Ok - so it is hard not to be fascinated by this psychopath VT student because he was like me - a Korean American who grew up in the South. Over the Slingbox I am watching local Baltimore news trying to deconstruct the killer - what was going through his mind, etc. A dialogue that was happening between two rather white bread (bred) newscasters. I think that there is something that is unique about being an immigrant that you just cannot explain to someone who hasn't LIVED it - it is a visceral experience that I know Matt will never fully comprehend. I am not saying that Cho wasn't unstable - as he certainly unquestionably was - but let us be real - he exhibited warning signs long before he started stalking girls on the VT campus. Some people suggest abuse in his childhood. But I think people don't realize that the abuse was probably far more psychological than physical. Why didn't his parents do anything when he was growing up? I can tell you that my parents never cared whether I had friends or assimilated - that wasn't their priority. I am sure his were the same. His parents were (the prototypical) dry cleaners. I am sure that there was some guilt with the sacrifices they made for him to succeed in America (generally an Asian immigrant mentality). His sister had recently graduated from Princeton - I cannot imagine that there wasn't some 'why didn't you get into Yale' crap that was happening behind closed doors.
Of course, all of this is projected conjecture, but I do think that the Korean culture could do a better job acknowledging mental illness so that it can be diagnosed and treated. I get so over the 'showing a good face' all the time crap that I have a well-calibrated bullshit meter. I cannot stand people who only live inauthentically just to look good.
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