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Brent Jesiek
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Eugene Cho
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2007-06-16
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<p>Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com]
weeks have now passed. perhaps, it's become an afterthought for many. personally, a day hasn't gone by without some thoughts of the <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_Shooting">virginia tech tragedy</a>. the tragedy exposed a great deal - it exposed what we all already know: we live in a broken and fallen word. it was never meant to be like this. i say that not for it to be an easy exit or answer but to illuminate <strong>the deep nature of jesus' redemptive live, death, and resurrection</strong>. it also exposed the reality that "race matters" and that race is something the human collective will never fully understand, grasp, and elevate.
in addition, i was exposed. <a target="_blank" href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/">one poorly written post</a> attracted about 16,000 hits in a span of two days. it wasn't the kind of notoriety i was hoping for but this blog became one of the most visited wordpress blogs during that span. local papers called [eventually had a chance to write a <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/312786_techkorean24.html">guest column</a> for the seattle pi]. churchgoers called. friends around the country emailed. and like many, i found myself glued to the TV until i had to just pull the plug. because of the high traffic through the blog, i received my share of some interesting emails - those that were thought provoking and those that were <strong>downright scary</strong>. i sort of freaked out because of some of the emails which prompted me to go through the blog and delete all pics of the family and kids.
it also exposed my depravity. this was a snapshot of the progression of some of my thoughts:</p>
<blockquote>"wow, how could this have happened? what a tragedy. i must pray for these folks."
"what? they think an asian man did it? that's impossible. asians don't do stuff like that. but just in case, i hope it's not a korean person."
s#@t. it is a korean person. why do the news keep insisting he's a foreigner?!? there's going to be backlash. do i send my kids to school today?</blockquote>
<p>as i shared in the message i taught at my church the sunday after the shootings, amidst many things, the incident exposed my self-centeredness. while i do still believe the concerns i raised are legitimate and important conversations, it's so easy to park your thoughts on the SELF. the truth is i am a selfish, self-centered, wicked, and depraved man. thank God for his mercy and grace. <strong>only through Him can i see hints of the beauty i was intended to embody.</strong>
anyway, i ran across this article from christianity today entitled, <em>"nightmare of nightmares: virginia tech's korean christians wrestle with the aftermath of a massacre,"</em> and was particularly intrigued by the following quote:</p>
<blockquote>In the meantime, Korean Americans continue to grapple with the massacre. Korean Baptist's Chung quotes Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who wrote, "The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being."
Kang said the fundamental issue is the problem of evil. "We ask, 'Why does God allow these things to happen?'" he said, "rather than seeing this as the natural consequences of sinful society that Christ came to redeem.
"Western Christians struggle to make meaning of what happens in America because we're insulated. It's a dying and degenerate world. We're [experiencing] the consequences of sin." <a target="_blank" href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/june/16.52.html">[read full article]</a></blockquote>
<p>april 16, 2007...it's been nearly two months. <strong>how are you processing the events of virginia tech? any thoughts on the article or the quote above?</strong>
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007
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Original Source: <a href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/06/07/reflections-on-virginia-tech-and-new-article/">http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/06/07/reflections-on-virginia-tech-and-new-article/</a></p>
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Eugene Cho (eugene@seattlequest.org)
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reflections on virginia tech - 2 months later
asian american
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cho
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korean american
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<p>Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com]
Here's the guest column I had the privilege of writing for the Seattle Post Intelligencer [published for Tuesday, April 24, 2007]. I've also included some other reads I have personally found very moving and insightful. I was limited by time and a word count, but hoped that this <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/312786_techkorean24.html">'guest column'</a> would be a source of healing, deeper understanding, and blessing to many. I wish I did a better job, [and given them my own title], and spoken from a larger Asian perspective. One clarification I want to make - while I and other Koreans/Asians grieve and feel pain and 'shame' over Seung Hui Cho, <strong>we are not the victims in this tragedy.</strong> My hope was to convey that no matter who or what we are, we are all connected to one another - not just because of our ethnic identity but our larger <strong>human collective and narrative</strong>. Because of the invitation to address the larger Washington readership, I chose not to be preachy. Much of this editorial comes from some initial thoughts shared in a blog entry from last week entitled, <a target="_blank" href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/">'Making Sense of the Senseless.'</a>
<strong>Worthwhile Relevant Reads:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Virginia_Tech_Family_Statement.html">Cho Family Statement</a> [Sun Kyung Cho], <a target="_blank" href="http://elderj.wordpress.com/2007/04/23/guilt-shame-and-corporate-identity/">Guilt, Shame,and Corporate Identity</a> [elderj], <a target="_blank" href="http://www.jameschoung.net/2007/04/18/to-blame-is-human/">To Blame is Human</a> [James Choung], <a target="_blank" href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070420_Editorial___Letter_to_South_Korea.html">A Lesson in Your Apology</a> [Philadelphia Enquire Editorial], <a target="_blank" href="http://bolim.wordpress.com/2007/04/25/hello-world/">One of Our Own</a> [Bo Lim], <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/giovanni_transcript.php">Nikki Giovanni Convocation Address</a> [N. Giovanni], Making Sense of the Senseless <a target="_blank" href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/#comment-1414">Comment</a> [rk], Va Tech Victims <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20070418_VICTIMS_GRAPHIC.html">Pics & Stories</a> [NY Times], and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/2007/04/diana-butler-bass-silence-of-murderers.html">Silence of a Murderer's Mother</a> [Diana Bass].
If you have a lot of time and are bored, here's the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.seattlequest.org/sermons/2007.04.22.m3u">mp3 of the sermon [57.12]</a> I shared last Sunday at <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlequest.org">Quest Church</a>. I preached from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Isaiah 1:17, and Matthew 5:9 entitled, <strong>'Love Wins.'</strong> Yes, it is very long but I also have to stay true to my preaching nickname: 'Fiddy.'
Here's the direct link to the <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/312786_techkorean24.html">Seattle PI column</a>:</p>
<blockquote>Like everyone else — here (Seattle), there (Virginia), West (United States), East (Korea) and everywhere (the larger world), I have been shocked and horrified over the Virginia Tech shooting. I have been trying to make sense of something that is senseless.
Personally, the emotions have been even more convoluted because of my bicultural identity. I was born in Korea, immigrated to the United States at the age of 6 and thus am Korean American. I am also a U.S. citizen; I am a Korean American male immigrant and even share the same surname as the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho.
Once I discovered that the gunman was Korean American, I had some initial fears of racial backlash. As a proud citizen of this country, I do not believe there will be any overt backlash. It would be nonsensical for people to associate the heinous crime to Koreans or Korean Americans simply because of Seung-Hui Cho's ethnicity.
In that same vein, it would have been preposterous and unjust for us to place blame on African Americans for the actions of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in the Beltway Sniper attacks of 2002 or to ask white Americans to share blame with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombings of 1995.
But in the days after the identity of the gunman was revealed, many in the media and larger culture may have been perplexed by the responses of Koreans and Korean Americans. Many Koreans expressed embarrassment, shame and even guilt. State Sen. Paul Shinn fought back his tears as he apologized to fellow lawmakers. Even despite being reassured by others that an apology was not necessary, he continued.
Although I personally don't feel the need to directly apologize for the actions of Seung-Hui Cho, I understand why Shinn and others feel the need to do so. Although not apologetic, I share in deep pain, embarrassment and shame. I share in the deep pain because when I see images of this young man, I don't just see a "crazy Asian killer," I also see someone whose life story sounds very similar to mine. Such words as lonely, isolated and quiet were often used to describe my younger life as I struggled to fit in as an immigrant.
I share in embarrassment and shame because I see Seung-Hui Cho as a part of my larger community. As Koreans or Korean Americans, we share not only similar life stories but also a communal bond. Contrary to perhaps the more "individualistic" worldview of Westerners, Koreans have a certain communal identity.
One can contend that to be Korean is to be communal. No one is an island to themselves. For that reason, Koreans tend to rejoice and mourn on the successes and failures of fellow Koreans. We rejoice with individuals such as James Sun ("The Apprentice"), Michelle Wie (LPGA golfer), Yul Kwon ("Survivor: Cook's Island), Hines Ward (NFL player) and Yunjin Kim (ABC's "Lost").
And because we are a communal culture — not only as Koreans but also within our Korean American immigrant experience — we mourn and feel deep pain and shame over Seung-Hui Cho.
Last week, someone asked me "Why am I mourning? Is it because of the one or the 32″? For me, and many Korean Americans, the answer is both. We are mourning because of the 33. We are mourning because great pain and harm have been inflicted upon the lives of 32 individuals and their loved ones — each one with beautiful lives, stories, dreams and futures.
We are mourning because the one, Seung-Hui Cho — a part of us — chose to commit a horrible act of violence and devastation. Last week, my wife and I have broken down in tears in random situations. We cry and pray for the 32, their families, the students and community at Blacksburg, but also cry for Seung-Hui Cho and his family. We cry because in him, we see a younger brother. And so, we grieve for the 33.
Although I know that it is not necessary to apologize, I do want to share these words. On behalf of Koreans and Korean Americans, I want to extend our deepest condolences and love to all the families of those affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. It is my sincere hope and prayer — that no matter who or what we are — we grow to understand we are all connected to one another.
The Rev. Eugene Cho is lead pastor at Quest Church, a multiethnic church in Seattle <a target="_blank" href="http://seattlequest.org">(seattlequest.org);(</a><a target="_blank" href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/">eugenecho.wordpress.com</a>).</blockquote>
<p>May each of us take to heart the ministry of reconciliation, the pursuit of justice for the oppressed and 'other' and be peacemakers.</p>
<blockquote>Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. <strong>2 Corinthians 5:17-20</strong></blockquote>
<p> This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
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Archived with permission of the author.
Original Source: Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com]
<a href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/seattle-pi-column/">http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/seattle-pi-column/</a>
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Eugene Cho (eugene@seattlequest.org)
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seattle PI guest column on the tragedy of virginia tech
asian american
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cho
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seattle
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<p>Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com]</p>
<p>Like everyone else - here [Seattle], there [Virginia], West [United States, East [Korea], and everywhere, I am trying to make sense of something that is simply - <strong>senselesss.</strong> Personally, the emotions have been even more convoluted because I am <strong>Korean-American</strong>. I am a <strong>Korean immigrant</strong> [immigrated at the age of 6] and understand the <strong>immigrant experience</strong>; I am a Korean-American Immigrant <strong>Male</strong> [who even shares the <strong>same last name</strong> - '<strong>C-H-O' </strong>- as the gunman]. I am a <strong>Christian pastor</strong> involved in the institution of <strong>Religion</strong> that Seung Hui Cho criticized and expressed disappointment. For these reasons, many have asked, called, IM'd, and emailed asking me to share some of my thoughts - as a person, a Christian, an immigrant, a pastor, but especially as a Korean-American man. I'm sharing some thoughts [some which are still in vomitaceous process] in hopes that we can dialogue here - <strong>that it may serve as part of the healing and redemptive process.</strong></p>
<p>Monday night was an incredibly eerie day for me. After watching the news with incredulity and horror, I posted a <a target="_blank" href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/tragedy-at-virginia-tech/">blog entry about the tragedy in Virginia Tech</a>. About 9pm [PST], I began to literally have over hundred people instantaneously get to my blog in a span of two hours.</p>
<blockquote><strong>Search Views | </strong>seung cho blog 18, cho virginia tech myspace 17, virginia tech shooting cho 17, cho 15, cho virginia tech 15, virginia tech cho 13, cho virginia 9, virginia tech student shooter Cho 9, virginia shooter cho myspace 8, Sung Cho Blacksburg 7, virginia tech blog cho 7, blog virginia tech 2, cho seung virginia tech shooting 2, Cho, Korean, Blacksburg 2CHO, virginia shooting korean 2, Virginia Tech Myspace Cho 2, Cho myspace virginia tech 2, Cho Seung virginia tech 2, virginia tech cho shooting 2, Myspace Cho Virginia Tech 2, "Cho" Blacksburg 2, viginia tech cho korea shooting 2, "Cho" virginia tech korea myspace 2, cho virginia tech shoot 2, korean virginia tech cho 2, pastoral health 2, quest eugene cho 2, cho virginia tech shooting 2, virginia cho 2</blockquote>
<p>As I examined my dashboard through wordpress, it was fairly obvious to me that while the news wouldn't be shared to the larger world until the next morning, there was strong suspicion - perhaps through authorities or through some of the student body - that the gunman may have been someone named Seung [Hui] Cho. I was speechless, ashamed, angry, and afraid. [You can also add 'guilty' because of my selfishness. Like others, I felt "pathetic" in wishing the person wasn't Korean or Asian...I became more self-focused rather on mourning with those who have suffered in the tragedy].</p>
<p>Some vomitaceous thoughts, questions, and reflections:</p>
<p><strong>1</strong> We need to <strong>remember, foremost</strong>, that lives have been dramatically impacted. 33 people have died. 32 who were completely innocent. E<strong>ach person that died or was severely injured has a name, a story, a family, a passion, a dream, and a life.</strong> Let's not forget that in the midst of the media frenzy. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20070418_VICTIMS_GRAPHIC.html"><strong>This is a must read</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p>
<p><strong>2</strong> It's clear that Seung Cho was unhealthy, unstable, disturbed, ill [schizophrenia?], angry, lost, and [place your words here]. But that's the only clear thing. I needed the turn the TV off because the 'stretching' for information, analysis, scrutiny, and answers to who, what, where, when, and why was overly speculative. Compare the reporting of Fox News and <a target="_blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/">BBC News</a>...</p>
<p>While I understand the need for 'why,' we're simply not going to know the full picture. While Seung's action were horrible and evil [<a target="_blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6570241.stm">and premeditated</a>], we must remind ourselves that he too is a human being - <strong>as difficult as that might be</strong>. Knowing some of the dynamics of the Asian/Korean culture and the synthesis of pain, guilt, and shame, I am sincerely worried for his family - particularly his parents. They, too, are victims in this story. Update: read the <a target="_blank" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003674966_webfamilystatement20.html">statement issued by Sun Kyung Cho and her family.</a></p>
<p>One thing that the media won't touch is the simple and painful matter: Evil exists in our world. There is a spiritual dimension that the media won't discuss but the church must engage. As much as we seek to create a perfect world [and it is a worthwhile pursuit], this will not be the first nor will it be the first murder or tragedy.</p>
<p><strike>3 why do the media keep calling him 'cho'? he has a first name... maybe it's me, but i'm tired of hearing and reading my last name. couple folks actually emailed me [from other parts of the country] through the blog to ask if i'm related to seung.</strike></p>
<p><strong>4 </strong> Will there be racial backlash? Do Asians and Koreans need to fear? On the most part, I do not believe there will be overt backlash but there are always going to be pockets of people that will be stupid and do stupid things. It would be nonsenical for people to associate this violent act to Koreans or Asians simply because of Seung Hui Cho's ethnicity. In that same vein, it would have been preposterous and unjust for us to place blame on African-Americans for the actions of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in the 'Beltway Sniper attacks' of 2002 or to ask White Americans to share blame with Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma bombings of 1995.</p>
<p>But the question must be asked. How is the media influencing <strong>the construct of the national consciousness?</strong> That's a worthwhile question for me. In the early reporting, I was perturbed that Seung was being referred to as <strong>'the Asian killer'</strong> and <strong>'the Korean killer.'</strong> While he is Asian and Korean, the media needs to be more responsible in their sensational reporting. What do you think?</p>
<p>As one commenter replied in an earlier posting:</p>
<blockquote>i definitely wish/ hope that most would not see the shooter as representative of all asians, but in america, if the person in question is not a white, heterosexual, protestant, middle class, educated man, then their race, creed and color seems to always be part of the equation. he has been marked as the resident alien from abroad who came into our land and terrorized us, and with our heightened fear of the other, this situation seems to be full of potential for type casting and APIA caricatures. and i think if these kinds of caricatures flourish (as they did with mid-easterners post 9/11), then it's not unreasonable to fear violent reprisal. and so while i certainly hope that people can view the event as isolated, i know that it's very difficult for our culture to separate media representations of people groups from 'reality.'</blockquote>
<p><strong>5 </strong> Why are Koreans/Asians afraid of backlash? My hope is that in the midst of this tragedy, a small glimpse will be captured of the Asian-American [immigrant] experience. Asians and particularly, Korean-Americans are xenophobic. Historically, Koreans have been invaded, pillaged, and exploited...one of the foremost Korean historians <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ki-baek_Lee">Ki-Baek Lee</a> refers to Korea as "the prostitute of Asia." From an immigrant experience, two very formative events in modern Asian American history impact our responses as Asian-Americans - particularly those who are older. In my opinion, the most significant event in modern Asian-American history is the story of <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Chin">Vincent Chin</a> - a Chinese American man beaten to death by a baseball bat by two white auto industry workers - outside of a club during his bachelor party. Even worse, the white men were acquitted. For <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_American">Korean Americans</a>, the most significant event in their modern history is the <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_riots">LA riots </a>and specifically, Sai-I-Gu (4/29).</p>
<p>The United States is an incredible country and I am a proud citizen of this country; but it's not a perfect country and while I believe there won't be an overt backlash, I do worry how it will impact the individual and larger [White] collective view of Asian-Americans, Korean-Americans, "foreigners," "immigrants" and such. We should agree: if one Asian or Korean is bullied as a result of this, it's one too many. If one woman is bullied because of her gender, it's one too many. If one gay person is bullied because of their orientation, it's one too many.</p>
<p><strong>6</strong> As we mourn for those impacted, we must ask the question, "Why am I mourning?" Are Korean-Americans and Asian-Americans mourning because the perpetrator was Korean [because of shame and/or fear] or because of the larger tragedy? Are we mourning because of the <strong>1 </strong>or are we mourning because of the <strong>32</strong>? <strong>For Koreans, the answer is likely both.</strong> We are mourning because of the <strong>33.</strong> This is important to understand. To be Korean - culturally - is to be communal. Koreans are interconnected in a communal culture. We rejoice and mourn with the successes and failures of our fellow Koreans or Korean-Americans. We cling and rejoice with individuals like James Sun [The Apprentice], Paul Kim [American Idol], Michelle Wie [LPGA golfer], Yul Kwon [Survivor: Cook's Island], Hines Ward [NFL Football], and Yunjin Kim [ABC's Lost]. And because we are a communal culture - interconnected - not only as Koreans but also within our KA immigrant experience, we mourn and feel deep pain and shame over Seung Hui Cho.</p>
<p>For the larger Anglo worldview, the question must also be asked: Is Seung Hui Cho an "Asian Killer" or "the Korean Killer" or is he a Korean-<strong>American</strong> [emphasis added] or an American that committed an evil crime? What is the demarcation of what it means to be an American? He immigrated at the age of 8; grew up in Detroit; moved to the suburbs of Washington DC; educated in the States; and was an English major in Virginia Tech.<p>
<p>A great definition of community <strong>(Romans 12:15)</strong> is when [or if] we choose to "<strong>mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice."</strong> As Asian-Americans, we must mourn with those who mourn not simply because an Asian was involved in the crime, but because our larger community - our country - is in mourning. This is also our country, our people, our college community...this can't be <strong>their</strong> tragedy. <strong>this is [must be] our shared tragedy.</strong></p>
<p><strong>7 </strong> Why are we so violent as Americans? Should we discuss gun control here? Where do we start? What is our Christian response? Why are so many Christians so adamant about the right to bear arms? Where is that found in the Scriptures? I can cite tons of places about mercy, humility, justice, the oppressed, the poor, the widows...but why such obsession with arms and yet, such silence on the items listed above? How are we as Christians and as consumers feeding the violence acceptance of our culture? Insert pop culture here.</p>
<p><strong>8 </strong> The lives of those who have perished must be remembered, cherished and celebrated. Period.</p>
<p>But today alone, nearly <a target="_blank" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1674607.ece">200 people were killed in Bahgdad</a>. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 children will die today because of poverty [according to UNICEF]. That's 210,000 children this week; a little under 11 million children [five and under] each year.</p>
<p>While this is a horrible tragedy, <strong>[one life lost - is one too many] we must commit ourselves to the elevation of the sanctity of life. each person - with a name, a story, a family, a dream, a beauty...</strong></p>
<p>Let's remain in prayer for those impacted in this shared tragedy; let's mourn with those who mourn; hope together; and work - whatever faith, ethnicity, country, political affiliation - for the shared responsibility of being a good neighbor.</p>
<p>_________</p>
<p><strong>One last note.</strong> As a Korean-American Male Cho Immigrant Christian Pastor, I do have another response:</p>
<p>God is love. Because He is Love, He created order out of chaos. His purpose was love and shalom. We were created for beauty - created in the image of God. Shalom was violated and marred. Our image tainted and cracked. Jesus came to redeem and restore. Invitation is extended to all - including the lonely, the outcast, the marginalized, the rich, the debaucherized, and such. And lest we forget or bathe in our righteousness, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We are confronted by our depravity. We all need God and thanks be to God, the Lord is not far. He is near.</p>
<p>This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Archived with permission of the author.</p>
<p>Original Source: Beauty and Depravity | eugene cho's blog [eugenecho.com]<br />
<a href="http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/">http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/making-sense-of-virginia-tech/</a></p>
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Eugene Cho (eugene@seattlequest.org)
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making sense of virginia tech
asian american
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cho
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korean american
seattle
spirituality
violence
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Brent Jesiek
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Harry Mok
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2007-06-14
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<p><b>April 24, 2007</b></p>
<p>It was pointed out to me the other night that I'm a living, breathing embodiment of the stereotypical quiet Asian.</p>
<p>I was among a few friends and some friends of friends in the bar at AT&T Park prior to a San Francisco Giants game. I was the only Asian American male in the group, but there was a loud, gregarious Asian American woman. The two Asians in the group seemed to be polar opposites, something that was apparent to everyone at the bar. I've been thinking about expectations and stereotypes since news broke that the gunman in the Virginia Tech killings was Korean American. My evening at the bar made me ponder it some more.</p>
<p>Everyone else was more than a few drinks ahead of me, and I had driven to the ballpark, so I was nursing a beer. I was also concentrating on the game, which had started and was being shown on the bar's TVs, though this is no excuse for being withdrawn when among friends, and even friends of friends. </p>
<p>It didn't go unnoticed by the others, who gave me a few jabs about being so quiet and that I should "keep it down." It was also very apparent that Unusually Loud Asian Woman, who I didn't know, was no quiet Asian. So much so that I was told to stand next to her so "osmosis" would quiet her down. After taking a place next to Unusually Loud Asian Woman and seemingly calming her down, a Friend and Friend of Friend asked me, "have you ever met a Chinese woman who's like this?" </p>
<p>So on the one hand, I'm quiet so I'm Walking Stereotype, but on the other hand, Unusually Loud Asian Woman is just having a good time at a bar, but there seems to be something out of place with that as well.</p>
<p>The comments and events I describe were all in good fun. We're all aware of our differences and perceived differences. It's what you do with that knowledge that can cause problems. There was no malice that night. I did start thinking more about stereotypes afterward. Reading Jeff Yang's analysis of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho's race in <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/04/19/cho_shooting/">Salon.com</a> gave me more food for thought. The article really hit home on the effect stereotypes can have.</p>
<p>Yang's story and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/us/19korea.html">many others</a> since the shooting also talk about the collective gasp that many Asian Americans let out when news broke that the killer was Korean American. As a journalist, I worried that the media would focus on Cho's race without any context, as Thomas Huang writes about at <a href="http://poynter.org/column.asp?id=58&aid=121748">Poynter.org</a>. Many Korean Americans felt a collective sense of guilt, as did many people in South Korea, even though Cho hadn't lived there since he was a boy.</p>
<p>Emerson College journalism Professor Paul Niwa, quoted in Yang's article, has a viable explanation:</p>
<blockquote>Most of the perpetrators of mass school killings have been white. After those shootings, do you think white people felt guilty that the shooter was white? Do you think white people felt that since the shooter was white, that the shooter would give society a bad impression of whites? A shooter can be white and nobody thinks that race played a part in the crime. But when someone nonwhite commits a crime, this society makes the person's race partially at fault.</blockquote>
<p>I don't mean to belittle the killings at Virginia Tech by drawing an analogy to my night at the bar, but I think some of what Niwa says is at play. Sometimes I can have the personality of a cardboard box, so I'm Walking Stereotype, but for non-Asians who are socially awkward, they're just quiet. And Unusually Loud Asian Woman can't be herself, either, without being, well, Unusually Loud Asian Woman.</p>
<p>There is nothing innate to being "quiet" and being Asian American. I know plenty of Asian Americans who are more like Unusually Loud Asian Woman, and at times envy them for their ease around people. But I am who I am. The cardboard box that once held the really quiet, painfully shy kid is open. I've been making my way out. Unfortunately, it appears that whatever was holding back Seung-Hui Cho burst to tragic results.</p>
<p>Posted by <b>harry</b> at April 24, 2007 10:07 AM</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Original Source: Hyphen Magazine Blog<br />
<a href="http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2007/04/virginia_tech_s.html">http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2007/04/virginia_tech_s.html</a></p>
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Virginia Tech shootings Bring Out Stereotypes
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By Tamara K. Nopper | 04.19.2007
April 17, 2007
Like many, I was glued to the television news yesterday, keeping updated about the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech University. I was trying to deal with my own disgust and sadness, especially since my professional life as a graduate student and college instructor is tied to universities. And then the other shoe dropped. I found out from a friend that the news channel she was watching had reported the shooter as Asian. It has now been reported, after much confusion, that the shooter is Cho Seung-Hui, a South Korean immigrant and Virginia Tech student.
As an Asian American woman, I am keenly aware that Asians are about to become a popular media topic if not the victims of physical backlash. Rarely have we gotten as much attention in the past fifteen years, except, perhaps, during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Since then Asians are seldom seen in the media except when one of us wins a golfing match, Woody Allen has sex, or Angelina Jolie adopts a kid.
I am not looking forward to the onslaught of media attention. If history truly does have clues about what will come, there may be several different ways we as Asian Americans will be talked about.
One, we will watch white media pundits and perhaps even sociologists explain what they understand as an "Asian" way of being. They will talk about how Asian males presumably have fragile "egos" and therefore are culturally prone to engage in kamikaze style violence. These statements will be embedded with racist tropes about Japanese military fighters during WWII or the Viet Cong—the crazy, calculating, and hidden Asian man who will fight to the death over presumably nothing.
In the process, the white media might actually ask Asian Americans our perspectives for a change. We will probably be expected to apologize in some way for the behavior of another Asian—something whites never have to collectively do when one of theirs engages in (mass) violence, which is often. And then some of us might succumb to the Orientalist logic of the media by eagerly promoting Asian Americans as real Americans and therefore unlike Asians overseas who presumably engage in culturally reprehensible behavior. In other words, if we get to talk at all, Asian Americans will be expected to interpret, explain, and distance themselves from other Asians just to get airtime.
Or perhaps the media will take the color-blind approach instead of a strictly eugenic one. The media might try to whitewash the situation and treat Cho as just another alienated middle-class suburban kid. In some ways this is already happening—hence the constant referrals to the proximity of the shootings to the 8th anniversary of the Columbine killings. The media will repeat over and over words from a letter that Cho left behind speaking of "rich kids," and "deceitful charlatans." They will ask what's going on in middle-class communities that encourage this type of violence. In the process they may never talk about the dirty little secret about middle-class assimilation: for non-whites, it does not always prevent racial alienation, rage, or depression. This may be surprising given that we are bombarded with constant images suggesting that racial harmony will exist once we are all middle-class. But for many of us who have achieved middle-class life, even if we may not openly admit it, alienation does not stop if you are not white.
But the white media, being as tricky as it is, may probably talk about Cho in ways that reflect a combination of both traditional eugenic and colorblind approaches. They will emphasize Cho's ethnicity and economic background by wondering what would set off a hard-working, quiet, South Korean immigrant from a middle-class dry-cleaner- owning family. They will wonder why Cho would commit such acts of violence, which we expect from Middle Easterners and Muslims and those crazy Asians from overseas, but not from hard-working South Korean immigrants. They will promote Cho as "the model minority" who suddenly, for no reason, went crazy. Whereas eugenic approaches depicting Asians as crazy kamikazes or Viet Cong mercenaries emphasize Asian violence, the eugenic aspect of the model minority myth suggests that there is something about Asian Americans that makes them less prone to expressions of anger, rage, violence, or criminality. Indeed, we are not even seen as having legitimate reasons to have anger, let alone rage, hence the need to figure out what made this "quiet" student "snap."
Given that the model minority myth is a white racist invention that elevates Asians over minority groups, Cho will be dissected as an anomaly among South Koreans who "are not prone" to violence—unlike Blacks who are racistly viewed as inherently violent or South Asians, Middle Easterners and Muslims who are viewed as potential terrorists. He will be talked about as acting "out of character" from the other "good South Koreans" who come here and quietly and dutifully work towards the American dream. Operating behind the scenes of course is a diplomatic relationship between the US and South Korea forged through bombs and military zones during the Korean War and expressed through the new free trade agreement negotiations between the countries. Indeed, even as South Korean diplomats express concern about racial backlash against Asians, they are quick to disown Cho in order to maintain the image of the respectable South Korean.
Whatever happens, Cho will become whoever the white media wants him to be and for whatever political platform it and legislators want to push. In the process, Asian Americans will, like other non-whites, be picked apart, dissected, and theorized by whites. As such, this is no different than any other day for Asian Americans. Only this time an Asian face will be on every television screen, internet search engine, and newspaper.
Tamara K. Nopper is an educator, writer, and activist living in Philadelphia. She is currently finishing her PhD program in sociology at Temple University and is a volunteer with the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, an anti-war and counter-military recruitment organization (<a href="http://www.objector.org/">http://www.objector.org</a>). She can be reached at <a href="mailto:tnopper@yahoo.com">tnopper@yahoo.com</a>
e-mail:: <a href="mailto:tnopper@yahoo.com">tnopper@yahoo.com</a>
Homepage:: <a href="http://www.objector.org/">http://www.objector.org</a>
--
Original Source: Philadelphia Independent Media Center
<a href="http://www.phillyimc.org/en/2007/04/38736.shtml">http://www.phillyimc.org/en/2007/04/38736.shtml</a>
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What May Come: Asian Americans and the Virginia Tech Shootings
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
By now, I’m sure everybody has heard of the tragedy that took place yesterday, Monday April 16, at Virginia Tech University. Words cannot adequately convey the profound shock and sadness that I feel about this unthinkable human catastrophe. As an educator, a parent -- as a human being -- I am struggling to come to grips with the enormity of what happened but at the least, I want to convey my deepest, most sincere condolences to everyone affected by these killings.
You may have also heard that gunman has been <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting" target="_blank">officially identified</a> as an Asian American -- <strong>Seung-Hui Cho</strong>, a 23 year old senior English major at Virginia Tech who originally immigrated from South Korea in 1992.
The Associated Press article cited above notes that he was referred to school counselors after his instructors found his creative writing rather disturbing. The <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070417vtech-shootings,1,176236.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed" target="_blank">Chicago Tribune</a> also reports that he apparently left a rambling suicide note that railed against “‘rich kids,’ ‘debauchery’ and ‘deceitful charlatans’ on campus” and that he had committed several strange and violent acts in recent weeks.
As a sociologist and Asian American Studies scholar, I will try to to put some sociological context into this horrific tragedy and several initial reactions come to mind:
If the gunman were White, his racial identity would go virtually unnoticed and unmentioned. However, because he was a person of color, much will probably be made of his racial identity. Specifically, because he was Asian American, much of the nation’s attention will be turned to examining what kinds of cultural characteristics may have influenced his behavior.
Also, inevitably, there will be some extreme reactions from xenophobes and people with anti-immigrant positions, perhaps along the lines of “This is what happens when we let in all kinds of immigrants, so we need to shut down our borders” or “We let in these damn foreigners and give them a chance at a better life and this is how they return the favor?” In addition, those who have anti-Asian sentiments are likely to say something like “Well, this just proves that Asians are so weird, foreign, and inscrutable --we just can’t trust them.”
Unfortunately these sorts of opinions are a classic example of confounding individual traits with group traits. In other words, yes, this one particular immigrant was responsible for this tragedy, but that does not mean that all immigrants or all Asian Americans are ticking psychopathic timebombs just waiting to go on a murderous rampage.
More likely, I think typical reactions will be along the lines of “Wow, I always thought Asian Americans were so quiet and passive” or “As an Asian, he must have been under a tremendous amount of pressure to do well in school.” Admittedly, these types of responses are a little harder to respond to because there are some kernels of truth to these particular sentiments.
For example, some Asian Americans do tend to be quiet and unassuming, although that is changing and also, much of these perceptions are based on biased media portrayals and cultural stereotypes. Nonetheless, the perception -- whether it’s true or not -- of Asians being quiet does exist. Similarly, it is also true that many Asian Americans, particular students, do experience a lot of pressure to succeed. In fact, I’ve written about <a href="http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2006/10/asian-americans-and-college-admissions/">such examples</a> before and <a href="http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2006/09/asian-american-students-still-deal-with-violence/">other barriers</a> many Asian American students regularly face.
To this mix, we can also add other examples in which various <a href="http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2006/05/rash-of-family-violence-among-asians/">social pressures</a> or <a href="http://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2005/09/hmong-hunter-trial-to-start/">contentious incidents</a> have pushed Asian Americans over the edge, causing them to snap and commit murder. <strong>But does that mean that Asians are more prone to psychotic episodes</strong> that result in them killing those around them?
My answer is, absolutely not. If anything, I believe the opposite is true -- that despite having to frequently deal with various incidents of prejudice, hostility, and <a href="http://www.asian-nation.org/racism.shtml">outright racism</a>, the vast majority of Asian Americans react with dignity, courage, and perseverance. Perhaps too many still keep their emotions buried inside them and need to share their frustrations more openly in order to move beyond them, but as a group, I think that in the face of persistent examples of inequality and injustice, we do not react more violently than any other group.
Did the Virginia Tech gunman’s reasons include having to deal with racism as an Asian American? At this point, I don’t know. But if that turns out to be the case, my reaction would be the same as it was in the case of Chai Soua Vang, the Hmong American convicted of killing six White hunters in Wisconsin after a hostile encounter that allegedly contained anti-Asian profanities.
That is, many of us Asian Americans face racism as well, but we don’t go on murderous shooting rampages. In other words, my point is that ultimately, what Seung-Hui Cho did at Virginia Tech was an example of someone who was clearly <strong>emotionally unstable</strong> and that he just snapped for whatever reasons known only to him.
I would not be a sociologist if I did not also point to the culture of violent masculinity that frames mass shootings like this. My UMass Amherst colleague Sut Jhully has produced several acclaimed documentaries that detail this phenomenon, most notably the video <a href="http://www.mediaed.org/videos/MediaGenderAndDiversity/ToughGuise" target="_blank"><em>Tough Guise</em></a>. For now, I will leave it up to him and others who have greater expertise in this particular sociological context to contribute their analysis.
In the end, this entire episode is an opportunity to remind Asian Americans and anyone else out there who are facing emotional issues or challenging situations that there are resources out there for them to access in order to more constructively deal with those pressures before they get out of hand. Suffering in silence doesn’t help anyone.
--
Original Source: C.N. Le / CNLe.net
<a href="http://www.cnle.net/2007/04/asian-identity-of-virginia-tech-gunman/">http://www.cnle.net/2007/04/asian-identity-of-virginia-tech-gunman/</a>
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