It was Columbine-plus at Virginia Tech (NYT story), as the police proved themselves to be totally useless or worse. They interviewed suspects, secured the perimeter, ordered everyone not to move, and meanwhile and for two hours, apparently, the killer roamed free and started his rampage against forcibly unarmed students unguarded by forcibly unarmed teachers and administrators. “We can’t have an armed guard in front of every classroom every day of the year,” said the chief of police. But they will darn sure arrest anyone who prepares for such an attack by arming himself.
Here is William Anderson on Columbine: “When the police arrived after hearing reports of a massacre under way inside Columbine High School, they did not storm the building to catch the criminals. Instead, these heavily armed officers, wearing their famous coalscuttle helmets, surrounded the outside of the school, “sealing the perimeter,” according to their spokesmen. Inside the high school, Eric Harris and Dylan Kliebold were running freely through the halls, merrily killing and wounding unarmed teachers and students as they tried to escape. In the end, the police didn’t even have to fire a shot, as the two miscreants ended their own lives. Thus, people were treated to a worthless show of force by the authorities, which did almost nothing to save anyone caught in the building. Lest one think this was an aberration, it is standard procedure by government forces.”
Standard procedure forever and ever.
