More Thoughts...

This event has impacted everyone. From the people actually at Virginia Tech, to college students across the nation, to parents, to the everyday person who saw the horrific or somber images in the news. No one really knows what to think but we all read and talk about it to try to make sense of the senseless.

There really isn't more to be said that hasn't been said, but I will bring up one thing that I've found unique in my own reflection. I've realized that no matter how close or far I can feel from Asian identity on a particular day, there's always a connection or reflex when the person in the news is of the same race, for good or bad. How I'll cheer a little harder when it's Michelle Kwan competing in the Olympics, or how I'll be even more sad or angry when I find out that the gunman of the largest school shooting is a Korean American.

It's not that I favor or disfavor my race over others; I think it's that I worry how others perceive us. And while I feel like they taught us in elementary school to not care about what others think about you, it's hard. Having been called a "ch*nk" before in college (1. you would think college kids would be far above this, wrong, 2. you would think that people could even get the right racial slur, wrong), I just worry what further stereotypes will ensue. Oh those crazy Asians. Oh those introverted Asian kids who don't have social skills. Oh those people who don't belong in our country. I guess it does hit home since in high school I was told to "go back to where you belong." I still remember that anonymous phone call.

Then on Facebook today, I saw someone on the VT Memorial page post "F*cking Ch*nks, deport them all." Great. Naturally there's no help from the media, who plasters "Asian gunman" across their headlines, or "Student from Korea" like he just came off the boat, when really, he's been here since he's been 8. I feel like they've moved from the racial spin to the gun control spin, but nonetheless I feel like the media needs to realize what damage they can do by trying to capture reader attention.

Overall though, I'm trying not think about this race issue too much because there will always be ignorant people and you can't help what stupid things they believe. Moreover, it's not what's important here. It's a travesty no matter what skin color the gunman had, and the real focus should be on what a horrible event this was and how we can prevent it in the future.