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Sara Hood
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scott guye, Julio santana, Paul morrow
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2007-08-14
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By:Paul Morrow
Posted: 4/20/07
As details regarding Monday's tragic shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute continue to emerge, and in particular, information concerning the of the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, I want to urge all Miami students to show solidarity for Miami's small, but burgeoning, community of international students.
Since September 11, student visas for study at U.S. universities have become much more difficult to acquire. The worst possible policy outcome of Monday's tragedy would be to increase to these restrictions. Foreign students enrich the academic and social climates of American universities, especially universities like Miami, where they help diversify our largely homogenous student body. Miami administrators are currently working to increase Miami's population of international students; this is an important process, and should not be halted or impeded because of the actions of a single individual who, it appears, committed his crime out of motives of romantic jealousy that, though disturbing, are all too universal, and hardly restricted to "foreigners" or "resident aliens" (terms incorporated much too glibly into the media's coverage of the massacre).
As a resident of Wells Hall, I am privileged to be acquainted with a number of Miami's international students and I want them to know that the university community will continue to support and appreciate their presence even as we grieve over Virginia Tech's losses.
Paul morrow
morrowpc@muohio.edu
--
Hatred toward shooter serves little purpose
As the tragedy that occurred Monday at Virginia Polytechnic Institute weighs on our minds, I have been bothered by a widespread sentiment permeating the public mind-set. In the wake of this horrific shooting, there seems to be quite a bit of hatred generated toward the shooter. Having experienced the untimely deaths of two friends my own age over the past few years myself, I understand and can directly relate to the emotional roller coaster that comes with the loss of a close loved one in such a brutal way. In spite of that, I don't think it's necessary or useful to extend loathing or other ill will toward the deceased gunman. No amount of contempt will bring the victims back to life, nor will it bring peace to their families. The disdain I have seen over the last few days mirrors the same sort of malice that led to this tragedy and others like it. As vicious as the act was, and as easy as it is to harbor such animosity toward Cho Seung-Hui, I contend that we should focus our energies elsewhere Â- namely on the return to tranquility, particularly for the friends and families of those murdered. As we mourn and exhibit sorrow over these next several days, by all means hope, wish, and pray for the serenity of the victims' families and friends. However, bear in mind that there are 33 families directly suffering, as there were 33 killed Monday, not 32.
Julio santana
Santanj@muohio.edu
--
No link exists between gun control, shootings
I am writing in response to Daniel Witt's letter that appeared April 17. I was very disappointed to see a political response to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shooting so soon. In all fairness to those who read Witt's letter, I would like to respectfully disagree with the points he made and add a little clarity to the discussion.
A little reported fact regarding the Virginia Tech shooting regards Virginia conceal and carry laws. At the end of January, 2006, Virginia House Bill 1572 which would have allowed students to carry concealed weapons on campuses was defeated. Following the defeat Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was quoted as saying, "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." This was the same spokesman who is currently speaking to the media about student deaths at VT.
Witt also mentions Columbine. When the horrible shooting there took place, a stringent Federal Assault Weapons Ban was in place. This legislature didn't do anything to stop the deaths of those students. Afterwards, one of the parents of a slain Columbine student said, "You can make all the laws you want, but when someone wants to get a gun badly enough, they're going to."
I am confused as to the relevance of Witt's decision to cite the 1764 Enoch Brown massacre unless he is advocating restrictions on muskets and tomahawks.
Following the Virginia Tech shooting, both ABC and CNN news services hosted a poll on their Web sites asking if gun control was an effective means of stopping violence. The CNN poll ended with 56 percent of participants saying they felt gun control was not effective. The ABC poll, as of 4 p.m., April 17 showed that more than 70 percent believed it irresponsible to link shootings to gun control.
Firearms should be taken seriously. They are objects that can kill, just as a car can. In high school, we weren't simply handed the keys to a car, but given detailed instruction. The same should be true of firearms.
There are many misconceptions about firearms today. I encourage those who have opinions about gun control to do some solid research before simply suggesting another such gun ban.
I feel it is also important to note that after any such large-scale violent act, we as a society search for a solution, a way to end it once and for all. However as sure as there are such people as Cho Seung-Hui, there are people who will do anything in their power to kill others.
Whether by one means or another, if a person is motivated enough, they will follow through with such violent desires.
scott guye
guyesh@muohio.edu
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.miamistudent.net/media/storage/paper776/news/2007/04/20/Editorials/Letters.To.The.Editor-2870765.shtml>The Miami Daily - April 20, 2007</a>
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"Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
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Letters to the editor - April 20, 2007
blame
gun control
hatred
miami university
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Na Mi
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Zhang Xin
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2007-07-18
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By Zhang Xin
[ 2007-04-24 15:42 ]
Last week, in the immediate aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, some people apparently tried to stick it on Korea, or China, or Asia in general, all on the strength of such weak arguments that Cho Seung-Hui was an immigrant from Korea, that he was sometimes (mis)taken as Chinese, or that he's Asian-looking.
I read somewhere that a Korean retorted, quite correctly, that Cho left South Korea at the age of eight and spent most of his formative years in the States so they can't possibly stick it on Korea. Cho, who killed 33 people including himself on Virginia Tech campus on Monday, April 16, 2007, was 23.
Likewise, you can't stick it on China. At least once Cho was mistaken as Chinese. "In high school, Cho Seung-Hui almost never opened his mouth. When he finally did, his classmates laughed, pointed at him and said: 'Go back to China.'" (Va. Tech shooter a 'textbook killer', Associated Press, April 19, 2007).
Nor can you pin it on Asia. After all, almost all East Asians look the same to the less discerning American eye.
Whom do we stick it onto, then?
If I have to assign blame, I will stick it first on Cho, obviously, then on gun control or the lacks thereof in America, then on pop culture and on society at large.
I, for one, believe it is not as far-fetched to blame it on society at large than on a specific target such as Korea. Society at large, you see, both yonder across the oceans and here in this country looks too much up to what is called success but has too little respect for and tolerance of what is considered to be failure. I mean, only by contrast do we tell success from failure. So theoretically for society as a whole, these two are equally important - we should therefore reserve a degree of respect for those who fail, who come up short but also run.
School bullies, for example, pick on practically anyone who's not regarded as "one of us". You may get glared at, jeered and sneered at for one of these perfectly harmless "crimes" - that you come from another country (or another province for that manner), that you don't get ushered to school by a sedan car, that you speak a non-local dialect, that you have an odd accent, that you have a physical disability or simply a harelip, that you have a mental problem.... The list goes on and on.
In the mainstream society of one-upmanship, pop culture craves for bringing up heroes (American Idol, or the Super Girl in China) and in the process create as a by product victims and villains, of whom Cho is but a latest and most disturbing example.
No doubt, blaming it on society at large is in vain. Cho himself tried to do it, and what consequences did he come to? Cho argued in his manifesto, sent to the NBC in between the murders, that he was out to avenge rich "brats" with had their "Mercedes", "gold necklaces", "cognac" and "trust funds". But he had no argument, really - none of the above justifies the shootings.
But, as a lesson, we as individuals need to be constantly reminded of the social callousness we often displays toward the weak and underprivileged.
In the same time society advocates winning, it'd best advocate also tolerance and understanding towards losing. By all means win, but please maintain a healthy respect for those who fall behind.
It's called "live and let live". In this age of wealth and profligacy in many places, we instead may advocate "thrive but let survive".
--
Original Source:Chinadaily.com
<a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-04/24/content_858747.htm">http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-04/24/content_858747.htm<a/>
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Can't stick it on Korea
asia
blame
china
cho
cho seung-hui
korea
society
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Sara Hood
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Chris Buchheit
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2007-07-27
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TO THE EDITOR:
I attended the vigil for Virginia Tech Tuesday night, and it was extremely touching. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by Monday's shooting.
It is times like this when we ask ourselves how someone could even be capable of carrying out such an event. However, the one thing that this is not a time for is playing the blame game. The day of the shooting, the media was already pointing fingers at whomever they possibly could.
I've overheard some blaming society. I've heard some blame the president of Virginia Tech. And I've heard some blame gun control laws.
There is a time and place for everything, and at this time, there is no place for politics or playing the blame game. It's a horrible disrespect to all those who died, who deserve our supporting thoughts and prayers, not our fingers in others' faces.
Chris Buchheit
Freshman
Undecided
--
Original Source: <a href=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/04/19/LettersToTheEditor/Wake-Of.Shooting.Tragedy.Is.Not.Time.To.Point.Blame-2851469.shtml>Daily Tar Heel - April 19, 2007</a>
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Shawn Wertz <swertz@andrew.cmu.edu>
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Wake of shooting tragedy is not time to point blame
blame
unc
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Sara Hood
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Aram Hur
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2007-06-13
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<b>Korean community reacts to blame and guilt following massacre</b>
April 24, 2007
By Aram Hur
In the aftermath of last week's Virginia Tech massacre, the national Korean-American community has reportedly suffered a backlash similar to that unleashed against Muslims in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, but Asian Americans on campus largely agree that they are being treated with respect and sympathy and credited the media's portrayal of the attack as objective and fair.
A number of Facebook groups, such as "Cho Seung-Hui does NOT represent Asians," are continuously amassing new members, while a YouTube post with the words "I belong in Korea" over
Cho's face is receiving hundreds of hits per day.
While the Virginia Tech shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, was South Korean, other ethnic groups have expressed empathy for Asians in the wake of last week's attack. Ahmed Ashraf '07, vice president of the Muslim Student Awareness Network, said he had similar fears before the identity of the shooter was disclosed.
"I know that when I first heard about the Virginia Tech tragedy, I was very, very nervous about the gunman's background," Ashraf said in an email to the Daily. "If a Muslim student were involved in the massacre, it [would have] hit way too close to home."
Media coverage of the shootings has drawn an ambiguous reaction from Asian students and faculty members at the University.
"This shows that race and ethnicity is still a key source of collective identity in the United States," said Sociology Prof. Gi-Wook Shin. "Non-white ethnic groups and females can be self-conscious and extra careful precisely because they are still minorities in American politics of identity."
Others said they were pleased with the focus on Cho's mental state, rather than his ethnicity.
"The media has been pretty good at being neutral," said Kenny Kim '08, co-president of the Korean Students Association. "As a member of the Asian-American community, I was inclined to think of the worst possible outcomes, but the discussion has now turned more to Cho's mental health than to his ethnic background."
"This, sadly, is not a new crime in America and is not seen in new terms now that the latest perpetrator is of Korean origin," Shin added. "Experts have compared him to the Columbine shooters, saying that he fits the same profile. This is a judgment about mental state and behavior patterns that have nothing to do with race or ethnicity."
In South Korea, reaction to the Blacksburg, Va. tragedy brought up deeper, cultural issues.
Shortly after the shooter's ethnicity was revealed, the South Korean government and media went into a frenzy, debating whether Cho's actions warranted an official national apology.
Such a phenomenon has raised discussion of collective guilt. Yet Kim emphasized the importance of a clear-cut distinction between guilt and shame.
"Koreans are a unique race," he said. "We often blur the lines between the nation and the people. Thus when we found out that the shooter was Korean, every Korean felt a bit of shame that one of 'us' committed a horrible act."
"However, this is not to say we feel any guilt for what happened," he added. "The act that Cho committed is an isolated event and has no linkage with him being Korean or Korean American."
On campus, students and faculty said they have faith in the community's power to overcome the blame and guilt.
"This tragedy was not about Korean or Asian Americans, and I am sure the Stanford community is well aware of that," Shin said. "In a sense, Cho himself was a victim and we have social responsibility to make sure that this kind of tragedy won't happen again."
<b> Comments on this article:</b>
<b>Joe</b> - 4/24/07
Muslims were not the brunt of the 9/11 backlash. Ignorant Americans labelled all brown-skinned US CITIZENS as Muslim, and acted accordingly. East Indians, who are as far away from the middle east as the US is from Brazil, were killed in retaliation. Cabbies, convenience store owners, even an old man sitting on a park bench "had his turban ripped off his head and his face slapped" by two white females. The Korean community can have some solice knowing that Americans will ignorantly take their anger out on Chinese and Japanese CITIZENS of their country.
<b>a</b> - 4/24/07
I really don't fear any backlash against the Asian-American community, because Cho's actions do not fit with the stereotype of the quiet, polite Asian. People are always unwilling to throw away their stereotypes, so in this case, the preexisting stereotype will work against a development of hatred against the community. Whereas, if the shooter were Muslim, it would be a disaster for that community.
<b>Gary</b> - 4/24/07
Joe, why would Koreans take solice in the reprisal against other members of the Asian community? Next time, try to bring a point to your post.
<b>Zangief</b> - 4/24/07
The difference between the Korean response after Cho and the Muslim response after 9/11 is very telling.
Korean leaders *rushed* to decry and distance themselves from Cho.
Muslim leaders became terrorist apologists.
The sad thing is, even moderate Muslim leaders cannot learn from the Korean experience. Because, if a moderate Muslim leader speaks out against fundamentalist Islam, he will almost certainly be assassinated.
<b>Joe</b> - 4/24/07
Gary, I guess my point is that if there is a backlash, it will not just affect Koreans, as 9/11 did not just affect Muslims. Thus, fewer Korean-Americans will be terrorized by the caucasian Americans, just as fewer Muslims were (partly because Muslim men do not wear turbans like Osama, and so it's harder to pick them out, and partly becaue Americans want to live in ignorant bliss, believing that they're patriots when they terrorize recent immigrants, ignoring that unless they are Native Americans, they are relatively recent immigrants as well)
<b>Wang</b> - 4/24/07
Joe are you suggesting that caucasian americans are now terrorizing Koreans? Give me a break. Koreans feel collective shame becauses if this crime was committed in Korea, Koreans know that they would hunt down any white person and hang them. Just look at how Koreans acted in 2002 when two young girls accidentaly got run over by a "tank". Koreans attacked every foreigner they could get their hands on.
Don't start painting koreans as victims of some kind of terrorism in the USA.
<b>Joe</b> - 4/24/07
Wang - no, I'm not saying that the whites are terrorizing Koreans. I said *if* there's a backlash, it won't affect just Koreans. Who knows what will happen. Who knows what Koreans would have done if it happened to them at home.
I did say, however, that caucasians in the US *are* terrorizing brown-skinned Americans, and that is unjust. Those are the recent immigrants I refered to. East Indians had nothing to do with 9/11, but just because they kinda sorta almost look like arabs, they're walking around with targets on their backs.
All I'm saying is that the author shouldn't have said that Muslim-americans faced the backlash after 9/11. That gives undeserved credit to the American people, whose ignorace and hate is causing suffering not just to Muslims, but to anyone who looks remotely similar to them.
<b>question....</b> - 4/24/07
why is it okay to make blanket statements about a certain group acting violently, but not others? do caucasians (or 'americans', as some posters have curiously chosen to use the term interchangeably) need to start facebook groups telling others, 'not all white people are violent bigots'? yes there are some quite ignorant whites who have done horrible things to innocent people, with racism as the primary motivation. however, i would argue that most (or at least a significant enough majority of) whites do not see this the virginia tech massacre in terms of racial identity, and it has been those who are preemptively trying to avoid a backlash that have framed the issue as such (i do not say this to deny the injustices of the certain amount of backlash that has been felt).
just as it is wrong to blame koreans or korean culture because of the actions of one person who shared their national identity, it should not be tolerable to make judgments upon all americans (and/or whites) and their culture because of the comparatively few violent bigots who happen to share their ethnic/national identity. yes, there are deep-seated racist tendencies in american culture, discrimination was once the status quo, and racism is still a huge problem that demands everyone's attention. nevertheless, i would argue that many posters have shown the same sort of prejudices that they fear by painting an entire group according to actions of some individuals. this is unnecessary; it would not be thoughtlessly denying the injustices committed upon the victims to show care when naming the aggressors.
yes, the effect of some white people being mislabeled as bigots due to blanket statements is a far lesser injustice than members of minority groups experiencing violence as result of racism. this, however, is not a complaint of "reverse-racism"; what i mean is that by casting all members of a group as victims and those of another as the aggressors, many people are reinforcing the social roles of various ethnic groups that lead to prejudice. i'm not demanding that all people who rightly rail against prejudice adopt PC language...i just mean they often are just cementing the 'us vs. them' mentality that buttresses an ideological atmosphere that leads to such injustices. yes, there are historical precedents that lead people to speak in blanket terms...but by allowing their speech to be informed by the past in such a manner, i would argue that they are merely perpetuating it.
<b>citizen</b> - 4/25/07
Wang. The case of the 2 girls involved alcohol and reckless driving and the 2 perpetrators got away scot free by an all american jury. It also followed several rapes and violent crimes that were committed by the military (which again went unpunished). No foreigner was killed as a result of the anger. The military folks got the "evil eye" and that's about it. You're way out of line in bringing up these examples. you are just full of hate and want to get something ugly started.
--
Original Source: <a href="http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/4/24/ethnicIdentitiesQuestionedAfterVirginiaTech"> Stanford Daily - April 24, 2007</a>
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Ethnic identities questioned after Virginia Tech
blame
ethnic identities
sept 11
stanford
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Brent Jesiek
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Karen Harper
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2007-06-10
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Karen Harper
22 Apr 2007
There will be a lot of blame dished out in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre. But one element will be missing and that is the system itself. Capitalism and the society it nurtures will remain unscathed in the big business press.
In the aftermath of another school shooting in the US, many will be asking why and some will be trying to lay blame. The shooter's parents will be blamed for how they raised him; the school will be blamed for how it dealt with his mental illness; and his schoolmates past and present will be blamed for how they teased and ostracized him. However, the blame will mostly not be laid where it appropriately belongs; on the head of capitalism and the social values that it has nourished.
No individual can be looked at out of context of the larger society, and this young man and what he became cannot be understood without first looking at the society he came from. Unfortunately, the "angry loner" type that has done these sorts of shootings in the past is not the product of an isolated genetic mutation that happens unpredictably and that cannot be prevented. Such people are a real product of their environment and the direct result of capitalism's impact on personal development and mental health.
This society promotes individuality, self-absorption, and competition over solidarity and collective struggle. Is it any surprise that some young people are so incapable of not only identifying with the group and its larger good, but also of even, in severe cases, forming any kind of meaningful relationship with another individual? These people after years of painful experiences can come to the conclusion that they are completely unloved and unlovable. Because we are social beings, this conclusion makes life difficult to continue.
Capitalism is daily bombarding our self-esteem; we are never good enough under capitalism. There is always some drug to make us happier, some surgery to make us thinner, some car or house or job that will make us more respected. The inevitable consequence of this pressure is that some people will consider themselves failures when they judge themselves up against the values of this society. In some cases this will only further increase some individual's isolation and anger.
This terrible brutal crime is an ugly, warped but nonetheless, direct product of big business'‚ value system. Capitalism will continuously attempt to encourage an obsession with money, fame and the worship of individualism. This in turn will inevitably be accompanied by what we saw at Virginia Tech this week. This will not be the last individual so void of solidarity as to massacre his classmates. The outpouring of empathy towards the victims of this crime is a sign of the enormous human and working class solidarity that exists in this society. The crime itself is a consequence of the corrupt and rotten values of those who are in control at the top.
<b>Related</b>
<a href="http://www.laborsmilitantvoice.org/">http://www.laborsmilitantvoice.org</a>
--
Original Source: <a href="http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/77317/index.php">http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/77317/index.php</a>
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Virginia Tech: Laying The Blame
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