And since we cannot accept being in the wrong place at the wrong time as the reason why our loved ones died, the blame game begins almost before the bodies are hauled away.  The killer’s parents, while apologetic and remorseful, claim that they had no idea that their son was capable of such behavior. Teachers that knew the troubled student claim that they alerted the school authorities long before he acted.  School authorities claim that they did all that they could.

            In this sad tale only the names of the involved individuals and locations change.  Every time it happens we shed a few tears, attend memorial services for the dead, talk about how terrible these atrocities are, and conclude that someone else should do something to prevent them in the future.  Then our righteous indignation quickly dissipates as we carry on with our busy lives.  So let’s stop blaming others for these horrific events.  None of us will make the sacrifices necessary to actually stop the killings. And, because there is no long-term public outcry neither political party will seriously consider any radical solutions, ones that could actually work.  Nonetheless, for the sake of discussion let’s examine five possibilities, from radical left to radical right.

            One, since most mass killers are isolated loners, we could stop the killings by preventing anyone in the country from becoming detached and alienated.  Although this solution reflects admirable sentiments, American society, in its mad rush to individualism, is moving further away from the collective community commitments that this goal would require.

            Two, we could follow the example of other industrialized countries and strengthen our gun control laws.  Aside from the fact that this solution remains politically unfeasible in the United States, rigorous gun control does not always keep guns out of the hands of criminals and lunatics, as current experiences in South Africa and Russia indicate.

Three, we could follow the Israeli model and place armed security personnel in all publicly accessible facilities in the country.  However, are we willing to pay for this, and are we ready to live in an armed camp? 

Four, we could return to the Wild West and arm and train all citizens over 18 to carry and appropriately use weapons.  Such a proposal is just as politically unfeasible as rigorous gun control, law enforcement agencies would be completely opposed to it, and passion killings would probably increase.

            Finally, we could institute mandatory and continuing martial arts training for all citizens from elementary school through old age.   In my opinion this has the best chance of working because such training could alter the immediate reactions of potential victims when they are confronted by the killer.  People inexperienced with violence freeze and submit when they are confronted with violence.   In Blacksburg no one rushed Cho to disarm him because they were in shock and could not move.  Freezing up is the worst possible response to violence, and martial arts training can help to overcome that response.

            However, debating these five options is futile because the costs, sacrifices and restrictions required by any of these options are too high in relation to the losses suffered from the occasional mass killing.  As per usual the Virginia Tech killings will generate rhetoric only and no effective action, and consequently the ongoing sad tale will have new chapters in the future.