

The deadliest school massacre in US history occurred in 1927 - hadronzoo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster

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Zikes
While this is an interesting and relevant read and something that many of us
may not be aware of, I think it is inappropriate at the moment given it's
obviously intended to be compared with the recent event in Newtown, CT.

We shouldn't be drawing comparisons between these two tragedies, they and
others like them should be addressed individually with the focused seriousness
and compassion that they deserve.

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jack-r-abbit
As the call for tighter gun control heats up in the aftermath, it seems just
as appropriate to see similar tragic events that did not involve
(significantly) a firearm as a counter-point to the "without guns, these 20
children would be alive" argument that is already being made across the
nation. This is a heated topic and both (all?) sides will have those that
handle themselves tactfully and some that are crass. But just as swiftly as
the gun control voices sprang up, others with different ideas will spring up.
You can't tell one to STFU without telling them all to STFU. All we can ask
for is tactfulness. I don't think there was anything tactless about this
submission.

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Zikes
I don't think the original poster or the article was intended to draw
attention to the particular weapons involved in either incident, and I
certainly did not. I don't think anything about this post or my comment
addressed either side of those debates or their validity, so I don't know what
point you're trying to make about that.

To address the point about tact, which does get to the heart of what I was
saying, I have to respectfully disagree. This submission was posted with a
title beginning "The deadliest school massacre", obviously leading readers to
draw a comparison between the value of the lives of those killed in the
incident in Bath Township and the incident in Newtown.

All over the internet I have seen an outcry about how the mainstream media is
handling the recent incident, treating the numbers as though they are some
sort of "high score" to be feared and, at worst, bested. If we are to place
these sorts of morals and expectations upon the professionals in that field,
should we not also expect the same of ourselves?

~~~
jack-r-abbit
The article was really just a Wiki post so I doubt it was meant to do anything
other than state the known facts. I can't speak for the OP as to the motive
for submitting it to HN... so nothing is _obvious_ to me in that regard. But
my comment was attempting to explain its appropriateness as a counter to you
thinking it inappropriate . That was all. And my point was made in my post
with regard to it being a counter-point to the a current point being made that
without guns, the 20 kids would be alive. This event simply serves as an
example of other (non gun) ways that bad people have committed mass killings
of kids at a school. It would have served as an example even if the numbers
were the same or lower. The fact that it happens to be the highest body count
was not significant to me. I agree that we don't need to keep resetting the
bar for the next psycho to best.

