Living the Change

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COMMENTARY

Don't politicize the Massacre

April 20, 2007

The massacre at Virginia Tech is eliciting a profusion of confusing and

off-the-mark public reactions on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

Americans seem not to know where to lay the blame, and Koreans in South

Korea seem all too eager to bear collective responsibility -- and shame --

for the outrageous acts of a total stranger. Labeling and classifying may

be ways for people to make sense of irrational things, but playing with

identity politics and cultural differences is not the way to clarify a

chaotic situation.

In the immediate aftermath of the violence, the gunman's identity shifted

and mutated in a matter of hours: a Chinese foreign student who had come

to the United States a year ago, an Asian-looking male, an Asian male, a

male in a Boy Scout uniform, a student from South Korea, a legal resident

alien named Cho Seung ***.

These descriptions shape the way we view the events and individuals

involved. For anti-immigration advocates, yet another foreigner is messing

up our country and stealing the lives of American youth. As one blogger

writes: "Here's a proposal. All Koreans in America, get out and go back to

Korea, the crappy little country where you belong. If we'd thrown all you

corrupt ingrates out a year ago, 32 of us would be alive today." But there

were immigrants among the 32 victims -- from South Asia, China, Romania,

Peru and elsewhere.

According to Salon.com

: <http://salon.com/> , conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel declared

that a "Paki" was probably responsible, upon hearing that an "Asian" might

have been the shooter.

Such remarks should make the public demand information and clarity, not

misinformation and incendiary bigotry. Just as all Koreans and

Korean-Americans were not responsible for this crime and destruction, all

Pakistanis -- or Romanians or Canadians for that matter -- would not be

responsible if the gunman been one of "theirs."

Despite their good intentions, some Koreans and Korean-Americans who have

readily offered public sentiments of remorse and contrition are adding to

the confusion. One elderly Korean in Seoul lamented to The New York Times,

"I and all of South Korea want to apologize to all Americans about what

happened."

Lee Tae Sik, the Korean ambassador to the United States, expressed deep

sorrow and sympathy with Americans and called upon Korean immigrants in

this country to express regret and apology to the suffering American

nation. He also urged Koreans in America to unite and cooperate with the

mainstream of the society. On the other side of the country, state Sen.

Paull Shin of Washington (who was born in Korea) uttered, "It hurts me

deeply, knowing what happened to Korea and how much the U.S. helped" in

the Korean War.

There is room in Korean culture for collective remorse, guilt, grief and

responsibility. It can be a good thing at times, especially when it can

help a wayward soul reconnect with the family or larger community or deter

an individual from pursuing selfish acts that hurt the larger group. And

it certainly is appropriate when as human beings we want to embrace

victims and survivors of a tragedy and let them know that "your pain is my

pain." But these gestures and expressions can lift us up only in a

cultural context that is familiar to all. What may work in Korea does not

necessarily work in America.

The tragedy unfolding minute by minute began as an outrageous criminal act

by a mentally disturbed individual. This is not about Korea's relationship

to America or Korean-Americans' or other immigrants' collective role in

U.S. society. One sick young man's rampage should not invite us to lash

out against bilateral relations and differing cultural communities. We

should seek to protect and heal -- not politicize -- those who have been

struck with horror and pain -- first and foremost, the victims, their

families and friends, the gunman's family, his Centreville, Va.,

neighbors, and his college campus.

As you can see from the NYT article below, the state of Virginia is taking this seriously but what about the school itself?  how come nobody's calling them out on the fact that it took two hrs between the shootings??

NYT: April 30, 2007

Virginia Closes Loophole That Armed Gunman

By CHRISTINE HAUSER

Governor Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia issued an order today requiring stricter reporting on the mental health background of individuals who are trying to purchase handguns. The move followed a review of the state’s gun-sale procedures, prompted by the killing of 32 people on April 16 by a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

The executive order instructs agencies to start including the names of individuals who are found to be dangerous and who have been ordered to undergo involuntary mental health treatment, whether inpatient or outpatient, in the database that is consulted by licensed gun dealers before they sell firearms to consumers.

“The database used to scrutinize the histories of those purchasing guns should include any determination that someone is mentally ill and so dangerous to himself or others as to warrant involuntary treatment,” said Governor Kaine in a statement announcing the executive order.

“The key factor should be the danger finding, and not whether the judicially-mandated treatment is performed in an institution or on an outpatient basis,” he said.

Mr. Cho bought the two guns he used in the shooting in Virginia, one in February and one in March. The fact that he was able to purchase firearms despite his mental health history focused scrutiny on the adequacy of background checks on potential gun buyers. Governor Kaine said last week in a radio address that he might be able to tighten the reporting requirement.

Mr. Cho, who killed 32 students and professors before shooting himself, had been directed by a special justice’s order in late 2005 to seek outpatient treatment. The justice declared him to be mentally ill and an imminent danger to himself after two female students complained about his behavior.

Federal law prohibits the sale of a gun to anyone who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective.” The prohibition extends to anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility. But there are differences of opinion about whether orders for outpatient treatment qualify as an involuntary commitment under state law.

The Virginia state attorney, Bob McDonnell, said in the statement that the governor’s order remedies an apparent gap between state and federal law. Additional actions are likely to be considered during Virginia’s next legislative session, he said.

Today’s order directs the Virginia State Police to request copies of orders for both involuntary inpatient care and involuntary outpatient care from district courts, and to revise a form they use to request such information to explicitly include outpatient care.

Under the order, the statement said, the governor is also directing the state police to include this information in the Central Criminal Records Exchange, the database that is checked prior to firearms sales, and to share the information with federal law enforcement agencies.

The Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services must also supply both inpatient and outpatient involuntary care information to the database.

“After reviewing current practice among courts in the Commonwealth, the Governor believes it is important to standardize practices by reporting any involuntary treatment order, whether for inpatient or outpatient services, into the central database,” today’s statement from the governor’s office said.