Adoption Response

I've been wondering how APs would react to the news that the shooter was Korean. What do you tell your son or daughter, especially if they face any sort of discrimination in lieu of the shooting. Interestingly, the head of ESWS sent out this letter to APs. from Dr. Kim, Chairman of the Board at Eastern Social Welfare Society: "The horrible and terrible news that a Korean student had killed 33 innocent persons awaited us as soon as the day broke this morning. What a great shock and surprise. At this time, the entire nation of this country was struck with a great sorrow and shame and regret. I feel humiliated for the fact that such an immoral act was committed by a Korean and would like to make a sincere apology for it. I am much worried that this might be disappointing and discouraging to Korean adoptive families and adoptees, and would be much appreciative if you could tell them that we at Eastern continue to try our best for the best interests of Korean children's happiness and welfare. Offering our heartfelt sorrow and regret for the tragedy once again, I do pray that God would sustain the bereaved families at this hard time. Sincerely yours, Kim, Duk Whang, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board" My biggest concern about this letter is that the entire nation of South Korea feels "shame and regret." These two phrases have stuck with me since returning to Korea in 2004. My visit was marked with "shame and regret." Not only with my birth family's expression of it, but also the government officials, the social workers, and the nation as a whole. Everywhere I went, every show I watched, discussed the adoptions of thousands and thousands of children as "shameful." But what sent us abroad in the first place was shame. It was the shame of bearing a child out of wedlock, of bearing a mixed child, of bearing a child too young. It was the Korean society's reaction and culture that shamed women into sending us away. How then do I reconcile the feelings I have when I hear a Korean say they are "shameful" of the way a Korean has acted. This Korean male lived in America for 14 years, nearly 2/3 of his life. Yet, I hear no real regret from anybody in America that feels shame for having assimilated this young man into what he became. Why isn't America ashamed of themselves for allowing such violence to be seen in nearly every television show as entertainment? Why isn't America ashamed of themselves for the gluttony of all-you-can-eat buffets of nudity and flesh that have been left under the heating lamp for too long and have begun to taste stale and bitter? Why isn't America ashamed of the way they've labeled him an "immigrant" and not one of their own? Shame is a dirty word. It is a powerful word. In this instance, I don't think Korea should be shamed, I think America should be.

VT Suspect South-Korean

As suspected, and now as confirmed, the shooter (at least one of them if there happened to be two) was an asian male. Cho Seung-Hui, 23, and a South Korean who was raised in America, was the VT shooter. It seems he has been reportedly "troubled" and his creative writing was "disturbing." He has also been described as a "loner." As a 32 yr old South Korean male, raised in America, and as a creative writer, I'm really troubled by these developments. I truly hope this doesn't create any animosity towards writers who are troubled, taking medications, or Asian American writers. However, I think the following things are irresponsible journalism: In an interview with NBC news, Jack Levin, a self-proclaimed criminologist who is an "expert" on massacres, said the following: Virginia Tech had a bit of a scare earlier this year when an escaped murder suspect was reported to be nearby. Some have suggested that this might be a copycat crime of some sort. I don’t know all the details, but I can tell you I doubt that was the inspiration. I’m not a psychic, but sometimes I get it right. A couple of months ago there was a mass shooting involving 20 students, one of whom died, at a community college in Montreal. [In the Virginia case], the initial news reports said that the killer looked as though he’s Asian or of Asian descent. So was the killer in Montreal. I’ve studied the copycat effect. It’s much more likely to happen when the killers share personal characteristics. Think about the Columbine-style killings that happened in the ‘90s: they all happened in the suburbs; they were all bullied, isolated boys. If this killer turns out to be of Asian descent, it’s highly likely he was inspired by the Montreal mass shooting. I don't know...but being an Asian male, and being on medications myself, and having a bent for creative writing, and of course, being an "immigrant"...this makes me want to be a copy cat. Idiot. Where be my hand cannons ya'll? What's the most irresponsible journalism about this is that all the news sources indicate that Cho was an "immigrant" to the country, as if he had just literally come to the country and spoke very little English. However, he was an English major! He was also living in white suburban Virginia (Centreville is just outside of DC...I should know...I used to live in DC) for over 14 years. Hmmm...this sounds like was he born in Korea, but raised in America. Doesn't that make him an American? If he was an immigrant, he wouldn't have been able to buy the guns. Again, this is a natural way to identify the shooter as "other" in order to dehumanize him as "us" or "white." Labeling Cho as an "immigrant" is seriously dangerous and could cause irreparable harm against Asians in the near future. Keep your eyes (as slanted as they are...don't squint too hard) open and your ears perked for any attempt to make Cho or other Asians "angry" individuals. And of course, keep reading "Angry Asian Man" for his great commentaries.

A 'real' angry asian man?

If the rumors hold true, then another 'angry asian man' has shot and killed. Again, I hope this isn't true for headline's sake, and for the sake of all asian men nationwide. It seems the unconfirmed rumor is that a tall asian male from Radford was upset over a falling out with his girlfriend, so he went to VT to shoot her. It also seems that whomever did this shooting somehow managed to shoot two people in a dorm room, then walk across the entire campus, including the main quad, into an engineering building, chain the door, and shoot over 60 more people, killing at least 32. How this happens is beyond me. I've been on campuses before where you could always find campus police nearby. VT is big, but no bigger than many other state colleges. This seems like a botched job somewhere. My main hope is that this rumor isn't true, and that the media treats the shooter (who has apparently shot himself) as a human first, and as an asian male second.