VTU and Univ of Illinois Gun Dealer offers guns at cost for the benefit of the public

In life, one does not often come across charitable gun salesmen - surely this new phenomenon is an oxymoron to end all oxymorons, preferably with hollow points to the head. Eric Thompson, the owner of TGSCOM Inc, the company that runs the websites that sold guns to Cho and Kazmierczak is now offering to give guns away for cost -
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/24/va.tech.niu/index.html

He is doing this, he says because - "I want to help people save lives," . Just like he did on the two prior occasions. This is the kind of news the Onion could not make up if it tried. Only in America can a gun salesman who acknowldges that he has no way of even determining whether the people who buy guns from him are college students (he initially proposed to offer the discount to students but realised it was not possible to do this) claim that he is doing the community a favor by making it easier (economically in this case) to buy guns. This is a sure fire way to secure the safety of the community, pun intended. In his words - "But there's no real way to determine whether someone is a college student ... so we opened it up to any legal American." Atleast he is keeping Jose from getting his hands on the trigger. That makes it so much safer for us to rest at night. He even acknowledges that some of the guns he sells may end up in the wrong hands. He is one self aware mensch he is.

He demands that we distance him from the actions of the men who pulled the trigger, that he only supplied some metal and plastic. Lovingly crafted metal and plastic that he now wants to give away to assuage his guilt. He says - "This isn't fun, and this isn't easy , I could have easily stuck my head in the sand and ignored all of this, but sometimes the easy way to go is not the right thing to do." What a sense of ethical responsibility this man has? A true citizen. He could be goose stepping to Wagner in an NRA recruitment video. At the end of the interview he whines about potentially losing thousands of dollars from his pioneering 'flood the streets with cheap handguns'' campaign. It might break the back of his family, reduce him to penury, but his cold dead hands just have to give away handguns.

Remember the last scene in 'Throne of Blood' where the Toshiro Mifune's evil wife tries desperately to wash blood off her hands. Even a character as depraved as her feels a pang of conscience at the end. Not our friend Thompson who sees himself as the Red Cross of handguns, distributing them to the bullet-wound-and-colostomy-bag-deprived young urbans. Let us bring back the crossfire dodging charm of the old west he is saying, a true conservationist.

It is funny how people like him see society strictly in terms of good guys who feel a heart rendering and beautiful need to protect themselves and bad guys who shoot up the place and kill innocents. A good person does not turn bad until he commits a deed. We are all potential murderers and thieves and school shooters. That piece of metal or plastic is not just a neutral product like an automobile or a can of juice. It is designed to and makes it easier to kill. Arming people is not the solution. I will leave the last word to our buddy Eric - "I do not feel I have extreme views," he said. "I think I have open eyes." Well then remove the blinders you have in front of them so you can see clearly.