At around 7.15 in the morning, Cho Seung-Hui shot and killed two Virginia Tech students in a residence hall. He then returned to his own residence hall to put together pictures, letters and video clips which he mailed to NBC News. After he finished with that, he moved across the campus to Norris Hall, VT's engineering building and proceeded to kill 30 more people, including students, professors and lecturers before turning the gun on himself.
Hui's notes and diaries blame everyone - including Jesus - for "forcing " him to carry out the bloody slaughter that left 32 faculty and students dead. Let me say that a statement like that is complete and utter bullcrap. Nobody forces you to do anything. Human beings were given the gift of choice and have no one to blame for the choices they make except themselves.
"Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and defenseless people."
Really, Cho? You're comparing yourself to Christ? Another inaccuracy by this deranged gunman. What exactly were you inspiring the weak and defenseless to do, and as far as I know, Jesus never mercilessly gunned down 32 defenseless people, you did. Let's try and edit this to properly say what Cho did.
"Thanks to myself, and only myself, I die. Not like Jesus Christ, who died to save mankind, but like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who died to extract revenge on people we did not like."
There, that's more like it.
"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood."
More inaccuracies. This from a kid that when asked to write his name down for English class simply wrote a question mark. How will anyone know you're upset if you don't tell someone? (Speaking the language that the country you are a citizen of would benefit everyone too).
"But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours."
No. You started the shooting. You shot yourself. The decision, Cho, was yours and yours alone. No one bought guns for you. No one slaughtered 32 innocent people but yourself. Your roommates have all testified that they tried to befriend you when you first moved in. You ignored them and they naturally stopped trying to be your friend since it was obvious you were an asshole.
"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you slobs. your trust funds [weren't] enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs. You had everything."
So he's mad, because people were successful. I was under the impression that this country was one where hard work and success was rewarded and expected. Jealousy is a terrible thing that leads to terrible emotions. Name-calling and whining. Sounds like me, when I was five.
Rumors are circulating that some people are calling for the President of Virginia Tech to step down because of the shootings. Others still insist it's the police's fault that 30 more people died after the first shooting. The public is looking for someone to blame for this abominable act of terror. But I've found the culprit, I know who to blame. His name is Cho Seung Hui and he's now dead, cowardly taking his own life, after committing 32 brutal murders.
A few other things that I don't understand is why people feel any remorse whatsoever for Cho. Yes, he was a human being, but one that chose to murder 32 people and then take his own life, not like Jesus, but like Hitler, cowarding in a corner, knowing that he'd been beaten. The list of victims contains only 32 names, not 33. His parents on the other hand is a different story. They have to live with the fact that their son is now an infamous killer. They'll never spend another day working in their (surprise!) dry cleaners without that awful thought. How any child can do that to his or her parents is beyond me. He should not be shown any compassion and he should not remembered in any way except a deranged and cowardly gunman.
Also, South Korean ministry spokesman Cho Byung-se, said the country was "in shock beyond description" and hoped that the incident would not "stir up racial prejudice or confrontation." That sounds a little insincere to me. No condolences from the country's spokesman, only selfish hope that Americans won't hold a grudge against his countrymen because of Cho Seung-Hui. It's only natural that people will make assumption (even if they're false) because of the VT Massacre, especially if that's the first thing America hears from the gunman's home country.
Putting a tragedy of these proportions into words is nearly impossible, but the president of the University used words such as "incomprehensible" and "heinous" which, coincidentally, are two words that Rutgers women's coach Vivian Stringer used to describe radio host Don Imus' description of her team as "nappy-headed hos." The two events are incomparable, yet the wording used to describe both events are identical, which leads me into the Don Imus incident.
If you haven't heard, Don Imus was suspended and eventually fired from all his jobs, both as a radio and television show host for inappropriate comments on air about the Rutger's women's basketball team. He referred to the Rutger's players as "nappy-headed hos" and claimed that they "looked like men." Many people believe that Imus was fired for these comments, but those people would be mistaken. He was fired over money. When the sponsors of his shows got wind of Imus' comments, they started pulling their sponsorships to the point that the show would no longer be making money. Don Imus had every right to say what he said, and the companies he was employed by had every right to fire him.
But let's look at what he said. His comments were called racist by many people. Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another. Calling women "nappy-headed hos" and saying they "look like men" doesn't fall under the definition of racism. It falls under inconsiderate and inappropriate, but not racism. The fact is, there are things about you that you have no control over, such as your sex, height and the color of your skin. And then there are things you control, such as they way you do your hair, how muscular your body is and how many tattoos you have covering your body. Don Imus only called it like he saw it. The Rutger's women's basketball team did look like men. If I donned a dress and high heels, tugged on a wig and put up makeup, would I not look like a woman?
The reaction to this incident was enormous. At the Rutger's press conference, some of the players were crying. Crying! Because someone called them a name and said they looked like men. I thought only Lt. Daniel Kaffee couldn't handle the truth. Apparently, neither can a lot of people.
Our society today is too guarded. We think everything needs to be all nice and fluffy. This boy is exhibiting suicidal behavior? Pop him a few colorful pills, refer him to counseling and he'll get better. No, lock him up. Someone called someone else names? Fire him from his job and that will solve everything. Talk up a hypocritical storm, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
People need to learn that the world is not all puppies, butterflies and bunnies. I may get burned for saying it, but nice is sometimes overrated. Shielding people from the truth only ends up hurting people. Cho Seung-Hui didn't have any outlet for the problems he had (more specifically, he chose not to utilize them) and he ended up causing the worst school massacre in history. America, as a country needs a mix of softie liberals and hard-nosed conservatives. The conservatives make sure the country maintains relative safety while the liberals ensure that America's image doesn't become too war-hungry and aggressive.
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But tragedies often bring out stories of bravery and heroism. Liviu Librescu held the door of his classroom shut while Cho was attempting to enter it; although he was shot through the door, he was able to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom until his students had escaped through the windows. A number of Librescu's students have called him a hero because of his actions, with one student, Asael Arad, saying that all the professor's students "lived because of him". Librescu's son, Joe, said he had received e-mails from several students who said he had saved their lives and regarded him as a hero, whilst many newspapers also reported him as the hero of the massacre.
My prayers continue to be with the families and friends of the victims, the entire Hokie family and the country as we regretfully have to rebound from another horrific ordeal.
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