We Are All Americans
April 19, 2007
In the hours before Cho Seung-Hui was identified in the Virginia Tech slayings, America was provided with piecemeal details about the shooter. At first, the media reported the suspect was an Asian America male — reinforced by a wire photo of a handcuffed Asian American. Over time, the suspect was described as Indian American, then as a recent visa student from Shanghai.
After Cho was fingered, the “Asian male” was described as a loner who stalked two female students.
To date, the media has uncovered that Cho had lived in the U.S. since the age of eight. That makes him an American. He went to high school in the suburbs of our nation’s Capitol. He was an English major at one of Virginia’s largest universities.
He was by all means an Asian Pacific American. In APA lingo, we would call him 1.5 generation.
It’s sorry that America’s law enforcement and mainstream media still think that “we all look alike,” even if we do share some life experiences. In a way, Cho’s horrendous actions are precisely what is wrong with the concept of the Model Minority. He was quiet, studious, meticulous. He turned into a cold-blooded mass murderer.
While we brace for enduring consequences in society’s perception of Asian Pacific Americans, the horrifying violence of thirty-two deaths could also stir legal backlash.
For example, the media has dwelled on the incorrect initial description of Cho’s status as an immigrant on a student visa who was able to purchase at least two guns.
While prudent questions should be asked, it opens up paranoia and fears in this country’s War on Terrorism and national security concerns in the unfolding immigration reform debate. Fallout from the Cho case could affect hundreds of thousands of students, particularly from China, India and South Korea, some who have settled as permanent residents and citizens.
No one person, family or community should be isolated for this enormous loss of life. This is not about an “immigrant” or a “Korean” or an “Asian male.” This was an American tragedy. AsianWeek joins all of America in grieving for each of the lost lives and for all of their families. We grieve also for the Cho family, and for the entire community that is the American nation.
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