| Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved Charleston C. K. Wang, Esq., Publisher |
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WANGNEWS OPINION PAGE
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The Shattering of an American Myth
Cho Seung-Hui shattered the lofty facades of Virginia Tech like a steel hammer on glass. Who
was this 23 year old mass killer whose very name is so very difficult to pronounce, to get right?
Who were the 32 victims he mercilessly murdered and the 29 he wounded without his flinching of
an eye? Will America, once more, be forever changed by this senseless act?
To the Cho family, Seung-Hui was a quiet and reserved young man who struggled to fit in. The
fact is that he indiscriminately killed and maimed without regard to gender, color, race, religion or
national origin. To the families of the victims, Cho is the instrument of unspeakable grief. To the
Nation, he is an enigma to be condemned, pitied, or simply to be understood, depending on
whom you consulted. Some more charitable folks have called for him to be forgiven, even as
Viriginia Tech starts a new academic year.
Can we ever understand Seung-Hui, who himself is now beyond scrutiny, save perhaps by way
of the abhorrent bequest sent via U.S. Mail? But why scrutinize now, that he is dead by his own
hand – was he that inscrutable when he was alive? Were his parents too busy at the laundry to
help Seung-Hui? Where were his American playmates, Asian and others, since his years of
innocence after he arrived at the age of 8. Was there no kindly school-teacher or pastor who
could have reached out to a troubled teen and averted the massacre?
Where are answers to be found? In America, young men such as Seung-Hui are expected to be
exemplary, somewhat introverted students, quietly excelling especially in math and science. This
is an idealization that is also cherished within many immigrant Asian American families. This is
the American myth of the model minority, dispelled forever by Seung-Hui Cho. Seung-Hui did
not suffer in silence as many would have expected him to – he should have fled but he made the
deliberate choice not to run. Seung-Hui, in the venerable tradition of the land, went shopping for
and got two handguns, plus hundreds of rounds of ammunition which he stacked into multiple
clips.
Then he went amok, ending 32 lives along the way. Responsibility for this transgression falls
squarely on Seung-Hui. Nonetheless, the Cho family has apologized profusely for the hurt
caused, and his parents are now in hiding. Some of his professors have tried to explain why
Seung-Hui went into the abyss. The police are looking for anyone who may have known Seung-
Hui’s plan.
Many demand extra accountability, but it is once again too late, as it is every
time when innocents suffer death and injury at the hands of the deluded martyr who act out in
the name of hate, whether here or anywhere in the world. Seung-Hui himself made twisted
reference to Jesus Christ, but yes, we can and indeed all of us, as individuals of conscience, must
begin the journey of healing ourselves by first reaching deep into our own souls for the love
which we all are endowed with and then answering the question ,where is our love when it
matters most?
Charleston C. K. Wang
December 31, 2004
