Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

April 20, 2007

Today’s Announcements

A very happy birthday wish for our writer Cheryl Williams:

I had a discussion with the moderator of Storytime Tapestry about the apology, and I do not want people to feel that I think Mark Crider is wrong, I do not; There are no rights or wrongs here, just a controversy about what is right for The United States of America. 

My concern is the integrity of the newsletter.  We do not promote a single view as my long time members know.  Having said that, I have expressed my personal opinion in the apology and I stand by that.  It is my personal and I repeat personal opinion. 

However the public integrity of the newsletter is something entirely different.  Storytime Tapestry is not a political e-zine and never has been. 

The controversy over guns in the United States is a very heated one, and one that is rehashed when times like this tragedy resurfaces.  I am going to do something I do not normally do because it is an important issue.  I am going to continue the different points of view. 

Mark Crider has been gracious enough to understand my predicament and I do not think he should be pointed out as a scapegoat here either.  I will feature another story comment of his today defending his position because he was made scapegoat and should never have been.

Please note that what you read from any of the writers are their opinions and do not reflect the focus of the newsletter.

What the focus on this issue is, is people venting and getting out their hurt from this horrible massacre.  Remember I am a trained counselor and a nation is grieving and must get their feelings out, processing the grief is the official stance that Storytime Tapestry is taking nothing political is intended in any of the articles or comments which will be featured. 

My apologies to anyone who is offended either for or against this issue.

This is the first and the last debate that Storytime Tapestry will have, but since it was started, I am going to run with it.   

Thank you Vance Agee for the idea of the debate.

Hey ya'll

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!

We both slept through most of the night, which neither one of us has done in 7 days !!

Skyler made a turn for the better today around 2pm  - he woke from a nap bright eyed, smiling (haven't seen that smile in days). So they took the IV out and wanted to see if he could drink formula without throwing up - he drank 6 ounces and hasn't thrown up so far -yea !!!

His cute little spirit is back and he even sang to me, his eyes are bright and sparkling again and he looks 1000% better.

We got discharged from the hospital today around 4:22 pm and got home before 5:30 pm

It's nice to be back home with a healthy child again - so thank you a million times over !!! From both Skyler & I

I still have a stuffy nose, but my voice didn't leave, like I thought it would - maybe a good nights sleep in our own beds will cure that !!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER !!!!!!!!!!

Acaysha Dolfin
Full time Mom to Skyler
www.acaysha.com
acaysha@cox.net
Radio show Sundays 8-9 pm EST http://radio.photon.net/acaysha
Skyler's personal website:   http://impressions.babypeeks.com/adolfin/

Today’s Stories

~**~**~

 Carol, I emphasize with the person who responded as she did. It is her right and I respect that to the core of my beliefs as I have been a member of the organization for forty five years that wrote, founded and, all but two, signed our constitution and Bill Of Rights.

However, though extremely remote, I might be there when she is going through a life threatening experience and save her, as would the passage of this law for Virginia Tech students last year would have possibly stopped this tragedy from going as far as it did.

Please let your responder read this article.

My quote; Hind sight is 20/20, foresight is a loaded pistol in'yer pocket.

Equal rights dictate that you have the right to not have a gun if you choose and I have the right to have one.
Mark Crider

<>

This article is from 15 months ago.  It doesn’t appear the theory behind the vote worked out so well. 

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Gun bill gets shot down by panel

HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college

campuses, died in subcommittee.

By Greg Esposito

  381-1675

A bill that would have given college students and

employees the right to carry handguns on campus died

with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.

House Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee

on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday

in the subcommittee stage, the first of several

hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert,

R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia

Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was unavailable

Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on

the bill's defeat other than to say the issue was dead

for this General Assembly session.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to

hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university

community is appreciative of the General Assembly's

actions because this will help parents, students,

faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."

Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, would not comment

Monday because he was not part of the subcommittee

that discussed the bill.

Most universities in Virginia require students and

employees, other than police, to check their guns with

police or campus security upon entering campus. The

legislation was designed to prohibit public

universities from making "rules or regulations

limiting or abridging the ability of a student who

possesses a valid concealed handgun permit ... from

lawfully carrying a concealed handgun."

The legislation allowed for exceptions for

participants in athletic events, storage of guns in

residence halls and military training programs.

Last spring a Virginia Tech student was disciplined

for bringing a handgun to class, despite having a

concealed handgun permit. Some gun owners questioned

the university's authority, while the Virginia

Association of Chiefs of Police came out against the

presence of guns on campus.

In June, Tech's governing board approved a violence

prevention policy reiterating its ban on students or

employees carrying guns and prohibiting visitors from

bringing them into campus facilities.

Mark Crider

mark@cccoating.com

~**~**~

I'm sorry, but I agree with Mark Crider. Not about students carrying guns, but about the teachers having the right to defend and protect those in their charge. Why should criminals be the only ones armed with a deadly weapon? Why shouldn't citizens have the right to protect themselves and those in their charge? It is insane to think criminals will respect gun laws while citizens are denied the right of self protection. Those who are intent on killing someone will find a way of acquiring a gun. What will they do next, outlaw knives, baseball bats, vehicles? Because if you want to kill someone you can do it with anything you can get your hands on. Guns do not kill, people do.

I rest my case.

Nell Berry

louis_berry@bellsouth.net

You know Carol, the more I thought about you apologizing to those people who gave
you a bad time over Mark's comment, the madder I get.  As far as I know the news
media is free to publish anything they please.  We have an amendment that covers that. It might have been in poor taste from some peoples point of view, but I totally agree with Mark in saying that one armed person could have made a difference.  I HATE guns and won't even touch them unless I have to and no one could get me to fire one unless I was
threatened. We should add the disclaimer just to CYA however, and if people want to unsub, let them go.  That certainly was not controversial enough to not at least voice their opinion and let it go.  I read lots of crap in our daily newspaper, stuff I disagree with, but
 I just keep right on paying for it to come.

 Clara Wersterfer

 cbWEST@webtv.net

Hi!
Well, Carol, you decide for what you wish to apologize -- you.

Now, I personally do not believe that you need aplogize for anything, although if you calm the upset, then it does not matter so much what you believe, since you help others before yourself!
 
However, Mark Crider wrote for many who do not advocate true murder but
rather the right of self-defense for the otherwise (except for their prayer)
helpless: senior citizens beaten and robbed in their homes, young women
raped or slashed, poor store clerks just serving their neighborhoods and
supporting their families!
 
Yes, there is immense protection in Psalm 91. Yes, the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel are far more of a match that the greatest armies of men (see Barbarosa by Alan Clark, Brit. Under Secretary of State, about Hitler's massive army against Russia; just give me Michael or Gabriel....)
 
Two points:
 
FREEDOM of SPEECH and ideas (not ideas meant to disrespect but to state
honest opinion).  I believe in guns for the honest and law-abiding, who want
and respect them! Point: what on earth is Freedom of Speech, IF it is only
used when there is no dispute LOL??? Dispute defines Freedom of Speech!!!!.
 
Self-defense and defense of others! I have had guns since I was 12! I am a good shot and have been a spectacular shot -- one inch at 25 yards with .22
pistol!   What if a rabid animal (foxes, racoons, etc. endangers my puppy or
family? Or what if a crazy person or one running from killing police (!) --
happened last year -- is sighted near home? I have a NYS permit; unlike in
Va., difficult to get! A store does not decide!!!!
 
See, it is not a simple discussion!
 I am pleased to discuss in peace and respect with anyone!
  But you OWE no one an apology.
 God bless you for doing that for peace!!!
 Vance Agee, with respect.
 

~**~**~

Dear Carol,

I don't know exactly what you are referring to and apologizing for unless it was the short comment in Storytime by Mark Crider. 

It is not unloving to give one's opinion on self-defense.  It is not advocating violence to talk about self-defense.  Indeed, it is quite the opposite.  Self-defense is just what the word indicates, which is to protect yourself from violence. 

There seems to be an element in the world today that wants freedom of speech only for those on the "politically correct" side of issues.  Many people believe that disarming citizens is a way of creating a loving society where nobody will be able to harm other people.  In a perfect world, this would work but we do not live in a perfect world nor will we ever because there is and always has been evil in the world.  Is it unloving to defend yourself?  If an intruder breaks into your house and tries to kill your family, is it unloving to protect your family? 

I realize that there are countries that have gun control laws.  Every time there is a shooting in the USA, gun control advocates make a push once again for gun control. 

 Take a look at this article:   http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel052203.asp  It shows what can happen in societies that disarm citizens.  The article is not far fetched but is historically what has happened in the past.  The one thing that gun control insures is "control".  Someone or some group will have control.  

Right now some countries have gun control.  As long as they have good leadership perhaps all will go well.  However, it only takes an evil leader to gain control to be able to destroy lives.  Some say that their laws will not allow an evil leader to come into control but that is not being realistic. It has happened over and over again in history.  Those with an agenda often come into power as peaceful, non-violent, and loving personalities only to show their true colors after it is too late.

It is interesting to note that Virginia Tech did have gun control laws in place that forbade guns on campus. Gun control did not stop the man from killing. The only way to stop violence and killing is to change hearts.  How do we change hearts?  This happens at the very core of our being by recognizing that we need God who is in the business of changing hearts and we are his instruments on earth to carry His love to others.  It begins with you and with me.  It begins in raising our children to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

Carol, you don't have to apologize for having an opinion.  It is not wrong nor unloving to have an opinion.  Storytime has a line at the top that says it promotes love and cultural awareness around the world.  At least here in the USA, we still have freedom of speech although it seems to be slowly eroding because of those who would have free speech be only for those who think the same way that they do.  We also still have the right to bear arms according to our second ammendment.  We must constantly be on watch to protect the freedoms that we have been given by our founding fathers.  One of my favorite quotes regarding this is:

In 1787, shortly after the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia,

 a woman interested in the proceedings approached Benjamin Franklin.

"Well, doctor," she asked, "what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"

The venerable champion of American liberty replied,

"A republic, madame, if you can keep it."

Pamy Blaine

pamyblaine@blaines.us

~**~**~

Hi Carol,

     You didn't offend me in the least. You never could. As a matter of fact, I have recently been thinking about going through the training and paperwork to obtain my concealed weapons permit here in SC. There are specific laws you have to abide by when you are legally carrying a gun and I need to get one for my own peace of mind. I wish I was living there in Canada where my personal safety wouldn't be so much of a concern. This recent episode in VA further illustrates the need for them. 

      When the Columbine shootings happened I was in college with a bunch of guys who made the statement that it can happen just about anywhere. What makes it really weird, this sort of thing almost happened while I was at school one day. There was this weird kid who had been told by campus security that he had to leave because the girl he was stalking had filed a restraining order on him. He kept pacing by the table where I was sitting with one of my adopted daughters and she knew him and made the statement that campus police had come and gotten him out of one of her classes earlier that day and that if I heard gunshots I needed to duck under a table. The guy had the weirdest look in his eyes, like he wasn't even human any more. His face was like stone and he had a cold blank, almost dead, expression in his eyes. I never saw him again after that day and have no idea what happened to him.

     Take care,

     Lynne   

Pugmon37@aol.com

 ~**~**~

Carol,

When I was a kid my father went hunting a lot. There were always four or five rifles in the hall closet. This was back in the early sixties and unimaginable to most people now. The guns were never loaded and we kids never gave them a second thought. Sometimes we took them out and held them but early on the novelty of that wore off and we simply ignored them. Many of my friends had the same situation at home. So I was born at a time when people weren’t hyperventilating over guns.

I have never owned a gun. The only one I ever shot was an M-16 in Air Force basic training in 1974. Haven’t held a gun since. I have thought about buying one for protection because there are simply too many fools on the prowl these days doing home invasions and other sick things. I have no desire to shoot another human being but if I had to, to defend my family, save my life or someone else’s I would do so. I think anyone who buys a gun is also obligated to learn how to use it properly at a firing range. There are plenty of local programs that teach this. If one has no intention of doing that and exercising the highest diligence regarding safety then a gun should not be purchased.

As you know there has been a long debate going on about guns. Each side defends their point of view. As usual the root cause is never addressed and that’s why the same thing always comes back up when you have something like the incident at VT.

There is a sickness in this society that nobody wants to acknowledge publicly. Overall we live in such a way that the heart of what it means to be a person is ignored. Our education system, a large part of our entertainment, health care and much, much more is geared to treating people in very superficial and materialistic ways. Many of us, especially those of us who are older and remember when some of these things were at least acknowledged (before the curse of political correctness) supplement ourselves and make up for the lack. But in too many cases such knowledge isn’t being passed on.

Thus we are raising monsters and then acting surprised when they actually behave like monsters. Confiscating every gun would certainly take away one deadly form of expression the monsters prefer to use. But it would only be the cutting off of a limb from a deeply diseased tree. If you have a boil on your foot it must be treated. Until then it is useless to speak of buying different shoes or padding your present ones for relief. The debate over guns is mainly a smoke screen. The real problem is the kind of people we have become. To speak of that is forbidden because it means thinking in moral terms which then means religious questions. We’d rather kill each other than go there.

Unfortunately I think (and would love to be proven wrong) there will be a lot more VT type incidents before we as a society will take that discussion seriously. More than anything else we want to live in a fantasy world and more than anything else the government, federal and local, is interested in control. Everything is viewed thorough the distorting lenses of fantasy (all our imagined “rights” and personal theories divorced from larger reality) and political control. This is equivalent to running through broken glass and looking for someone to blame because you didn’t wear shoes. This mindset insures further demonic outbursts like that at VT.

 As disgusting as it is to see the carnage wrought at VT by this boy whose self-centeredness finally imploded it is even more disgusting to see the swirl of conversation afterwards - the predictable parading of psychologists and counselors across the stage and the endless media peeling back of questions that never touch the heart of the matter – which is nothing more than expressions of self-centeredness that simply haven’t metastasized to the level of Cho’s.

Bruce Newman

rbnewman55@netzero.net

~**~**~

 Dear Carol Roach,

Johann Christoph Arnold is an author, speaker and founder of Breaking the Cycle, which teaches nonviolent conflict resolution in high schools and universities. His books include Seeking Peace, Why Forgive?, Escape Routes, and Be Not Afraid. You have his permission to publish this commentary on the Virginia Tech shootings. Please let me know if you plan to use it.

Sincerely,

Sam Hine (assistant) for Johann Christoph Arnold
samhine@mailstack.com


WILL THE VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY CHANGE US?

Johann Christoph Arnold

In the aftermath of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech, the news media are doing an excellent job. Newspapers are printing lengthy stories on the lives of the dead and their beloved families. NBC has immortalized the shooter by airing his own video clips, photographs, and statements. Eyewitness accounts are being pieced together to tell us, minute-by-minute, how, when, and where each victim was gunned down. While some of this information may be useful, it mostly serves to sensationalize violence.

At Virginia Tech itself, thousands of students have been knocked to their knees. They are weeping, lighting candles, holding vigils, and praying. And on countless other campuses, students are anxiously asking whether such a horror could ever unfold at their school.

But what about the rest of us? Are we going to join these students in our grief? Are we going to let our hearts be moved, and turn to God as we mourn? Or are we just going to sit, numbly glued to the TV, and watch as the story is played and replayed?

The silence of politicians (including those gearing up for presidential campaigns) is deafening. Most church leaders, too, are remaining safely silent. They seem unwilling to point the nation to what is right and wrong. And of those who are speaking out, few are pointing to prayer, or to God, but are focusing on how we should make campuses safer--more like airports, with metal detectors and armed police.

One NRA member in Virginia is even proposing that college students be allowed to carry firearms for self-defense. Meanwhile, others are recommending the increased use of distance (online) learning, so that students at large universities can choose to study more safely. This last suggestion is especially troubling, as it will only make more students more isolated. After all, it was the gunman's extreme alienation from everyone--his parents, peers, professors, and even roommates--that seems to have driven him over the edge.

When a tragedy of this magnitude strikes, there are never simple answers. But that's precisely why we need to talk to one another. Everyone is scared. Only through sharing and listening can we overcome fear. Through it we will discover that we are all the same.

My heart goes out to every family who lost a loved one. I know there must be intense soul-searching going on in every case. "Where was God in all this?" "Why did he allow such beautiful lives to be cut short?" "Why did so many students in their prime have to sacrifice their futures to someone they didn't even know?"

We may have trouble believing it, but God was there when the killer stalked the campus. He was there as each life was snuffed out, and he received each one of them. We will never understand why he did not intervene and put a stop to it. But we can be sure that he has the matter in his hands, and that he can use even this tragedy for the salvation of the living and of the dead. 

Out of love and reverence for the victims and their families, let us turn off our TVs, and turn to God. Let us become inwardly silent, and pray that the massacre leads us to a sense of nationwide community. If that happens, then these lives were not lost in vain. God sees everything and has a purpose and a plan for everything. He sees the suffering of each soul: the broken, the weak, the humble, the pure in heart, the merciful, and those who are sick and long for God. He sees and accepts us, every one.

Let us also not forget the powerful lesson the Pennsylvania Amish taught us, when five of their children were gunned down last fall. They chose not to defend themselves, but to whole-heartedly forgive. As we contemplate the shooter, let us love and forgive. The cycle of senseless violence and death can be overcome only by good. The power of love alone robs every violent deed of its power.

Even when it goes against our own feelings or when, as in this tragedy, we see the worst of human nature, let us never seek revenge. Every time we do, we become as evil as the aggressor himself. Instead, let us pray for the daring to reach out to one another not less, but more; let us join hands and look up to God. Even when faced with incomprehensible evil, he is the only answer.

[Johann Christoph Arnold is an author, speaker and founder of Breaking the Cycle, which teaches nonviolent conflict resolution in high schools and universities. His books include Seeking Peace, Why Forgive?, Escape Routes, and Be Not Afraid.

~**~**~