I think NBC Universal/MSNBC did the right thing in airing this video, but limiting the use. There is no need to show it all the time but it is important for us to see it. Being a college student myself this hit really close to home. Seeing an insight and giving all the information is the responsibility of the news media. It hurts but its good to see that all the information is getting out there. MSNBC is not letting politics of this get in the way of reporting the news and the video is news. If only people would stop trying to blame video games for this since it was found he had no games and that he was disturbed; we can move on and try to make sure that this does not happen again.

I too am disappointed deeply that Countdown and Keith Olbermann chose to air the video manifesto. It will fuel the inner fire of the next school shooter and may be the trigger that pushes him over the edge. Tomorrow is April 20 and I pray that as a teacher, all the students and teachers across America will be safe. How will you feel if some lunatic who watched the video on your show tries to outdo the Columbine and Cho massacres because he was energized by the airing of the video? I would have expected O'Reilly and Fox to do something like this, but Keith, not you. I honestly thought you were better than that. Disappointed, truly am.

Under the theories being advanced by many people here, no one should ever report about murder, crime, or anything bad because (a) it's unpleasant, (b) the families of the victims won't like it, and (c) someone else might see it and want to copy it. Let's leave aside for the moment that this sounds a lot like the Bush adminstration not wanting the media to report about the mess they've made in Iraq. The Virginia Tech shooter didn't copycat something he saw on NBC news the night before. In fact, we have no way to know what finally triggered this poor tortured kid to do what he did when and where he did it. How, therefore, do we purport to know that someone else could be motivated to carry out the same kind of act just because they see these videos? Some have argued that the presence of guns didn't matter here because this guy would have just found some other way to randomly mass murder 32 people. Okay, then the videos aired on NBC news last night don't matter either because anyone who might motivated to commit the same act him/herself probably would have found another flashpoint, at some other time, in any event. At least for the moment, people are paying a little more attention to the issue. While I do have some concern for the families of the victims being exposed to these gruesome details, there were already plenty of gruesome details out there before NBC news aired the videos. In fact, I believe that investigators stated that the videos added nothing new. I also notice that other news outlets have reported extensively about these videos, and maybe even have already aired some of the video footage themselves. Are they equally culpable if there is a copycat? And are we equally culpable just by talking so much about this in plain sight on the internets?

Darrell, your pro-gun reasoning leaves much to be desired. You said "Guns don't kill people. People like Cho kill people. If he killed them in some other fashion would you be complaining so much." Yes, Cho was clearly pathological, perhaps simply insane. But if he only had access to a bat, or knives/swords, or a bow/crossbow, or even a bolt-action or breach loading firearm, it is unlikely he could have killed so many so quickly. THAT is the argument for gun control. Note the term "control," not "elimination." In a country that is free, society can never stop a deranged man from committing violence. Society CAN try to reduce the damage that deranged man makes in the process. Your other argument "...why do we need semi-auto weapons? Because it is our constitutional right and part of American culture" also doesn't hold up. The constitution may provide the right to bear arms, but it does not specifically provide the right to semi-auto weapons. Since the term "arms" is subject to wide interpretation (one man's "arm" is another man's WMD), it is perfectly reasonable to allow our legislative system, who were elected to represent *US*, to determine what arms can be borne. And just because semi-auto handguns are currently part of American culture does not mean that it must be so forever. Slavery was once part of American culture, but enough Americans reached the conclusion that it was wrong, the issue led to southern secession and a war, and now slavery is no longer part of American culture. And please don't turn this post into an argument about what really caused the Civil War. That argument belongs elsewhere.

1.Person who said right to bear arms is so we can protect ourselves from tyranny of the govt, form militias and have a revolution if we want to overthrow a govt that is tyrannical, is right. That was the intent of the Amendment. But it is voided today; you'd get what David Koresh got. So lets get gun control and get real. (Deer rifles are 2 B ok.) Many more peeps are killed by ACCIDENT with guns than ever actually protect themselves from criminals in some sort of attempted attack--that rationale is pure bs. 2.There are fellow students of Cho's from high school and middle school who say he was picked on pretty badly for a long time (years) in school. It is a terrible thing that our culture does produce children who do seem to go through a very mean and moblike stage. Bullying REALLY hurts. It can drive people crazy, as we can see, producing so much pain and blockage of social development in a kid. I do think we need to get on the stick and make people aware of how much these "small" things do hurt. Its like Imus having no idea how much it hurt those girls; there were tears when they met Imus, their feelings were like that. Imagine how an isolated and alienated child might feel who gets hard-hearted cruelty every day at school at a vulnerable age, like puberty; We do need to see this as the cause; sick he was, for sure, but there was a cause for all that pain.

Bonnie, Madison - Brilliantly stated my friend!!

Why is the media giving credence to this coward by calling his suicide note a "manifesto"?

You know everyone, let's forget for a moment about the whole "We need to understand him" psychology angle. What does that mean anyway? Understand him so you know which medicinally-mandated pharmaceuticals to pump him/her with? Make sure and read the possible side effects, they don't want you to know about those, that's why in the TV commercials it's this quickly spoken rapid fire blur of gibberish at the very end of the ad. Did any of you consider for a second that the murderer sent the items to NBC because he wanted the fame, the notoriety - he wanted his "manifesto" to be televised? And you guys fell for it hook, line and sinker, some of you not only fell for it but you're in here defending it. You just couldn't WAIT to do exactly what a murdering psycho wanted you to do. You defend the last wish of a murderer of children. This also calls into question the NBC honcho's comment the other night, "We immediately turned over all items to the FBI..." Exactly how immediately is "immediately?" Immediately after you made copies so you could follow the last wish of a murderous madman to the letter? Not only is the televising of this material sickening, including the immediacy with which you guys apparently considered the need to televise the material and the need to continue to show it 24/7 - but also, the desire by our society in general for this kind of material to be televised. If you have such a burning desire to see violence done to young people, go see a slasher flick, then you can even watch it done to dumb young people. There are plenty of other events unfolding in the world everyday that are at least as tragic and senseless, and the coverage of these events is undoubtedly diminished by this current obsession. See: Iraq. For God's sake, you flash "Greatest mass killing in American history" like it's something to envy! Every day we edge (or maybe it's a sprint?) closer to Idiocracy.

Keith, Please remove all images of this insane killer. We've seen enough.

How many more copycats will be sending their videos to NBC and other media outlets before embarking on a murderous spree? This was was a heartless and stupid decision by NBC, and I intend to boycott NBC/GE products until they admit their mistake. At least when the New York Times and Washington Post printed the Unabomber's manifesto, there was some logic to do so. At the time, the Unabomber's identity was unknown, and it was hoped that someone would identify the author of the rambling manifesto. This is in fact what happened, when Ted Kaczynski's brother, David, came forward after recognizing the writing.

I love how our comments have to be approved before appearing and yet you aplashed this pychos pic across the globe - and I know NBC thought it had a MORAL obligation to do so........so you did it......now you have the power of the media to YANK it. Come on.and I tried to change the channels - that devil's face was on every single channel and I had to turn the sound off so I couldn't hear it. I do not think we needed to HEAR him.......he had plenty of time to talk - and alot of people tried to get through to him in LIFE- to give him a moment is to take away the beautiful celebration of all the lives that were lost. One thing else. ON TUESDAY - not even 24 hours after all those kids and the professors were killed in cold blood - Keith drew parallels that the American public have become insensitive to the boys and girls that are serving and DYING in IRAQ - well I am fully aware of what we are losing over there and I found that an insult. I like Keith and I will continue to watch him - but that was too soon. There is alot of people in the USA that VOTED the Congress out so we could instigate a change in the IRAQ policy and get our troops home. In one piece. I must tell you that there is one thing I am contributing too and that is the Disabled Vets...........I really wish we could focus on the lives of the victims and the disabled Vets - those are the HEROS.......please stop glorigying this paranoid schizophrenic- because that was what he was. The mental health agencies failed in a BIG WAY>

I will like to conclude the shooting into two points. First, no matter what reason, the shooter should be blamed for the tragedy. Secondly, the Bush's government and its official should be blamed for the loosen gun law which allows the shooter to obtain their weapons so easily.

I am so disappointed in MSNBC and in Countdown in particular. I consider Countdown a program with principles and rational values. Keith Oberman's continued elaborations, beyond any good good reasons, on the Virginia Tech shooter, with all of the needless repetition of details, sickens me. I was originally glad that the shooter sent the package to MSNBC as I thought they would treat it responsibly, but alas they have not. They have used it for its sensationalism and their belief that the details must come out is very self-serving. Countdown has gone way down in my estimation. Keith Oberman, if he continues his sensatioanl expose tonight (Thursday, has certainly earned "The Worst Person in the World" award.

Another point I would like to make (I don't know if my first point has made it past the screeners yet). Do we realize that this magnitude of death occurs in iraq, and especially Bagdahd, everyday. Not long ago, it was reported ONCE that a whole team of young teenage soccer players were killed by gunfire . . . ages 12-14. Can you imagine the loss? This shooting at Virginia Tech is being billed as the worst in our history in terms of numbers. How fortunate we are compared to so many other countries!

I am saddened by the whole VT tragedy, but angered by the news coverage. Newsflash to CNN. The killer is not the victim. Newsflash NBC. The killer is not the story. NBC is not the story. The senseless, needless loss of 32 people conducting their own lives, teaching, learning, working to make the world a better place...THAT, you fools, is the story.

Bravo to MSNBC for showing some of the twisted ranting of this man. We need to know because knowledge puts the light on what why and how. There is no doubt that this man was a twisted and sick individual. The University has a lot to explain about why he was but in a 6 person unit when the school knew about his mental health history. Their disregard for the other 5 persons subjected to him every day was criminal considering the red flags waving all over him. Stalking, Demented writings, non communication excused as shyness. Let's get real. It is a hard story to face but so is Iraq. Sticking our heads in the sand does not cure the problem. Ignorance never cured a problem or found a solution.

Carol-Troy: This is not to say that a large University should not try and provide a safe environment for their students, but in this case the University has nothing to explain. A large univeristy is not like a small town community college. A large univeristy has so many students (thousands) that everyone gets what is known as a Student ID Number by which they are known by the university, and many of their professors. Large universities have a hard enough time getting all these students into their proper class schedules. To insist they make sure that every single student is matched with the right room mate(s) is ludicrous. They are not there and are unable to act as parents or mental health social workers. They are there to take the students money, to provide them college level educational instruction, and if room and board are paid to provide a room where the student can store their belongings, lay their head down at night, study and get something to eat. If parents want their kids to get more personal attention make sure they attend a smaller college, but don't expect it from a large university. In this case any action that should have been taken with this person prior to this tragedy was the responsibility of the parents, the police and the community mental health facilities at large. Universities do not and will not take the place of parents or social workers. So for those freshman heading to a large university this coming fall, be prepared to do some very quick growing up. Your first day of class registration will wake you up to this fact. Before asking for an explanation from the university one would have find out if this person's room mates made formal complaints to their unit leader or dorm leader in which case the university might have a responsibility for attending to and correcting these formal complaints. Otherwise, there was no lack of responsibility here on the University's part.

Well he chained the doors up so any type of explosive device, fuels or other highly flammables could have been used to cause as much or more loss of life TW, but it is not about numbers. We have plenty of laws in place already to control legal purchases of firearms. There is no way to prevent these things from happening no matter how many laws you have in place. Just imagine several of those students had concealed carry permits only if they were allowed to carry them at school would have turned out different. Think they need more firearms training at schools and at least arm the teachers so maybe a trajedy like this could be avoided.

It's not so much wether to share all information but how. Throwing the most offensive picture right smack in the face of everyone just looking to see what's going on in the world today is what I don't like. The only way to sensor myself is to not go to the MSN website. If I see a headline or subject I am interested in I click on it signaling I WANT more information or choose possible assault in graphic nature. Why not have the resource for information without throwing it, graphically, right in or unsuspecting face where last week the picture and title was about spring shopping? A buffer of some sort? Aportal to more information for those who choose to go there. Cheap tactics, just throw the traffic accident in there face and hope they won't look away.

The answer is definately NOT for more people to carry guns. It's a gun-toting society that glorifies guns in the first place.

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