Fears of Scapegoating after Cho Slayings
April 19, 2007
In the aftermath of the shootings in Virginia, many Korean and Asian American community leaders and student groups expressed sorrow and concern and the hope that the tragedy will not repeat the scapegoating Korean and Asian Americans saw after the 1992 Rodney King police beating.
Last Monday, Cho Seung-Hui, a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shot and killed 32 people in the largest school shooting in American history.
The 23-year-old English major was a Korean American who immigrated to Detroit, Michigan in 1992 from Seoul, South Korea.
“We do express our deepest sorrow and share genuine condolences,” said John Juhn, executive director of Korean American Student Conference (KASCON), a national Korean American student organization, and a student at UC San Diego. “Americans should acknowledge that this is an act of one person and we hope and pray that an act of one man does not come to represent the Korean American community.”
Byeong Soo Kim, media manager for KASCON, was shocked at how quickly and how much hatred was generated.
“A few hours after the gunman’s identity was revealed, Facebook, an online network of college students, was flooded with groups created in light of the tragedy,” he said. “The names of many of these groups suggested hatred and violence. I could not believe the rate at which the tragedy was being intensified to become an issue of race and ethnicity.”
“I was hit with a fear of potential backlash against the Korean American community,” Kim said. “The way this tragic event was unfolding was reminiscent of the 1992 L.A. riots in K-town, and more recently the experience of the Arab/Muslim community in light of 9/11 and the war on terror.”
The fear even permeated to Myungyu Jung, also of KASCON, and her parents.
“Both of my parent called in the morning to tell me to be extra careful at school,” she said. “I unwillingly took off the Korean flag badge that had been proudly placed on my backpack. I am afraid that people will have the wrong image on the whole Korean and Asian communities because of this particular incident.”
Harry Kim, president of the San Francisco Seoul Sister City Committee thought the best way to handle this potential fire storm was to continually educate society about Korean American contributions.
“The important thing now for all Americans is to not start scapegoating a particular community,” said Harry Kim. “It falls on all of our shoulders to make sure that the rhetoric doesn’t get out of hand; we must all actively show the rest of the country that this was an isolated incident by one member of the community who happened to be Korean.”
Theresa Tran, Constituency Outreach Chair of National Asian American Student Conference echoed concerns about how Cho’s ethnicity could typecast all Asian Americans.
“Despite his legal citizenship status, and the fact that he is by all accounts American in upbringing, Cho Seung-Hui’s racial identity marks Asian Americans as inextricably connected to this tragedy,” said Tran.
“We have to be aware of the implications of this connection and work to see this tragedy as a non-racial issue, but rather a universal issue that connects Cho Seung-Hai to all students.”
APA Mass Murderers
The Cho Seung-Hui murders of 32 at Virginia Tech are the largest one-man killing spree in U.S. history. Here are additional infamous APA mass murderers.
Name: Charles Ng
Killed: 11
Crime Scene: Son of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, Ng evaded authorities for years but was found guilty of murdering 11 people in a series of sex slavery killings in California, dating back to 1984 and 1985.
Fate: Ng sits on California’s death row at San Quentin prison. He continues to appeal his death sentence, and it may take several years for his sentence to be carried out.
Event: The Golden Dragon Massacre
Killed: 5, Injured: 11
Crime Scene: A botched assassination at Golden Dragon Restaurant by the Joe Boys took place in San Francisco on Sept. 4, 1977, coming out of a longstanding feud with rival Chinese gang Wah Ching.
Fate: Five men from the Joe Boys were arrested and convicted for the crime, with three still serving prison sentences.
Event: 1991 Sacramento Hostage Crisis
Killed: 3, Injured: 14
Crime Scene: Four young Vietnamese refugees, including three brothers, entered The Good Guys! electronics store and started shooting. The situation remains the largest hostage rescue in U.S. history.
Fate: Three hostage-takers were killed. One is serving consecutive life sentences at California State Prison, Corcoran.
Name: Gang Lu
Killed: 5, Injured: 1
Crime Scene: A Chinese physics doctoral student at the University of Iowa shot five university personnel, including his academic advisor, on Nov. 1, 1991.
Fate: Lu committed suicide.
Name: Andrew Cunanan
Killed: 5
Crime Scene: Filipino hapa spree killer who murdered five, including fashion designer Gianni Versace, in a cross-country journey during a three-month period in 1997.
Fate: Cunanan committed suicide.
Name: Chai Vang
Killed: 6, Injured: 2
Crime Scene: Hmong immigrant from Laos shot several white deer hunters in northern Wisconsin on Nov. 21, 2004.
Fate: Vang is currently being held at Iowa State Penitentiary.
Name: Cho Seung-Hui
Killed: 32, Injured: at least 21
Crime Scene: 23-year-old Korean American senior at Virginia Tech kills 32 in the country’s deadliest shooting rampage on April 16, 2007.
Fate: Cho dies, apparently by suicide.
— compiled by Eunice Lee
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