In the aftermath of the bloodbath that 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho unleashed on a peaceful Virginia Tech campus only a few months before, American citizens were left to endure an unendurable tragedy and to deal with an ineffable grief that had enveloped all of America. But, mostly, they were left with a multitude of questions that needed answering: Did Virginia Tech do enough to protect its students after its authorities grew aware that a gunman was wreaking havoc on its campus? What was it, really, that finally drove a student to coldly and methodically extinguish 32 promising lives in what the New York Times called the "deadliest school rampage in the nation's history?"(1) How does any professor distinguish between a creative student who merely writes about violent acts and a student who uses his writing to communicate the presence of a psychologically unsound psyche? And, most importantly, how are we to prevent another Virginia Tech from occurring? All of these questions and more, I think, have been adequately discussed by the numerous news articles that have been published in the wake of what occurred at Virginia Tech.

There several questions, however, that have not yet been answered by the U.S. media; and these are questions that manifested themselves in the huddled forms of around 500 Korean Virginia Tech students who gathered in groups directly after the VA Tech shooting for fear that all of the anger, the sorrow, and the grief caused by Seung-Hui Cho would be directed at them in acts of violent retaliation. For many Koreans (and, often times, other Asians) currently living in the United States of America, some important questions that have not been addressed in the news are ones that they should not have to ask or think about, especially as citizens or residents of a nation that prides itself on its tolerance and freedom: How are Koreans to cope with the racial discrimination that might be directed at them after the Virginia Tech shootings? That is, how are they to brace themselves for the anger of some few Americans who might think of them as being equivalent to Seung-Hui Cho just because they, too, happen to be Korean? And, finally, why aren't there more non-Korean U.S. citizens speaking out against the injustices that are occurring?
The answer to the last question is exactly why this article is being written, so I will start with that first: Not many U.S. citizens are aware of what is going on.


The first reason for this lack of awareness is due to the incredibly saddening fact that, as far as I know, hardly any of the major American newspapers have addressed the issues of racial discrimination that Koreans have been facing ever since news of what happened at Virginia Tech was reported. Of course, this simply could be because discrimination against Koreans in the aftermath of Seung-Hui Cho has been scarce or practically non-existent. If this is true, then I believe that it is an accomplishment of which the United States should be extremely proud. Yet, that is not the case: Many international newspapers, including those that are not Korean. India's "The Telegraph," Korea's "JoongAngIlbo," Japan's "Japan Today” - to name a few - have run articles about South Korean discrimination in the U.S while our own media has remained relatively silent. The few articles that the U.S. media have published about the racism issue demonstrated that incidences of backlash against Koreans are numerous. If large media news organizations, such as CNN.com, have the time to report on how two parents recently became friends while bonding over the tragedies of their children, I don't understand why they can't have some sort of a discussion on this racial discrimination issue. As of now, almost every non-Korean person I've talked to has told me that there has been "no reports of backlash" - and that is a matter for concern.

The second reason as to why U.S. citizens remain unaware of this issue is because racial discrimination is inherently illogical when measured against the ideals of liberty and freedom that the U.S. holds in high esteem. Most people with whom I have spoken at Princeton seemed to dismiss the possibility of racial discrimination against Korean Americans after Seung-Hui Cho because of this "illogical" factor. When I, as a Korean American myself and also a student at Princeton University, asked several of my colleagues the above questions several weeks after the tragic incident at Virginia Tech, the majority of them seemed to think that I was, as they put it, "making a big deal out of nothing". After all, as two of my closest friends at Princeton pointed out, the fact that the Virginia Tech gunman happened to be Korean does not necessarily mean that all Koreans are on the verge of carrying out similar shooting rampages, just as Ted Bundy having been Caucasian does not indicate the fact that all who are of his race have a habit of murdering young women on a regular basis. And just as it would be not be justifiable to blame or punish the white populace for Bundy's crimes, it is simply not fair to place the blame for Seung-Hui Cho's actions on the Korean race as a whole. It's just a simple bit of logic, my Princeton colleagues say.

However, it is distressing that racial discrimination and hatred are not quite so logical. According to an article in The Telegraph, "Race Against Time," an unidentified man who called into a show on Radio Korea, Los Angeles revealed the fact that his son had been spat on at school (2). On Facebook, a popular online network for college students, a group called "Cho Seung-Hui does not represent Koreans" with members currently numbering around 530 was formed. The members of the group posted and shared stories about racial discrimination that they had seen or personally experienced due to the terrible tragedy Seung-Hui Cho brought to Virginia Tech. One non-Korean member from Virginia spoke of how a random person punched two of her friends in the face on her campus because they were Korean; another member, a high school student, talked about how some people threw rocks at Koreans in Bergen County, New Jersey; and yet another member who lives in a town called Centreville wrote that some "Korean spots" in his town and in some other states were vandalized. [Link]

The Virginia Tech shooting hit near and dear to the heart of all Americans. The aftermath of this tragedy has left many people searching for answers as to why Seung-Hui Cho went on this killing spree and whether his horrible rampage could have been prevented. What can people learn from this incident and how can this experience be used to make communities stronger?

[A]s part of the most multicultural country in the world, Americans must show solidarity and act in the best interest of all our people by teaching and practicing racial tolerance. After the shooter was identified as being Asian or Asian American, many people within the various Asian American communities had the reaction, "I hope he wasn't one of us."

Why do ethnic minorities in the U.S. have this kind of reaction following such an incident? Why don't white Americans have the reaction of "I hope he wasn't white"? In addition, why did so many individuals, organizations, and community organizations feel apologetic and issue condolences? Why were Koreans afraid that diplomatic relations would be hurt and why did Korean Americans fear that their businesses and communities would be harmed?

The answer can be found in racial threats, hate crimes and violence toward Asian Americans before the incident and the increase immediately following. Racism in the U.S. still exists and it has very real consequences for ethnic-minority communities. After the Columbine shootings, for example, there was no increase in racial violence toward white Americans. Governmental agencies of European nations did not issue public condolences, nor were white Americans afraid of racial backlash. Does this mean that Asian Americans are still not accepted as Americans or that being "American" is still synonymous with being "white"? There isn't a clear answer to these questions.

It is clear, however, that real and perceived racism is still a part of American society and there is much work to do before our country can be truly racially accepting. Our darkest prejudices are often ignited during stressful times and entire communities must not be held responsible for the actions of an individual.

As Americans, we all play a significant role in the evolution of our social and societal values. Educators, community-based organizations, influential public figures, role models, governing bodies, parents, students — they must all take initiative in making our country a better place. Let us mourn our losses, but from the wake of this tragedy, let us all take responsibility and make the U.S. a better place for all of our people. Let us educate our communities about mental illness and reduce the stigma associated with seeking help. Let us bring all Americans together by valuing ethnic differences and recognizing that cultural acceptance is a better option than racial conflict. [Link]

When early news reports about the Virginia Tech shootings last month indicated the alleged perpetrator was Asian, Yixin Li, a University of Maryland freshman, said he prayed the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, would be Korean or Vietnamese and not a fellow Chinese.

That distinction didn’t matter to some observers because “after the incident people started calling me Cho,” recalled Li Wednesday at a forum, “The End of the Model Minority Myth: Reflections on the Virginia Tech Tragedy from Asian American Perspectives,” sponsored by The University of Maryland, College Park Asian American Studies Program and others.

Li said family and friends didn’t want him to attend the forum, preferring that he stay quiet, but he attended so that he could get an understanding of why he was facing the personal backlash from the tragedy.

“I was praying, which I knew was wrong of me, that he was not Chinese. I was praying that he would be Korean or Vietnamese,” said Li, an economics major. But he added, any wholesale comparisons between himself, Cho or any other Asian is wrong.

“I am not a model minority; I am me, I am myself,” Li said.

Li’s comments came during a panel discussion of mostly Asian university professors, community activists and students who reflected on their reactions to the tragedy and the media’s role in the racism that minorities face after an individual from a certain ethnic group commits a crime.

Frank H. Wu, dean of Wayne State University Law School and author of “Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White,” was the keynote speaker.

Wu said the reactions from the Asian American community to the tragedy can be looked at in two ways — the stereotypical passive approach or the more traditional remorse, which is what the Korean Embassy offered. The reaction illustrates how Asians now navigate society — the old tradition model that says they’re supposed to be passive versus the emerging approach in which Asians take a collective stand.

Jen Park, a senior and president of the Asian American Student Union, said the forum confirmed for her that she and other Asians shouldn’t have to feel guilty about Cho’s actions.

Cho “was a person that looked like me; that doesn’t mean I have to apologize about the tragedy,” Park said.

Several forum participants likened the backlash that Asians received to the stigma associated with people of Middle Eastern ancestry post the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, raising concerns that crimes committed by minorities will always fall back on the community from which they hail.

Larry H. Shinagawa, director of the Asian American Studies Program and associate professor of American Studies, said the general public needs to be educated about Asian stereotypes and racism they face. Being proactive about these issues will help to ensure whole communities aren’t again blamed for the actions of a few. [Link]

Threats are increasing, and schools are reacting — or, some say, overreacting.

The 12-year-old girl was surprised when she was ordered to the Voorhees Middle School office last week - and more surprised when she found out why.
Other students had accused her of "threatening to kill everyone," said her mother, South Korean-born Jennifer Um.

For hours, the sixth grader was questioned by school and police officials, then evaluated by a mental-health professional. The allegation was not substantiated and no disciplinary action was taken, the school said.

But the little girl was left "shocked and crying" and did not attend classes for two days, said her mother, who says the family now plans to move.

After the Virginia Tech massacre and the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School bloodbath, edgy school officials across the country are not taking chances, but are wondering how far to go, say national school security experts....

The Voorhees students told school officials that the 12-year-old girl had made a threat. She was summoned to the school office, where police later questioned her.

"Anybody can say bad words; nobody can believe it," said Jennifer Um, 49, who said she believes her daughter was accused because of her race. "At that age, they can be cruel."

She said school officials "treated my daughter like a terrorist. . . . Her only weapons were a pencil and eraser."

Because of the ordeal, Um said, she and her husband plan to sell their house and have enrolled their daughter in a private school in Moorestown.

Irene Afek, the Voorhees school's affirmative-action officer and spokeswoman, said officials did not target the sixth grader because of race and were following the school district's protocol when they investigated the allegations.

"We would do the same thing for any incident of this nature," she said. "Any threat is taken seriously, before or after Virginia Tech. This was not part of any backlash."

Lee said he had heard stories of other young Koreans having recent problems in school - including a Lansdale student who was suspended from school for a week for drawing a bomb.

Etzion Neuer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in New Jersey, said that the ADL had contacted Asian American groups, but that "we haven't heard of any widespread problems." [Link]

Asian students at Virginia Tech university, where Korean-born Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 people, said Monday they felt no rebuke or blame from other students in the wake of the massacre.

"I think some Americans may think Asians are not good. But people at VT understand that Cho was mentally ill," said Boonta Chutvirasakul, an undergraduate from Bangkok, Thailand.

"There has not been any negative treatment of anyone," said Jing Wang, a computer science student originally from Xian, China who now lives in Sheldon, Connecticut.

"Twenty years ago maybe there would have been something, but not now," he said.

Out of some 26,000 full time undergraduate and graduate students, the state-run university counts some 1,800 Asians and Asian-Americans in its student body.

Many said they got worried when the media reported shortly after the shooting that the killer was Asian, and then one outlet reported incorrectly that the killer was Chinese.

Cho, who was born in South Korea but grew up in the Washington suburb of Centreville, Virginia, is one of a few hundred Koreans at the university -- most of whom fled the campus after the shooting out of fear.

Few of his fellow students, including the Korean community, knew anything about the angry loner who earlier this year bought two handguns and on April 16 unleased a rampage killing 27 students and five faculty before committing suicide.

Not only Asians saw cause for concern. On Friday the university sent out toughly-worded emails to all students and faculty calling for anyone to report even the slightest hint of anti-Asian sentiment.

And one professor who would not be named said last week that he was concerned how many undergraduate students would react to their Asian teaching assistants -- graduate students who take on lecturer roles -- when classes reopened Monday.

Rafael Jose Gonzales, a US citizen born in the Philippines and a second-year student at the university, said he worried at first that people might react badly against Asians at the rural southwestern Virginia college.

But he said that there was no sign of recriminations across the campus, and rejected the idea that there was anything specifically "Asian" about the tragedy, whatever the identity of the shooter.

"This is a reflection of the hardships that certain people go through. It just happened that he was Korean," he said.

But Asian students have gone out of their way to demonstrate they too felt the loss and that their sympathies were with the families of the dead, which included an Indonesian graduate student.

A South Korean group in Austin, Texas sent 33 vases of flowers -- including one for Cho -- to be placed in the university chapel two days after the massacre to demonstrate their sympathy.

On Friday the 600-strong association of students from China laid out white sheets on the drill field near the campus memorial to the dead and invited their members and anyone else to pen their condolences and thoughts on it.

"We feel the need to show our sympathy and our sadness," said Xue Hong, president of the association and a doctorate candidate in economics.

"Some Asian people are worried about their safety. But most people treat this tragedy as individual behavior."

"There is always someone who will see it racial," he added.

Mental health professionals said in a counseling session days after the massacre that they worried about anger directed at Asian students from people in the greater Blacksburg community without direct links to the university.

That sentiment was reflected by a local Bangkok-born restaurateur, Thanadoul Khunngam.

"I don't want people to think all Asians are bad," he said. —AFP [Link]

When news of the Virginia Tech tragedy broke, Asian-Americans reacted with the same horror as everyone else.

But another concern loomed as reports surfaced that the shooter might be Asian, first from China and then South Korea.

Would there be a backlash against immigrants, or Asian-Americans in general, as in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks? Should they feel any responsibility? Or shame? Or fear?

Anne Saw, a University of Illinois graduate student and counselor, said she "didn't sleep a full night all week" in the days following the shootings.

"It's been hard for me to reconcile all my different feelings – sometimes guilt, sometimes anger, sometimes confusion," she said.

Saw and a dozen other Asian-American students aired their feelings Sunday night in a meeting with Eric Byler, a Chinese-American director in town for the Ninth Annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival. Byler, who grew up in Virginia, has worked to promote Asian-American political candidates and more Asian-American representation on television.

In the days since the shootings, Asian-Americans at the UI have reported some backlash.

One student was asked, as she sat down in class, "Do you have a gun in your backpack?" Another had his chair shoved by a man who walked by him in a bar. When he asked why, the man replied, "Figure it out." A Filipino-American student walking through an off-campus parking lot said someone drove by her and shouted "Gook, go home!"

Asian-American students say they're getting "more looks and stares," and their friends at other campuses have been spit on, said graduate student Matthew Lee, who is also a counselor at the UI.

"It's kind of sad to say, but it's about what I expected," Saw said. [Link]

Asian Americans fear backlash for Virginia Tech

The tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16 seized the nation's attention. World-class journalists and student bloggers alike waited anxiously for investigators to release the identity of the man who killed 32 people and shot several others in the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

By the next day, the shooter was publicly identified as Virginia Tech student Cho Seung-Hui, a resident alien from South Korea.

But after images and articles related to Cho's life began to flood the media, Asian Americans at the University said they had another reason to mourn the tragedy - it could reflect on them.

Psychology Prof. Phillip Akutsu said because Asian Americans don't often receive media attention, focus on the shooter's nationality was painful for the Asian American community.

"The tragedy in and of itself was very, very sad," said Akutsu, who studies mental illness in Asian Americans. "But to see an Asian American face was even more so. We hear so little about Asian Americans in the news to begin with."

Several Asian students said they were stunned to find out the shooter was Asian.

"My initial reaction - I was shocked and ashamed to be Asian," said LSA sophomore Jae Jun Hong, who is a South Korean international student from Dubai. "I wouldn't expect an Asian to do that."

Hong said he doesn't think Asian Americans should feel guilty about the tragedy, but that he fears the incident will cast Koreans in a negative light.

"I live in Dubai, but somehow, even there, we represent Korea," he said.

The day the shooting happened, Hong's mother called him from Dubai to make sure he was handling the news all right. She also worried that Hong would be harassed.

Hong said he didn't experience any harassment, but the concerns Hong's mother expressed over potential backlash toward Asians echo the fears of several members of the University's Asian community.

Recent University graduate C.C. Song, who was a member of the University's chapter of the United Asian American Organization, said many Asian American students told her they were worried about being persecuted on campus because of Virginia Tech.

"They are afraid anti-Asian American sentiment will arise, understanding that the after storm of 9/11 did affect Pacific Rim Asians and Muslims," she said.

Both Hong and Song said they thought the media put unwarranted emphasis on Cho's ethnicity that they feared the tragedy could damage people's perception of Asian immigrants. [Link]

While the Virginia Tech tragedy on April 16 elicited concerns over gun control, mental health care, and campus security, some Asian-Americans may have more to cope with.

"My concern is that the media might portray a stereotype of a quiet Asian as dangerous," said Kathy Cheung, a De Anza College bio-chemistry student from Hong Kong, referring to the killer Cho Seung-Hui as being repeatedly reported as - "the loner."

First came shocking, and then concerns about stereotype and national reputation were almost the next things that appeared in some Asian-Americans' mind when Cho Seung-Hui was first mistakenly reported as a Chinese immigrant and later a Korean.

Alex Lin, a Chinese-American and a first year political science student, said a notion of "perpetual foreigner" exists in America. He said that most Asians in America are seen as Chinese and that they are all local to China and not to America.

Cho Seung-Hui was once being told to "go back to China" by his high school classmates.

Sung Kim, a Korean-American and a fourth year journalism student at De Anza College, was distressed by the fact that the killer was a Korean-American. And that the news continuously saying Cho, who had long been living in America since 1992, as an immigrant alienates Koreans from Americans, he said.

"They are establishing a distance between him and America," Kim said. "As an Asian, you could be the second, third, or fourth American generation. But because you look Asian, people would think you are a foreigner even though you have no connection with your motherland,"

And some are concerned about concerns about national reputation.

BBC reporter, Charles Hogun, said in a KQED radio show -"The World" - that "the Korean reputation will suffer." Since Koreans associate themselves to the nation to a great extend, there is a sense of collective guilt formed between them. And Koreans see this tragedy as a national crisis, Hogun said.

When the media first made a mistaken report on Cho's ethnic background as Chinese, the authorities in mainland China were especially alarmed. The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao even openly criticized certain American media for their irresponsible ethics and inaccurate information.

And a Korean website named "Naver" even has a message that says, "It's shameful to be a South Korean!"

"It's ashamed that they deny their identities." Kim said, "The denial of identity does not help alleviating the situation."

Nevertheless, some Asian-American students at De Anza College said they treated Cho as an individual regardless of his nationality, so they did not have any uneasiness or embarrassment after knowing Cho's ethnic background.

Most Asian-American students at De Anza College say the massacre won't cause any possible racial backlash in the Bay Area or on campus because of the racial diversity in California.

According to San Jose Mercury News, the Peninsula has one of the nation's most diverse populations, and Vietnamese, Hindi, Farsi, Spanish, and Chinese speakers are among the largest ethnic groups in the region. In De Anza College, four percent of the students are international students.

"There are a lot of Asians here. This kind of thing [racial backlash] won't happen in California," said Huy Li, a Vietnamese-American and a criminal justice major at De Anza College. [Link]

If Americans played the blame game, blacks scored a field goal with the Washington DC sniper incident, Middle Easterners made a three point shot with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and now Asians have tallied the Virginia Tech massacre - Who's next?

Whites, on the other hand, scored a touch down with Columbine. But it didn't count because of a technicality foul of majority rules - whites make up the largest percentage in this country, thus, race did not come into play. The Columbine killers were viewed as troubled high school teens in big black trench coats who lost their way in society. I am worried that Asians will now be victims of hate crimes and harassment.

Racist comments and topics plague the internet, including those aimed at Asians. Just look at the videos of Cho Seung Hui on youtube.com, and see countless pages of users lashing out on each other with racist responses.

But Cho being Asian has nothing to do with why he killed 32 people. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo being black had nothing to do with why they killed people in the DC area. But the media pounded their ethnicity into the minds of viewers as if it was, in fact, a relevant characteristic.

Yet, the news always said Cho's name, followed by the term "Koran-born," "legal permanent U.S. resident," or "South Korean national," even days after the incident occurred.

Cho was raised in the U.S. since the age of eight. It's safe to say that he was Americanized. His English was perfect - not even a Korean accent was noticeable from the video he sent to NBC.

He and millions of other Americanized and American-born Asians, including myself, will always be considered foreign, based upon the way we look. There are Asians who are third, fourth or fifth generation Asian-American, but the answer "San Jose" will never be the right response to the question "where are you from?"

Ask the same question to a white person and a simple answer such as "the East Coast" is able to tell his or her entire life story.

Minh Hoang, a Vietnamese CSU East Bay student, told La Voz what he experienced after the Virginia Tech shootings, He said he always came to class tired and would sit in the back of the classroom and not say much because he wanted to sleep. "People realized that the Cho guy was really quiet also and he turned out to be crazy so they probably thought that I was crazy too because I was quiet," Hoang said. "[People] just started to talk to me for no reason. The older white students would come up to me and say random things, like 'How was your day?' 'Where are you from?'"

Asians only make up about 4 percent of the U.S. population, yet no matter how long we stay in this country, we will always be considered foreigners because we cannot blend in with the crowd We stick out like a sore thumb, so we better be on our best behavior.

Because of our small numbers, many Asians, especially older generation Asians such as my parents, feel as though they must set an example and show the "Americans" that we are good and loving people. They don't want any trouble or backlash. The less confrontation, the better.

Growing up, I felt like setting a good example was our obligation. Ironically, this also made me and other Asians I know feel singled out and different.

Ethnicity has nothing to do with why or what anyone does. It doesn't justify anything. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Unfortunately, that dream is still a dream. [Link]

Although 224 miles separate the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia and the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland, the shootings that took place in Blacksburg on Monday, April 16 had repercussions that were felt in College Park throughout the last week.

The April 19 issue of The Diamondback, the University of Maryland newspaper, reported that Jen Park, president of the Asian American Student Union, had heard reports of Asian Pacific American students on campus who had to deal with people whispering "there goes another one," or that they should "go back where they came from." To the minds of immature and ill-informed people on campus, the actions of the shooter in Blacksburg, a Korean American named Seung Cho who had immigrated as a child and attended American K-12 schools, had made all APAs suspect.

Fortunately, University of Maryland President Daniel Mote sent a strong, clear and compassionate email message to the entire University of Maryland community on April 20, reminding everyone that the actions of one profoundly disturbed man in Blacksburg were not an excuse to blame or target an entire group of people. Entitled, "A Time to Come Together," it was a perfect example of how a community leader can set a tone that allows the voices of reason to prevail over the voices of hysteria and hate after a catastrophic event.

Meanwhile, a few miles down Route 1 in the nation’s capital, APA organizations struggled with the question of whether to send out official press releases on the Blacksburg shootings and, if so, what to say in those releases. Never in all my days here since the late 1970s as a reporter and civil rights advocate have I seen such trouble in deciding what to say.

The crux of the problem was that while the main actor in a devastating tragedy was Asian Pacific American, his troubled mental state was to blame for the tragedy on April 16, not his racial and ethnic identity. Yet many APA groups, based on past experience, wanted to vaccinate the country against the kind of backlash that had led to anti-Muslim actions after 9/11 and the internment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor.

Adrian Hong, director of the Mirae Foundation, which mentors Korean American students, wrote an important op-ed piece in the Washington Post on April 20. He explored why the South Korean government and high profile Korean American such as Washington State Senator Paull [yes, it has two L’s] Shin felt compelled to issue formal apologies for Cho’s actions on April 16, based on a "collective sense of guilt and shame."

In but one example, South Korean ambassador Lee Tae Shik called on the Korean American community to "repent," suggesting a 32-day fast (one day for each of Cho’s victims), to prove that Korean Americans were a "worthwhile ethnic minority in America."

Hong’s opinion piece, which was another good example of timely, strong, clear-headed leadership, clarified the difference between being sad about what happened and feeling to blame for what happened. He concluded, "I ask the Koreans of America to please continue expressing your heartfelt condolences. They are helping the healing process. But please do not apologize. The actions of Cho Seung Hui were not your fault. If our heads are hung low, they should be in grief, not in apology and shame. This tragedy is something for all of us to bear, examine and try to prevent as Americans, together." [Link]

Like many people last week, I was glued to the television as news of the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech unfolded.

I recalled my family's anxious moments in 1966 as we waited to hear from my older sister, who was a student at the University of Texas when Charles Whitman killed 16 people and injured 31 others.

I was watching the news from Blacksburg, Va., when I heard those ominous words from a reporter at the university: "The suspect is an Asian male."

Suddenly this heinous crime took on a new dimension. And like many people of Asian descent in this country, I began to worry about a possible backlash after Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and himself.

Though Mr. Cho had lived in the United States since he was 8 years old, initial media reports focused on the fact that he was a South Korean national. Headlines in several major newspapers used "Korean" or "Asian" in headlines. Reporters in South Korea interviewed Mr. Cho's great-aunt, a woman who had not seen him since he left the country. CNN interviewed a Korean-American psychologist and asked if Koreans were more prone to mental illness.

The New York Times published a story that suggested Mr. Cho may have been influenced by the Korean film Oldboy, directed by Park Chanwook. The South Korean government issued an apology to the people of the United States for the actions of Mr. Cho.

The Asian American Journalists Association put out a media advisory stating that race should be used as an identifier in stories only when it is pertinent. After the advisory was issued, the group's national office received more than 100 e-mails, letters and calls – most of them negative, according to Janice Lee, the association's deputy executive director.

"Some accused us of being racists," she said.

Is Mr. Cho's race a part of the story, or is the story that, as Asians, we will always stand out?

Why is race an issue for Mr. Cho, but not for the UT sniper or Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold?

But it should be no surprise that the backlash has begun.

Some Korean merchants have told reporters they are bracing for the worst in Los Angeles, where civil unrest among the Korean, black and other minority communities erupted in a riot in 1992.

A few Korean churches have reported receiving threatening e-mails.

Reports of Asian students receiving threatening messages, being spat upon or having their car tires slashed are trickling in from different parts of the country. One Asian student in Alabama was badly beaten last week, but it's not clear whether that attack was related to the Virginia Tech shootings.

"It may be difficult to track these hate crimes, much less link them to what happened at Virginia Tech," said Ms. Lee of the Asian journalists group. "Many of these reports are just beginning to surface." There is a tendency among Asians not to go public or report such crimes.

But what has been very public are the anti-immigrant and anti-Asian blogs posted after the Virginia Tech massacre. One blogger has listed "major" crimes or mass shootings committed by "foreigners" in this country. However, these figures would be minuscule compared with similar crimes committed by U.S. citizens.

Nevertheless, it is easy to understand why Asian-Americans are nervous.

"Many members of the community have been apprehensive," said Thomas Park, chairman of the Korean American Coalition in Dallas and Fort Worth. "But there have been no problems in this area so far."

Mr. Park also said the Korean Council of Churches and Pastors' Association held a memorial service for those affected by the shooting Sunday at the Binnerri Presbyterian Church in Richardson.

"Korean-Americans, as all Americans, are shocked and horrified by the senseless killings that occurred at Virginia Tech and grieve for the victims and their families," Mr. Park said.

Chong Choe, president of the coalition, said that while the crime was horrific, "we must understand that it was the act of one individual who happened to be Korean – not because he was Korean."

"The shooter could have come from any country – and the outcome would have been the same. It was a horrible, horrible thing. His race was not a factor. But what was a factor was that this young man had some serious emotional problems."

Mr. Choe also explained that the Korean-American community has two perspectives on the shooting.

"The first generation tend to take on the responsibility of the entire community," he said.

"It is part of the Korean culture to act on behalf of the collective consciousness – in other words, the actions of one Korean reflects on the entire community," Mr. Choe explained. "Perhaps this is why the Korean ambassador to the United States felt it necessary to apologize."

It is this same mind-set that led South Koreans to demand an apology they never received after a U.S. serviceman struck and killed two young girls in South Korea during the 2002 World Cup. The serviceman was driving a tank along a country road and did not see the girls.

However, Mr. Choe added, second-generation Korean-Americans understand and accept that one can act independently of the community.

"The actions of one Korean does not necessarily reflect on the rest of the community," he said. "And this is what many of us follow."

Mr. Park and Mr. Choe both said the media's interest in Mr. Cho's ethnicity is understandable.

"People were hungry for any information. It was a part of the story," Mr. Choe said. "The trouble is, it was not the only story."

He's right.

As a journalist, I understand the need to immediately feed the public's thirst for any and all information about Mr. Cho. But I can't help but feel that some in the media missed an important part of the story.

Mr. Cho's history of emotional instability has been well-documented. Yet he had no trouble going to a store and purchasing guns and massive amounts of ammunition.

This is as much a story about the state of this country's health-care system and lack of gun control.

I think this says more about what happened at Virginia Tech than whether Mr. Cho played video games or watched a violent movie.

But don't get me wrong. I'm sure race played a role in Mr. Cho's life – just as it does in the lives of every immigrant living in the U.S.

A statement made by Mr. Cho's sister, Sun Kyung Cho, haunts me.

"This is someone that I grew up with and loved. Now I feel like I didn't know this person. ... My brother was quiet and reserved, yet struggled to fit in."

Those words could be used to describe many young people in the United States – regardless of race. [Link]

Several members of OSU’s Asian community said that they haven’t experienced anything negative following the Virginia Tech shootings.

However, of the 411 Asian students at OSU, Catherine Vijayakumar, the coordinator of programs for the Multicultural Student Center, said she has spoken with several of them and they told her they haven’t had any issues.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of students and none of them have experienced anything negative,” said Vijayakumar, who is also the adviser of the Asian-American Student Association.

“They’ve all said it has nothing to do with race.”

Junghyun Suh, an architecture junior from South Korea and the president of the Korean Student Association, is one of these students.

“I haven’t experienced anything rude or negative at OSU, but I’ve heard that some big cities like New York and Los Angeles have had problems,” he said.

Suh said in Korea many of the citizens felt people would think Korea did something wrong to the U.S. and the U.S. would reciprocate.

Another Korean student, Hwibum Cho, who said that “Cho” is a popular surname in Korea, also said he hasn’t had any negative experiences, but said he did hear of one in New York.

“I heard a guy went into a restaurant in New York and was asked to leave because he is South Korean,” he said. [Link]

The Korean community of Fairfax County has one resounding question for Virginia's leaders: Will the Virginia Tech shootings reflect badly on Koreans as a group?

Governor Tim Kaine did his best to allay those fears in a town hall meeting called on short notice in Annandale, along with the ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Tae Sik Lee. Lee also met with members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last week.

"Will there be a backlash?" several community members stood to ask the governor. "Will this damage the relationship between Korea and the United States?"

Because they believe people are responsible for caring for each other, local Koreans feel much personal shame and sorrow because a Korean murdered people, according to Young Chan Ro, Department Chair of Religious Studies at George Mason University.

Some have also expressed fear that their community would experience a backlash similar to what Muslim-Americans encountered after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"I can only reassure you that this will not, in any way, tarnish or fray the relationship," Kaine answered. "No one views you as culpable in the least degree."

Speaking in grave tones, Lee said that the reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings morphed from "shock, dismay and disbelief" to "sorrow and anguish" upon the news that the responsible person, Seung-Hui Cho, was Korean. [Link]

In the wake of last week’s Virginia Tech shootings, universities around the country are asking whether they are prepared for a similar occurrence - and the Asian-American community is wondering how the country will treat them as a result.

Last Monday, Korean-American student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting spree on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, that left 27 students and five faculty members dead. Altough Cho had a long history of mental illness when he commited his crime, members of the Asian-American community fear that the focus on his nationality - rather then his mental illness - will cause a public backlash against Asian Americans.

In response, Asian-American students at UCSB are hosting a panel with UCSB faculty to discuss the perceptions of Asian-Americans post-Virginia Tech tonight at the SB Harbor Room in the UCen from 6 to 8 p.m.

Pablo Kim, head of the UCSB chapter of the Korean-American Coalition, is one of the main organizers of the event and said he hopes tonight’s panel will attract many non-Asians.

“The purpose of this event is to educate people about the incorrect perception of Asian Americans, and this discussion is aimed primarily to the non-Asian community,” Kim said. “The reactions Asians are having toward the shootings is that Cho was mentally ill, but non-Asians might bring into account Cho’s nationality.”

Kim hopes the discussion will help prevent negative reactions to the Asian community, although he said he has already felt such ridicule.

“People have given me nasty looks at least a couple of times since the shootings occurred,” Kim said.

One of the evening’s panelist is Asian American Studies Professor Diane Fujino, who said she will speak about the reaction in the Asian-American community.

“Asians, particularly the older Korean community, are afraid that this will harm people’s perception of them as a ‘model minority,’” Fujino said.

Fujino is also afraid of the effects this will have on all Asians, not just Koreans, beacause Americans tend to mix all Asians into a single category.

“Americans tend to conflate Asians into a single ‘other,’ and this case is receiving extra media attention because it was perpetrated by an Asian,” Fujino said. [Link]

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.” [Link]

Korean-Americans’ fear of a backlash from the campus massacre at Virginia Tech eased a bit when mainstream news media began focusing on issues that concern all Americans, such as mental illness, gun control and campus security, rather than the ethnicity of the gunman.

Their anxiety, however, was understandable. Koreans cannot forget the nightmares that resulted from the 1992 Los Angeles riots, in which they were targeted and more than 2,000 Korean-owned businesses were destroyed.

On April 17, when the news about the gunman Seung-hui Cho broke, Seung-wook Lee, president of the Korean Students Association, convened an emergency meeting to prepare Korean students emotionally for possible verbal abuses or physical attacks.

Korean students attending Virginia Tech were on edge. “We are hesitating to go to the school’s cafeteria for fear of possible retaliation,” a student said. “We gather in threes or fours when we go out. Some stayed in their dormitory all day long.” Some who came from Korea were thinking about returning to Korea, Lee said. Some 1,000 Korean students, including hundreds from Korea, are enrolled at Virginia Tech, he said.

At Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia, the gunman’s old school, tension was evident. Several Korean students reportedly were deliberately hit with backpacks.

In Los Angeles, several Korean students were physically attacked at a junior high school near Koreatown, according to Jenny Kim, a parent of an eighth-grader. The school authority told the parents they were investigating the report, she said.

In Korea, the anxiety level is running just as high. Many students who were preparing to apply for colleges in the United States are rethinking their plans. At a consulting agency in Seoul which specializes in helping Korean students find a foreign school, some students withdrew their applications for study in the United States, even though they had already paid the deposit of $2,000.

At the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, only a dozen Koreans showed up on April 19 to apply for a U.S. visa. The line of people waiting each day outside the office used to average about 100 yards long. [Link]

When the first news reports about Monday's Virginia Tech shootings came out, a fearful thought crossed Will Li's mind.

"I hope he's not Chinese," Li, a 36-year-old University of Arizona employee, said he told a friend.

Anantha Raman Krishnan, a UA engineering doctoral student, was relieved when he first heard the shooting suspect was Asian. He knew right away the suspect was not East Asian like him.

And Aamir Shaalan, an Egyptian Muslim, was almost elated to learn it was not a Muslim responsible for murdering 32 people, the worst killing of its kind in this country.
"I can't imagine what the backlash would have been," said Shaalan, 27, an engineering graduate student.

Such is the state of race-related sentiments felt by some religious and ethnic minorities in Tucson in response to horrific crimes: Let's hope it's not one of us.

In a post 9/11 America, foreigners in our midst are on their edge.

I understood their feelings. I had a similar reaction when I first read of the shootings. I was cringing at the thought of the consequences if the Virginia Tech killer was discovered to be a Latino immigrant or, heaven forbid, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.

The jeers and I-told-you-so rants from the anti-Mexican and anti-undocumented-immigrant folks would have been deafening. When an undocumented immigrant commits a crime in Tucson or the country, it adds another strand of heavy gauge wire in support of building a border fence.

But, as sick as it sounds, fortunately for Latino undocumented immigrants the killer turned out to be a South Korean-born, 23-year-old English major.
However, no sooner than Seung-Hui Cho was identified, he was tagged as a resident alien, which he was. But it didn't matter that Cho had lived more than half his life in the United States.

It did matter, however, to Koreans in this country and in their country. So fearful of retribution of any kind or even the hint of resentment, the Korean community in this country apologized for Cho's slaughter of students and faculty members, some of whom were from abroad.

Cho's family, who according to some press reports have left their Virginia home, released a statement expressing sorrow for the Virginia Tech victims.

Even South Korean President Roh Moo-hyan expressed his country's condolences. South Korea's ambassador to the U.S. suggested Koreans in America fast for 32 days to honor the dead, according to The Associated Press.

The good news is that there have been no reports of violence or anger aimed at Koreans or Korean-Americans after the killing spree ended when Cho committed suicide.
Krishnan, who is from southern India, understood the Korean community's reaction. He called it natural. But he also called it irrational that some people would scorn a whole ethnic group for the crimes of a single person.

But our reaction to questions of race, ethnic and religious relations is often irrational.

When a foreigner does something horrible in this country, too much focus is placed on the person's origin, said Bebe Mufti, a South African-born Muslim of Pakistani parents.

To some people, the sense of dread felt by others after the Virginia Tech killings is overblown. Maybe it is, but it's real to people like Li, who came from China six years ago.

"It still doesn't feel good," he said. "The killer is Asian." [Link]

As Americans, we all are still reeling from the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech. Our prayers and hearts go out to the victims, their families, friends and community.

The Asian community, along with the rest of the world, mourns this devastating loss of innocent lives — the result of the senseless act of one mentally unbalanced person. Seung-Hui Cho does not represent any group. That he was Asian does not mean anything. Violence is colorblind.

Upon learning that the shooter was Asian, my first reaction, like that of many other Asians: apprehension. Our history shows that whenever tragedy occurs, the identification of the perpetrator may trigger prejudicial or retaliation against anyone who looks like him. At Virginia Tech, some Korean students went home because they feared being the target of a backlash. Thank God, this did not happen.

We should not be led by prejudice and fear. For the healing to begin, we need to focus on the victims — the dead, the injured and their families, including the gunman's family.

This massacre makes us stop and ask the larger questions: Why? Did any person or system fail to act in a way that could have prevented this violence? What about mental illness, gun control, safety in our schools, etc.?

These questions, this discussion unfortunately seems to be never ending. Haven't we learned from the past? We are all members of the same family, the human race. No one wants these tragedies repeated, but they are. I ask each one of you to ask yourself this question: "Will I do all I can to prevent such a tragedy from happening again?"

Preventing such tragedies starts with just a simple act of compassion and kindness — of loving and caring for our neighbors. It starts with you and me making a difference to those around us. Because "There, but by the grace of God, am I." [Link]

But does the ethnicity of gunman really matter?

Like so many Americans, I was glued to the television Monday, watching horrifying images of wounded students at Virginia Tech as the day unfolded. But I grew even more troubled when I heard the first reports that the shooter might be Asian.

Here we go again, I thought. My wife and I watched nervously, desperately hoping that he would not turn out to be Korean or Korean-American. When the media speculated that he was from China, I must admit to some relief. To my dismay, police confirmed that he was Korean-American. His name was Cho Seung-Hui.

My initial reaction to the shootings was, like anyone else, shock, disgust, sadness and disbelief. Then I began to worry about the possible backlash. Would the mainstream media portray this troubled man not as an individual on a rampage but as a racialized and stereotyped Asian? Would they fall back on the usual characterizations: quiet, hardworking but seething under tremendous pressure to excel in school?

Cho's ethnic background will undoubtedly trigger questions about what set off this Asian-American male. But how much, if anything, does his ethnicity really have to do with what happened?

Cho had a history of anger and emotional problems, according to media accounts. He reportedly was taking medication for depression. Many people, and certainly a lot of overworked, stressed young students, suffer from similar conditions. Something snapped in this young man, and something went terribly wrong.

According to some reports, Cho's parents own and operate a dry-cleaning business, and they were so shocked by the events they have been hospitalized.

I'm sure that many Korean-Americans will feel somehow responsible for this one Korean-American student's action. This could have been done by anybody who suffers from severe depression or a mental disorder and is not properly treated. And yet, I, too, somehow feel responsible. Why? As someone of Korean ancestry, I feel a cultural connection and almost a moral responsibility for his actions. Many in the Korean community are mourning the very idea that a Korean is responsible for these senseless deaths.

As we approach the 15th anniversary of the civil unrest in Los Angeles, the Korean-American community there still vividly remembers how the mainstream media portrayed Korean immigrant merchants as gun-toting vigilantes, defending their stores as Los Angeles burned in 1992 -- and we are still trying to overcome that stereotype. There are more than 500,000 Koreans in Los Angeles, the largest enclave outside of Asia, and this is the image many Americans have of them.

The Asian-American community has long complained about the absence of Asian-American faces in popular media. Even the initial media report of the shooter as Chinese reminds me of how Asian-Americans all "look alike" to those outside the community. It would be grossly unfair to blame an entire community for the act of one member, but all Asian-American communities -- not just Korean ones -- may be tainted by this tragedy.

The reality, however, is that Cho came to the U.S. when he was 8 years old and, at the time of his death, was 23 and an English major at Virginia Tech. In other words, he probably spoke fluent English and was culturally Americanized. He probably didn't know much about Korea and Korean culture. And yet the headlines read: "Cho Seung-Hui from South Korea."

I don't mean to suggest that there's no truth at all to some of the stereotypes about Asian-Americans. It is often true that Asian-Americans are hardworking or academically successful. Cho's parents probably did struggle to send him to college. Many Korean-American students do grow up under heavy pressure to excel in school. Growing up as typical "model minority" students, many Asian-American students find themselves having to cope with repressed anger, anxiety and rage.

Maybe Cho was under tremendous pressure to succeed. Or maybe his rampage had nothing to do with academic pressure but was caused by a failed romance or a deep depression. We may never know what triggered these senseless shootings.

I will not be able to completely shake my sense of responsibility as a Korean-American for this tragedy. But I'm going to try. And when young people are stressed or depressed, let us reach out across all ethnic and racial boundaries and try to help them see that, in every culture, violence is not the solution. [Link]

Pastor Shinyong "Daniel" Song, a South Korean pastor who ministers to about a dozen South Koreans in Norwich, said he and his congregation have felt a tinge of guilt after the Virginia Tech massacre.

The shooter behind the killings was South Korean and in South Korea, Song said, people think as a group, or as a congregation. And, with the heated climate surrounding immigration nationwide, Song also felt concern about potential backlash against him and fellow South Koreans.

"I worry about that," he said, between preaching at two services Sunday at the First Baptist Church, which provides space for his church.

Hundreds of South Koreans held a candlelight vigil Saturday in South Korea for the Virginia Tech massacre victims, the country's largest such gathering since the shootings in the United States by a South Korean-born student.

The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, came with his family to the United States more than 14 years ago.

"Koreans are extremely embarrassed and feel shameful as a result of Cho's actions. At any rate, we are sorry for what happened," former college professor Yae Young-soo said in a speech at a makeshift podium near Seoul's City Hall.

South Korean government officials have sent repeated condolence messages to the United States, and Internet message boards are overflowing with similar sentiments. U.S. diplomats have sought to reassure South Korea the shooting will not affect the two nations' tight relationship.

But the participants at Saturday's event -- including military veterans, Christians and conservatives -- expressed lingering concern about a possible fray in U.S. relations and a racial backlash against South Koreans and Korean-Americans there.

Song, the Norwich pastor, said the Virginia Tech killings may bring to light another issue: the plight of immigrant children, many of whom struggle to gain an identity when they arrive in the United States and are often left at home while their parents work long hours.

"My role as an immigrant pastor is to care for the kids," he said, adding a community center would also help meet their needs. "A lot of kids are home alone. That's a problem with immigrants."

Bennick Tan, part owner of the Red House pan-Asian restaurant in downtown Norwich, said Asian-Americans may sense an initial backlash from the shootings. But he said the best reaction is to let time heal the wounds and not to dwell on the negative. Tan said better gun control is one of the answers.

"Anybody could do it," said Tan, who is Malaysian, of the killer. "It doesn't matter about the color. It's about people, human beings. Anyone with mental problems could do the same."[Link]