Off The Mark

When I heard of the shooter at VT, I didn't think... oh... what ethnicity was he or she? I just thought what a gruesome horrible thing to happen. I grieved for the students, the families.

When he turned out to be Korean, I didn't think that it was a slap at the entire Korean culture. Yet obviously, many in their community do.

In one editorial and two articles in the Times, they've talked of a collective losing face, of feeling responsible. I think it's slightly off the mark. In not one article or op-ed piece do they speak of mental illness. No reporter has inquired how mental illness is perceived within their community (it could be argued that this would be a valid question, given that they feel compelled to show a collective remorse). Not one. Yet, the proof is all there. Cho was mentally ill. It wasn't because he was Korean that he shot everyone, it was that his neurotransmitters didn't function. If they really want to make a difference in their community, they'll support efforts to erase the stigma of mental illness and to seek diagnosis and treatment. Not just within the Korean culture, but everywhere.