The recent gun massacre in Virginia has already sparked calls for greater gun control in America - a pretty obvious reaction as guns are so readily available there, but probably doomed to failure in the face of opposition from the powerful gun lobby. The same thing happened here after Hungerford and the Dunblane tragedy, but this doesn't seem to have had much effect on the availability of handguns to black youths in South London and elsewhere.
And no doubt it won't be long before people start bleating about violent movies and video games, and how they make young people go to school and murder their teachers and classmates. It's not a very logical argument, though. When 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah was bludgeoned to death in a park, his parents started a campaign to get the video-game "Manhunt" banned, claiming that it had contributed to the murderer's deadly frame of mind, and completely ignoring the fact that Leicestershire police found the game in the victim's bedroom, not the murderer's.
And if violent films cause people to go out and become murderers, how come the same effect isn't observed in other aspects of human behaviour? Did "Jaws" stop people going in the sea? After the screening of "Superman" was there a sudden rash of young men throwing themselves off tall buildings? Did "The Matrix" cause adolescent boys to don black suits and sunglasses and try to crawl into the CD-ROM drawer of their computer? Does reading Jane Austen convert you overnight into someone who can talk in whole sentences with loads of dependent sub-clauses and rather twee pronunciation? Does reading the Bible make you good?
The answer is no, of course. It's far more likely that if you're psychologically flawed in favour of mindless violence, your favourite viewing will be full of guns and mutilation. If you're already literate and articulate, you can cope with "Pride and Prejudice" but if you're not, you'll go to considerable lengths to avoid it. If you think black suits and sunglasses make you able to run up walls, you'll love "The Matrix" while more normal people will just be bemused. If you're a narrow-minded bigot who needs something to justify your crummy beliefs, you'll wallow in the Bible like a pig in muck. If you think a man in a cape can really fly, you're a very sad and stupid person.
No, it's no use trying to fathom out the roots and causes of Cho Seung-hai's lunacy, or trying to lay the blame at any door except that of the killer himself. He thought that getting a gun and shooting lots of people was a way to solve his problems, and would make him feel better. At the same time he wasn't completely stupid and probably knew it wouldn't solve his problems, and wouldn't make him feel better. He was a madman, pure and simple. No point analysing why, or trying to "cure" him. Put him down, and move on. He knew that. That's why he shot himself.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it, whether gun controls are ever likely to be really effective? So we were very interested to read this letter in Saturday's Telegraph ...
"Worldwide there is no correlation between firearms availability and homicide rates.
Ukraine has almost total gun control, but the murder rate there is twice that of America. Mexico has more restrictive gun laws than the United States, but its murder rate is nearly three times as high. Switzerland, where every household has an army rifle, has a murder rate one third lower than that of Great Britain.
Murder rates are cultural. America's murder rate is higher than Britain's because, despite recent immigration into Britain, it has many more diverse subcultures including some that accept and even glorify violence. Southern "death before dishonour" boys and urban drug cultures are two examples, with homicide rates resembling war zones.
By contrast, the New England descendants of English emigrants, whose culture is closest to the mother country, settle their differences at law and have homicide rates quite similar to those seen in Britain.
Dale McIntyre, Oklahoma, USA"
This all has the ring of truth, although McIntyre may be underestimating the importance of violent ethnic minority cultures in the UK. Crumbs, there's a thing. An American actually talking sense?
He may also be underestimating the alienation felt by thousands of Grumpy Old Sods in the UK today. There's one here who often feels that if he had a gun, he'd damn well use it. OK, maybe shooting people wouldn't really make him feel better, but it's worth a try.
Traffic Wardens, hoodies and Council officials, be afraid. Be very afraid.
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