Weighing Cho's Heritage and Identity
Robert Siegel gave a brilliant radio commentary this evening about the international media coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre: how the rest of the world just doesn't get our country and how Seung Hui Cho was a screwed-up, homicidal AMERICAN kid: "Despite being a South Korean national living in America, his upbringing, and his problems, were distinctly American."
I wish the transcript of his commentary were available, but it is still pending, so, for the moment, I encourage you to listen here.
3 comments:
I've been wondering about the emphasis placed on his ethnicity in news reports coming out of the USA. Heartfelt sympathy to the victims and their families.
Is the Korean community expecting a backlash?
Siegel's point was that the foreign (non-US press) were emphasizing that Cho was South Korean--whereas US press was not making such emphasis. Siegel analyzed headlines from around the world--those in Britain, for example, used the words "Korean" in the headlines; a newspaper in Washignton DC used the word "local."
The first thing I thought of when I heard Cho's name was "Oh no--now we'll get anti-immigrant backlash"--but I have not noticed that happening here.
Of course, most of us in the US are immigrants, children of immigrants or grandchildren of immigrants.
Thanks for the link. Interesting.
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