Are AA Males Unwilling Targets of Virginia Tech Fallout?
Just weeks after Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 in a deadly rampage, media reports show an increasing number of high school and college age AA males being targeted for hate incidents and school suspensions.
If you're an Asian American male of high school or college age you might be feeling a bit uneasy these days. And with good reason.
In the past few weeks there's been a slew of media reports involving young AA males, and they haven't been flattering portrayals. One was the victim of an alleged hate beating at Auburn University. One was sent to a psychiatric hospital for posting a violent image on his Web site. And an Illinois high school student was charged with two misdemeanor counts for writing a violent essay.
Although some of the stories involve some questionable behavior on the part of these young men, many in the AA community believe they all have one thing in common: fallout from the tragic Virginia Tech shootings committed by lone gunman Seung-Hui Cho.
"I do think that there is a pattern of stereotyping in the media," said Jason Eng, president of the Asian Pacific American Coalition at Northwestern University. "Whether that stereotyping for this particular incident is intentional, I can't really say. I'm very sure that there are many students who are writing pieces of work that contain violence, but the media has specifically chosen to target Asian Americans."
In the tragic aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, 33 were shot dead, including the perpetrator. Although the horrific events of April 16 were the result of one person's actions, media reports have emphasized Cho's Korean American heritage, something that has come to stigmatize the entire AA community.
And young AA males are suffering the harshest repercussions.
Hate Incidents and Suspensions
At Auburn University in Alabama, an AA student was attacked by a group of four white males who allegedly told the victim he was being attacked because he is Korean. The student's name has not been released to protect his identity and the police are currently investigating the April 20 beating as a possible hate crime.
Just a day after the Virginia Tech shootings, State University of New York at Cobleskill student Tharindu Meepegama made the mistake of posting a picture of himself with a shotgun on the social networking site Facebook. He was immediately sent to a psychiatric facility for evaluation and received a five-day suspension.
In Illinois, Cary-Grove High School honors student Allen Lee, 18, was banned from classes after a teacher alerted school officials of his April 23 essay filled with violent images. Although he wrote the assignment after being told to "Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship," he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct.
"I believe the case of Allen Lee ... would have been handled very differently were he not Asian American," said Bill Yoshino, JACL Midwest director. "This points to a knee-jerk reaction where people and institutions look at convenient factors such as race to act out their anger or fear."
Lee is now back in school after hiring an attorney and will be allowed to graduate with his class. Prosecutors are now looking into whether the misdemeanor charges will be dropped.
Young, Male, and Asian
Being a young AA male these days hasn't been easy. It's left many weary of their surroundings and more mindful of their behavior so unnecessary alarms won't be raised.
Illinois State University student Keith Meyer, a Korean American, remembers the odd stares he received on the day Cho went on his rampage.
"It was almost like they wanted me to say something or even look for an apology for what my fellow Korean has done," he said. "Although I am sorry and wish this incident never took place, I don't feel responsible, as a Korean or a person ... My heart and prayers will go to the families of the victims but I will not apologize for a mentally disturbed youth's action even if we share the same race."
"I did feel that there was an overall air of wariness following the whole tragedy, because I think that many individuals in the United States would never have suspected an Asian American student to have done that," said Eng.
But the stories involving young AA males keep on coming.
Video Games and Expulsion
In Fort Bend County, Texas an AA Clements High School senior has been suspended for creating a violent video game that included detailed maps of his high school. Police also discovered five swords and a hammer in the student's bedroom during a search of his home, prompting them to label him a "Level 3 terrorist threat."
Although the video game was created a couple of months before his suspension, the school was contacted by a parent just days after the Virginia Tech shootings. The student has been suspended and will not be allowed to graduate with his classmates. So far no police charges have been filed.
"Given the current climate in America over violence in schools, it was pretty dumbass for this kid to design a shoot 'em up game based on the layout of his own damn school," wrote Angry Asian Man blogger Phil Yu.
"This business with the computer game and the swords, coupled with the fact that this kid is Chinese American ... I have a feeling more than a few of the folks in charge added all that up and just couldn't shake that unmistakably Asian face of Seung Hui Cho from their minds, and they got spooked."
More recently a Thai doctoral candidate has been expelled from Illinois State University because of complaints that he exhibited aggressive, anti-social behavior towards professors and students, including asking whether he had the right to purchase a gun.
The student whose name has been withheld has been in the U.S. since 2003 but is now being detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He will likely be sent back to Thailand later this month.
"This tragedy happened because of the actions of an individual and not because [Cho] happened to be an Asian American, however, I fear that we have not heard the end of the arguments that will attribute this horror to aspects of culture," said Yoshino.
"A person's race is not at fault, it is the individual, the shooter being Korean did not make him pull that trigger any more than if he were not Korean," said Meyer. "It is always far easier to point the finger at others rather than finding the real reason but I think too many lives have been lost to sit around and play pass the blame."
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