Web Log
Apr 22, 10:12 PM | Author: jane kim | Category: personal
Editorial on Virginia Tech Incident
by Sang Chi
Teaching Professor, City College of San Francisco
Like many other Americans, I sat dazed listening to news reports about the Virginia Tech shootings earlier this week. And like other Americans, I am saddened and heartbroken over the senseless deaths of so many. Now that the media barrage has slowed down and I have had time to reflect, there is a small nagging voice in the back of my head that is turning into a very real and troubling concern.
It began with rumors that the shooter was Asian. My first reaction was disbelief and sadness. My second reaction was “Please don’t be Korean”. Over the next several days, Korean Americans of all stripes repeatedly apologized for Cho’s actions. When Oklahoma City and Columbine happened there was no comparative racial response, only an American response. Why should Korean Americans feel collectively responsible for one man’s actions?
The most popular explanation is of course the old standby, culture. Most sources cite Korean/Asian culture’s Confucian legacy as the source of this collective shame. However, let me offer up an alternative – Korean American reactions to the shootings may not be solely rooted in Confucianism. Rather, they reveal an unsettling aspect about American culture.
Over the past week, Korean Americans openly expressed fear over becoming ethnic targets, much like Muslim Americans have after 9-11; surprising for immigrants who probably never heard about Japanese American internment or knew Asians were effectively denied citizenship until 1952. That they fear their fellow Americans might judge them based on the act of one disturbed individual, reveals that even without knowledge about America’s checkered racist past, they still recognize their precarious position in this country. And there are indications their fears are not unfounded. For example, a neighbor of Cho’s parents told Primetime when he heard the shooter was Korean he immediately thought it might be his Korean neighbors’ son. In L.A., news outlets have also begun reporting that school children are harassing, even spitting on their Korean American classmates.
The identification of Asian Americans as foreign can be seen even in the headlines that continually describe Cho as “South Korean”, though he lived in the U.S. for most of his life. How long must you live here before you become an American? Evidently, even in 2007, Asian Americans are still not seen as individual Americans but as a homogenous group of perpetual foreigners. This perceived foreignness overrides every other identity for Asian Americans. It defines us; labeling anyone of Asian heritage as carbon copies of each other. Ironically, diversity and tolerance have become so ingrained in America’s cultural identity that today we believe racism is merely a memory of bygone days. Unfortunately, the truth is we may not be as enlightened as we believe. Undoubtedly some will interpret Cho’s actions as representative of all Korean Americans and by extension all Asian Americans. And while Korean culture can not be completely ruled out, it is also the reality of American culture that prompted many Korean Americans to silently pray that the shooter was “not Korean”.
Sang Chi is a friend, PhD student at University of Berkeley’s History Department and is also teaching Asian American Studies classes at City College of San Francisco. Yes, he’s quite smart.
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