The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

(nt.iol.co.za) Blacksburg – Virginia Tech student Jiyoun Yoo was terrified when she heard a gunman had rampaged through her campus, killing 32 people. When news broke on Tuesday that the gunman was a South Korean student, her fear took a new direction.

“I’m from South Korea, so I am a little bit scared,” said Yoo, 24, as she walked on campus. Only one person was responsible for the massacre, she said, “but maybe it will affect all South Korean students.”

The gunman who carried out the worst shooting rampage in modern US history was identified as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, an English literature student. He had lived legally in the United States with his parents for 14 years, a US immigration official said.

Yoo, a graduate student, said she didn’t know the gunman and none of her Korean friends had heard of him either. She said her family in Seoul was concerned Yoo might be a target if there was a backlash against Asian students at Virginia Tech.

“It is big news in South Korea. Yesterday they were worried if I’m safe, now they are worried there might be a risk that I’m South Korean,” said Yoo.

The South Korean government also expressed fears of a backlash. (more…)

When I read this article this morning, I was reminded of a press release from the Asian American Journalists Association I read the other day:

SAN FRANCISCO (April 16, 2007) — Like the rest of the nation, we at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) are stunned at the news of today’s shooting at Virginia Tech. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends as they cope with this horrific incident.

As coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting continues to unfold, AAJA urges all media to avoid using racial identifiers unless there is a compelling or germane reason. There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people. (source)

Soooooo how do we describe him again?

Bottom line, this was a raving lunatic who happened to be of Korean decent.

I heard this same story on the radio the other day. I had to chuckle a little bit because towards the end of the breathless report, the reporter acknowledged that no creditable threat has been made against Koreans (the reporter had interviewed a representative from a Korean community group in the area).

It never ceases to amaze me that while we demand to live in a country where culture is celebrated and acknowledged, we will also be just as aggressive to convince folks that “he ain’t one of us” when one of its members shames himself/herself.