<![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late - Deadspin Comments]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late - Deadspin Comments]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @The Ghost of Luke Ward:

I know it's late, but I am going to respond anyway ... Maybe no one will read this here, but I'm going to say my piece.

I submit it is impossible to teach a class that is not about guns with a gun in the room. I teach rhetoric and literature, and a gun trumps all arguments and interpretations. That's really why rhetoric was invented: to stop might from making right. I may yet be killed by a student to whom I give an F. I live in some fear--I knew that today was coming--not to VaTech of course, but to some campus.

But I cannot and will not hold a class while holding a gun. I suppose I may die for that principle, which does seem stupid and a waste, but there you have it--some ideals are worth dying for.

I am too well aware of the problems with police protection--your story horrifies me, Luke; I am thankful that you are here to make your points. I just disagree--I honestly don't understand the response of clearly intelligent, well-meaning people who suggest that everyone, everywhere be armed at all times. Colleges are filled with scared, angry, righteous, bored, happy, depressed, altered, elated, drunk/stoned, and otherwise out of control people--I was one. I still am one. Throwing guns into that mix terrifies me, and may yet drive me out of a career I often love and cherish.

peace to all,
slothrop

Slothrop

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> The root problem with gun control (IMO) is that all you end up doing is keeping firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. Criinals, by definition, don't obey laws. Gun control won't keep criminals from getting guns.

To answer the question "how would I teach if I were armed"...you'd teach just like you do now.

I never saw myself owning/carry a gun either...until I had a gun pointed at me and called the police for help. True story...they told me they couldn't do anything, I'd have to come in and file a report. Thank you Memphis PD.

FWIW...the Supreme Court has ruled that the police have no obligation to actually protect you.

Blackguard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Slothrop: This being neither the time nor place for a 2nd amendment debate, I'll just say this: people will find ways to kill each other, no matter what. That is the root of our problem, and it's an incredibly frightening thing to contemplate.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Giants fans ask if Tom Coughlin can grace the cover.

EdinWestchester

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I teach college; I knew this day was coming (again--UT was what, 30 years ago?), and it scares the bejeebus out of me.

I hate, hate, hate guns, and generally think the 2nd Amendment has led to far more harm than good.

More to the point, tragedies like this and Columbine make me want to leave academia a hell of a lot more than it makes me want to arm myself. How can I teach people while carrying a weapon? Who would dare ask me a question?

Arming teachers is not the answer. I'd like to think ridding our society of guns entirely would be, but I am not that stupid.

Why can't people just off themselves?

Slothrop

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> And they're much better for birds/clays than pumps - the action of racking the pump takes too much time and can draw you off your target. Now, those nice perfectly-weighted Italian double-barrels are definitely the class of the field, but I don't golf with Callaways either, if you get my drift.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I'd say put Cedric Benson on the cover, but that would be redundant.

PenskeMaterial

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @drewheyman: Sure? I own one (and the "magazine insert" to reduce capacity to the mandated 3 rounds for bird hunting). Full auto is illegal, but semiauto isn't.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> are you sure?
birders tend to use pump-action shotguns or double-barrel, as do (manly) clay-pigeon shooters.

drewheyman

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @drewheyman: a semi-auto shotgun is incredibly illegal by the way.

Untrue. Semi-automatic shotguns are perfectly legal, and the firearm of choice for most sporting clay shooters and bird hunters. What they also are is hard to conceal, at least at legal barrel lengths. Someone would've noticed a guy wandering around with a three-foot-plus shotgun in the two-hour interval. Along with that, the sound on the cellphone video is far too sketchy to make any reasonable assumption as to what gun the nutjob was using just judging by report alone.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @twoeightnine: two hours? so this guy shot the people in the dorm and then had 2 hours to think about what he was doing before he went and shot at least 40 more people? that's even scarier.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Throw some Brees on that bitch.

Refreshments in the Narthex

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> 2 hours. The police were still investigating the first shooting when the second occurred. Assume that the morning's first classes were starting when the police came across the first scene. By the time they figured out what exactly was going on, the safest thing to do would have been to keep everyone where they were and also to not cause panic by bursting into every building and saying that there's a shooter loose.

twoeightnine

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> i've heard he was carrying a semi-automatic shotgun, and the gunshots sound shotgunish at first in the cameraphone shots. that's how. a semi-auto shotgun is incredibly illegal by the way.

drewheyman

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Da_Mang: how long was there between shootings? it seems like he shot in the dorm and then immediately walked to the classroom. this wouldn't have given enough time for the classes to be cancelled, and, like 289 says, if the kids would have been let out of class with this guy on his way to the classrooms, he would have been able to shoot people outside as they ran from the classes.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> It's good to know that according to ESPN LT is a WR for the Bengals. Now I won't be so confused when watching Chargers games next year.

DougOLis

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Actually it makes more sense to keep the students in classes. You don't want thousands of students moving around campus with an unknown, armed shooter.

twoeightnine

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @The Ghost of Luke Ward: That brings to mind an old question - whatever happened to the "arm the teachers" movement? I remember the idea being kicked around after the last set of school shootings, but I don't remember what happened to it.

Reason I ask: m wife's a nursing instructor. I can teach her how to shoot - and after today, I'd kinda like to.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @SuperFrankieLampard: They most likely did not have a very good description of him and he blended in with the rest of the students. Which makes the decision to keep classes open even more inexplicable.

Da_Mang

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @SuperFrankieLampard: I'm far enough out of college (10 years) where I start to think about all the things those kids are going to miss out on. It makes no sense, it just does't make sense.

Hank Scorpio-Steinbrenner

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @twoeightnine: right, it's not that difficult. i read that there was one point where there was a burst of about 30 shots. that says "lots of people in an small enclosed space" to me.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Da_Mang: Has a firm timeline been established w/respect to the time between shootings? Not every campus, particularly old ones, are optimized for passing information quickly from building to building (at Pepperdine every classroom has a phone...does VaTech?).

This is a good example of why getting your carry permit and actually carrying is a good idea...though often you're restricted from doing so at educational institutions. That looks like a pretty good call in retrospect, huh?

Crazy people do not follow laws folks.

Blackguard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Da_Mang: yeah, that's what i was saying. i don't know how he got from the dorm to the classrooms without being seen or anything.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Can we put Emmitt Smith on the cover?

(yes, I'm harboring old grudges... so what?)

LJ is already f'd with 420 carries
LT2 is already f'd with Norv
Peyton... well, if he's on the cover, bye bye consecutive starts streak.

grungedave

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @SuperFrankieLampard: He could have easily walked. It's maybe a 15 min walk from that dorm to Norris Hall. What I want to know is why the campus was not locked down and classes canceled after the first shooting.

Someone really screwed the pooch.

Da_Mang

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I'm still trying to fathom how a lone gunman can kill that many before being subdued.

It's a school of almost 30,000 students. I'd guess that there's lectures with 500+ students in one class.

twoeightnine

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Nate Newton!!!!!

DennyCrane

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Has anyone seen Marcus Vick? I believe the VaTech police are looking for him...

Blackguard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Hank Scorpio: me neither. i graduated from college two years ago, and i'm finding myself thinking about the buildings on my old campus and where people could hide and where the exits were and bushes the police could hide behind. it's not a nice feeling.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Suss--: If it's inevitable, it's no fun.

Jimbo

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @SuperFrankieLampard: Me three, I spent two hours in the car thinking about it, and I still don't understand it.

And I don't think I want to.

Hank Scorpio-Steinbrenner

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> can I nominate Matt Millen for the cover?

Hit Bull Win Steak

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> How about T.O. ???

He's already messed up the 'Boys
this year (HA-HA go 'Skins)

Lunatic Fringe

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Lawrence Taylor hasn't played in the NFL for years. Why would Madden '08 want to put him on the cover?

Seriously though, Tomlinson needs to find himself a new nickname.

Upshaws Leash

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @badbabu: me too, and especially how he shot a couple people in a dorm, and then walked (i assume; maybe he drove) to a building on the other side of campus and shot the rest of the victims there.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I'd like to see Willis McGahee and the new baby mama drama feature.

twoeightnine

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I wonder what Pot Roast & Gravy would think of today's events?

Hit Bull Win Steak

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I'm still trying to fathom how a lone gunman can kill that many before being subdued. It's terrifying and sickening.

badbabu

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Peter Cavan: If Tank Johnson's putting a flower in the gun barrel of the oncoming tank then it's not so bad...

George of the Jungle

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Sam Hotdog: Maybe it includes the new Roger Godell "I Just Suspended Yo' Ass" feature

George of the Jungle

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Peter Cavan: And wow, does my joke look like it's in bad taste. Sorry.

Peter Cavan

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> It won't be a running back, guaranteed. They've never featured the same position in consecutive years. Plus, the cover athlete is related to that year's new feature.

Last year, Alexander was appropriate for their lead blocking feature.
2006 brought QB Vision.

So either they will focus on defense, speed or perhaps a new QB feature.

Sam Hotdog

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> 31 now dead at vt, making it the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Tank Johnson standing in front of an actual tank is my ideal cover.

Peter Cavan

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Maybe they should just feature the entire group of Bengals who got arrested and it would have some kind of reverse mojo effect, turn 'em around so they can become law-abiding, productive members of society.

Or not.

Lady Andrea

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Ted Johnson was scheduled to be shot for the cover but wound up walking into a forest instead.

Drew Magary

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Meet your Madden '08 cover model:
Rosie O'Donnell.

Da_Mang

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Grapefruit Juice:

Don Ho is Stuart Scott's favorite singer.

Weed Against Speed

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Grapefruit Juice: too soon, grapfruit. too soon.

SuperFrankieLampard

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Fantasy Jesus (my name for LT) is already fucked with NORV!!! as a coach. He might as well just take the Madden cover and wait for the broken ribs.

Signal to Noise

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I hope it is LT getting tackled by Ray Lewis with Bill Belicheck looking smug in the background. 3 with one stone!

CatHairSweater

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Well it could be worse, 'Madden Lounge Act 07' featured Don Ho.

Grapefruit Juice

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Sportszilla: Not to mention the fact that Shields just retired - that's a double whammy if I ever saw one.

buttons

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> How about the mummy from ATHF who just yells "CCCCUUUURRRRRSSSSSEEEEEDDDDD!"?

Christmas Ape

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> ok, I admit it, I finally clicked on one of those "Gawker Artists" link. Allegorical Cheerleader - wow, that's deep.

George of the Jungle

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Put Iran on the cover.

JakeFratelli

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> That's funny, I came here looking for a story on Marcus Vick...

Rob1855

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @George of the Jungle: We can only pray...

Robert Barone’s Dog

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Baba Oje: But only if he's mooning Randy Moss.

Boz

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @PQ Crash: "That's not true."

-Latrell Sprewell & Jeff Kent

diddly

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> PLEASE Don't put the SNORG Tees girl on the cover.

Logical Negativist

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> @Robert Barone's Dog: I thought they'd be ok now that Larry David is running the ship

George of the Jungle

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Can't we just put Larry Johnson on the cover? The guy's already doomed from having approximately 1000000000 carries last year, so no need to ruin multiple fantasy players when one's going down (this same thing happened with Shaun Alexander last year, btw).

Sportszilla

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> If they put Smoot on the cover, it would have to be rated M for Mature.

throwbot

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I vote for Joe Buck on the cover.

BabaOje

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Ben Roethlisberger?

Woops, too late.

Boz

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Just put the Jets executives on there - it's not like their draft day decisions can get any worse.

Robert Barone’s Dog

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Put Madden eating a Turkducken on the cover.

Refreshments in the Narthex

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Just so the Browns aren't surprised this time around, make it Eric Steinbach.

Matt Sussman

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> I think putting Tom Brady's sperm count on the cover would be good for the ladies of New England.

Southeast Jerome

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> The safest bet for the cover? Lance Briggs. You can't get hurt if you don't play the game.

PQ Crash

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Put Sexy Rexy on the cover. He might be able to reverse it.

UkraineNotWeak aka Praying for a Bullpen

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Looking at the crappy game play of the past years, Im thinking Madden NFL 08 has been cursed by having its name appear on its own game.

Viva la 2K8!!

Grapefruit Juice

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Brett Favre could beat the Madden curse.

diddly

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Just put the picture of Kyle Orton drinking JD on the cover

Len Bias Cocaine Surplus

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> We think they should put Favre on there; maybe he'll actually retire this time

The Madden curse might be the only thing strong enough to stop him.

Metschick

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Put Pac-Man on the cover and finish him off.

PQ Crash

]]> <![CDATA[Save LT Before It's Too Late]]> Well, if he's going down anyway he might as well do the Chunky Soup endorsement while he still can...

George of the Jungle

]]>