The Damage Is Done

In the aftermath of the tragic "Virginia Tech II" shootings that took place in the lecture hall of an Illinois college campus this week, I was dismayed that the initial news coverage rekindled the frustration I experienced with the media's portrayal of shooter/killer/suicide victim Seung-Hui Cho.  Mr. Cho was the infamous disturbed college student who opened fire on his campus last April.

Before I proceed, I'd like to note that I was saddened when I realized that my reaction to this event was somewhat muted; perhaps because after the first time such an awful event occurs, I thought it unbelievable that it would ever repeat itself.  With the smattering of similar shooting rampages reported since Columbine, I am still scared and disturbed, but no longer as terrified or upset when I hear about another shooting.  It's as though I'm slowly reaching a state of numbness; each report rattles me a tad less than the one before.

It was appropriate that MSNBC's online coverage yesterday alluded to the Virginia Tech incident.  The nation was shaken and badly hurt last April and for a similar episode to have occurred less than a year later, any decent report would cite the event.  I was dismayed, however, when my eyes fell upon:

"The shooting was the latest in a spate of attacks in U.S. schools and universities, and was reminiscent of the Virginia Tech massacre last April when a South Korean student killed 32 people before fatally shooting himself in a rampage that became the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history."

I said it then and I'm saying it again: for the love of God, people, he was NOT South Korean!

He was a disturbed individual who was of South Korean descent.  Much like how the guy on the subway sitting next to me last night was of German descent, the guy next door is of Italian descent, and 99% of American residents are of non-American descent.  He didn't hold a Korean passport, so why do we still refer to Mr. Cho as South Korean?  He was Korean-American. Asian-American would have been appropriate.  But.  Not.  South.  Korean.

It's just so annoying.  Not just that Mr. Cho will always be incorrectly tagged as a South Korean, but also that a lot of readers interpret my discontent as whining over something trivial.  I imagine I will shortly begin to receive e-mails or comments challenging my take on this politically incorrect call-out.  And --surprise--- they'll all be anonymous.

***********

MSNBC has since updated their article with detailed information about the shooter and has removed the description of Mr. Cho aforementioned and replaced with:

"Unlike Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho — a sullen misfit who could barely look anyone in the eye, much less carry on a conversation — Kazmierczak appeared to fit in just fine."