Cho Seung Hui is Responsible for His Actions, Not Koreans
Questioning the Media Focus on the Shooter's Race
By G. Melesaine

During the tragic events at Virginia Tech, before the identity of Cho Sueng Hui, was known, I, along with the rest of country, held one central question: what was he? The "what" being his racial background and the "he" assuming that only men are capable of committing acts likes this. America would anxiously wait for the police to release the suspect's information. And then it came on the news, hours later, showing his photo, the news anchor said, "The suspect was a 23-year-old South Korean student at the school." There it was, the answer to that common question, what was he? It was in fact a "he" and "he" was South Korean. Usually, when some people watch the news they don't analyze anything except for the act itself, but the people I'm around analyze everything that is connected to the act. Especially the part where the anchor emphasized that he was South Korean.

I am Polynesian and Chinese, but have Korean, Black, and Indian family. I figured how the reactions to Cho Sueng Hui would be, because when all my black family and friends found out that the D.C sniper was a black man, the reaction was like, "Damn, why he got to be black for?" So I expected the same sort of reaction from all my Korean family and friends. But, I still wondered why after showing this man's picture, why does the media always have to breakdown the fact that he was South Korean?

This South Korean man, who killed 32 people and then himself, killed those people on his own, so no one, not a race or an ethnicity, should feel or be held responsible, except him. A lot of Korean politicians have already expressed deep sympathy and regret for what he did and a large majority of Koreans are feeling guilt and shame that the shooter was South Korean. My South Korean friend is already receiving the backlash of this, receiving sarcastic jokes on her myspace with comments that read, "i pRomise to NOT make you mad @ me EveR...!!!” and “if we ever become roomates promise me you wont go on a shooting rampage.... like homie from V.TeCh... thanks!!!” and “..... damn crazy KoreanS!!!! bahahahahahahahaha!!!! j/k...... but really don't shoot me!! =) "

Today I stopped trying to analyze why the media emphasizes his racial ethnicity because I and many like me who always ask that common question are part of the reason why the media does that. We ask these questions so we can form a stereotype about certain people we know nothing about, and that stereotype becomes our lazy way of saying I know how you are.

The Ying and the Yang, the good and the bad, are what makes this even more complicated, we like to accept good stereotypes but forget that we'll also have to accept the bad stereotypes that come. The shooter who was a man, South Korean, a Virgina Tech student, a English major, shouldn't compile the stereotype that if you happen to be a man, or a South Korean, or a Virginia Tech student, or a English Major, that you are bound to be a potential murderer. He should only represent his self, and no country. Anyone who happens to have one of the same elements as him shouldn't feel any guilt or shame for his actions.

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