Comedian Margaret Cho on the VT Massacre Gunman

[Matsubara]

http://www.margaretcho.com/blog/ourhumanity.htm

(from her blog)

4/17/07
Our Humanity

Whenever anything really bad happens around Korean people, that is when I would like to hide, go to Hawaii and eat spam sushi until it blows over. I don’t want to comment on it because I don't want to escalate the situation and I don't want to implicate myself in it. I don't want to 'come out' as Asian because therein lies a tremendous responsibility that I never volunteered for, that I don't have any real control over, and that is as mysterious to me as it is to someone who isn't Asian.

So here is the whole terrible mess of the shootings at Virginia Tech. I look at the shooter's expressionless face on the news and he looks so familiar, like he could be in my family. Just another one of us. But how can he be us when what he has done is so terrible? Here is where I can really envy white people because when white people do something that is inexplicably awful, so brutally and horribly wrong, nobody says – “do you think it is because he is white?” There are no headlines calling him the “White shooter." There is no mention of race because there is no thought in anyone's mind that his race had anything to do with his crime.

So much attention is focused on the Asian-ness of the shooter, how the Korean community is reacting to it, South Korea's careful condolences and cautiously expressed fear that it will somehow impact the South Korean population at large.

What is lost here is the grief. What is lost is the great, looming sadness that we should all feel over this. We lose our humanity to racism, time and time again.

I extend my deepest sympathies to all those who lost their loved ones, their children, their friends and family, in this unimaginable tragedy. I send them all the love I have in me, and I encourage everyone to do the same.



Not that she is the LEAST bit obligated to comment on this all, just because she is Korean-American and shares a surname with the killer... Nonetheless, I like what she wrote.

[Captain Hilts]

1. I was waiting for her to say something. I'm glad she did. nt

[Philosoraptor]

2. She makes me laugh hard, & she's very bright.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Yes, we need more of that. And her comments will find a different audience with whom...

to address these issues seriously.

Good for her. And us.

[shenmue]

4. Well-written and moving

I like her.

Cool picture, too.

:applause:

[poverlay]

5. Thoughtful words. I wish more American's would use them and definitely wish

more would understand them.
That Margaret Cho is sure a credit to her ... uhh ...:sarcasm:
In truth, Margaret Cho is a credit to humanity. I'm proud of her.

[soothsayer]

6. boy she lost weight!

[soleft]

7. wow

:crazy:

[Metta]

8. Absolutely right, our grief gets lost in our racism. No coincidence.

So we play it out in some other way, not always appropriately. Pointed, poignant comments. As always.

[theboss]

9. That's Margaret Cho?!?!?!

I've missed something. When did she become 105 pounds?

And I am not sure that his "Asian-nes" is being emphasized for any reason other than trying to understand his life.

[YOY]

10. I never thought a 'racial reason' was inplied by the media or society in general

Then again, I'm not a racist asshole.

I thought her cuter when she had a little meat on her bones...oh well, whatever makes her happy.

[krkaufman]

11. Actually, Madge, it is often reported that most serial killers and shooters...

... are white males, so I wouldn't say that it isn't commented upon. In fact, mention of race (at least in these instances) is often illuminating, because we *expect* the shooter to have been a white male and so it is surprising when not the case.

That being said, I don't think it's reasonable to ask whether a killer's race has anything to do with their act, if trying to directly link race to serial/spree killing, as their environment and personal psychosis are normally the determining factors. However, it is very possible that a killer's race can exacerbate a sense of isolation, if he/she lives in a community with more racial segregation.