs. A commission of inquiry appointed by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine noted in its final report two primary factors that made possible this act of madness: Loopholes in the gun control laws and a health care system in which mentally ill people often get no help. The debate over gun control erupts loudly and often, yet it's a discussion without consequences. The way people with psychological problems are handled, however, is a silent scandal. Even after Blacksburg, American society is so uncomfortable with the topic that it was quickly suppressed.

Even more than the U.S. mania for weapons, this bloody killing spree represents the often tragic consequences of a system in which mental suffering is not only ignored - it is criminalized. "Virginia's mental health laws are flawed and services for mental health users are inadequate" the Blacksburg Report found .

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

While at school, Cho Seung Hoi's severe mental problems had been diagnosed. At that stage the problem could have actually been addressed. But like hundreds of thousands of other mentally ill people, he was then left to his own devices.

The National Alliance on Mentally Illness , an advocacy group, estimates that in the United States, one in five mental illnesses in children and adolescents ever get treatment. In adults that rate is even lower. Insurance companies frequently exclude treatment for mental illness and government assistance usually comes too late. It's significant that the largest psychiatric hospitals in the United States is located in a prison. According to a 1998 study by the U.S. Department of Justice , roughly 16 percent of all prisoners in the country (283,800) were insane. More than 547,800 were on probation. At the end of their sentences, treatment for prisoners usually ends, along medication and assistance.

Prompted by the Blacksburg massacre, the U.S. Congress made selling weapons to the mentally ill more difficult. A national database has been improved to facilitate the sharing of information with gun dealers. But the situation of patients remains unchanged. Only stigma and social ostracism have grown.

CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION

SEE ALSO --

THE GLOBAL REACTION TO VIRGINIA TECH:

Kitabat, Iraq

'Thank Allah the Virginia Killer Wasn't Muslim'

http://worldmeets.us/kitabat000006.shtml

Financial Times Deutschland, Germany

Now Suddenly, Gun Control Looms Over White House Race

http://worldmeets.us/financialtimesdeutschland000035.shtml

Le Monde, France

An American Tragedy

http://worldmeets.us/lemonde0000130.shtml