Based on Cho's "macabre" writings, could his mental state be determined and what should have been done?

Question

Based on answers so far, allow me a caveat: Should we then commit Steven King or Clive Barker or any of the other popular horror writers?

Answer 1

It's easy after a tragedy to pick through the life of the perpetrator trying to find the clues that could have alerted authorities to the problem in advance. One thing that you don't hear about, though, is how the various elements pulled out as indicators relate to the rest of the population.

I could direct you to blogs full of teenage angst, macabre stories, etc. I'm sure that there are tons of pictures of gun owners with their prize collections around. And I suspect that the percentage of the population that have both pictures of themselves with their guns, and blogs full of angst and macabre stories, and who have committed or are planning to commit mass murder is quite low.

Maybe there are reliable indicators, but I don't think we have a clue as to what they are. And arresting people for crimes that they might possibly commit in the future isn't reasonable.

Answer 2

I asked a similar question on here some minutes ago and while I agree that taxpayers pay for school and you can't just kick out anybody u wish, I believe the signs in Cho's case were too obvious to pass up. I am not saying they should kick him out of school and not allow him to pursue his degree. All I am saying is I think the situation could have been monitored better and maybe they could have involved the parents more or something. I read in an article where the professor who tutored him said she had a codeword to use in case he snapped but she never had to use it. That tells me that if the professors thought he was that mentally ill to have a codeword ready that means that they had a well enough idea of what could happen. I know professors and college staff are not psychic but I would hope that trained professionals in this field would see warning signs and not take them lightly.

Answer 3

Yes, I believe his metal state could have been determine. I honestly can not believe that people thought his behavior to be normal. Also, I don't understand why the school didn't do anything about his writing. The news mention something about him stocking some girls. The clues were their is just that no one paid attention. If someone would have notice this they would probably had send him to places for the mentally ill. Or with a counselor or psychitrist. It is very sad, because the lifes of the students could of been save, but it is to late now.

Answer 4

Obviously his mental state was substandard, but he knew right from wrong, and was calculated enough to painstakingly make a video diary and "memoir" and have it overnighted to NBC in New York. Yes, absolutely it could have been determined, he had been dropping hints towards his mental instability for years, and documenting it in his schoolwork, for the love of Pete. People not taking the time to follow-up with a high risk patient is what allowed this joker to fulfill his disturbing fantasies, rather than keeping him occupied and closing that window of opportunity for him to see this horror through. Now, the world is laughing at America's vulnerability again, cos of this douche.
College kids get kicked out of school all the time. I wonder, what kind of grades was he getting on the plays he wrote, cos they're AWFUL.

Answer 5

if they kicked him out on the basis that his writings were 'twisted' the school, which is a public school don't forget (and taxpayers pay for the school, there would no doubt be lawsuits filed.

the media makes this sound like Cho was one of the few people around the country who have depression and write about morbid things. the fact is: LOTS of people are like that. if schools kicked out everyone like that they'd be kicking out tons of people.