Friday, April 20, 2007
Cho Seung-Hui's sister calls her friends
The Virginia Tech gunman's sister graduated from Princeton a few years ago, and she called friends here in the aftermath and offered some insight into the Cho family's reaction. The Daily Princetonian wrote a story about it.
CWCID: An undercover Princeton TigerHawk reader.
15 Comments:
By 
Christopher Chambers, at
Fri Apr 20, 12:08:00 PM:
Wasn't much of a story--more a blurb?
I wonder what others in the Asian community are thinking. The stereotype goes: mental illness in certain immigrant quarters is something you sweep under the rug, or you treat it by just more quiet discipline and hard work. Or perhaps it's the fact that his parents didn't speak English (they'd been her over 15 years and don't?) and thus didn't understand his torment (real or delusional) and treatment options?
This is creepy, infuriating and sad all at once...
By 
, at
Fri Apr 20, 12:37:00 PM:
I don't get the Korean angle the Princetonian used. Other than the Asian American Journalists Association I haven't seen anyone heavily focused on Cho's ethnicity. More, the focus has properly been on his deteriorated mental state, the wide recognition of his degeneration among much of the VT community, the abysmal protections offered by the authorities against his evident illness, the life-endangering prohibitions against disclosure of his illness to those most at risk, and the as yet hard to comprehend actions the VT public safety force took in the immediate aftermath of the initial events.
I wish the family well in this time of unimaginably enormous distress. We'll pray for them.
Andrew
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 01:20:00 PM:
Asians are culturally adverse to acknowledging any kind of illness. The concept of informed consent does not exist in any asain countries' medical practice. In Japan and Korea, patients are not told when they have cancer. Certain members of the family are told and THEY decide the treatment. Mental illness is far more reviled then it is here in the states. Usually they get shut up in the family home. I guess there is something to be said about NOT allowing them to run around.
I remember a risk management case I had at a local Chicago hospital with an indian doctor who never bothered to contact families when somebody died in the hospital. Typically arrogant, she did not think it was a big deal and brazenly said that "americans"--particular elderly whites, all African American and Jews--over react to such things!
OF COURSE Cho's parents speak english. You KNOW how these first generation immigrants are...pretending not to understand as a defense mechanism. VT and any hospitals or docs that treated him within the past 3 years will be sued.
By antithaca, at
Fri Apr 20, 03:25:00 PM:
the mental illness aspect is the proper focus here not the ethnic aspect.
this is nothing new to me. my dad was killed about 10 years ago by a woman who fell apart over the course of about 3 weeks...after a 20 yr history of mental illness (all in the same town) including giving herself a c-section on the sidewalk (the child lived).
someday, voters will take mental health officials to task over their decades long failure.
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 04:15:00 PM:
I agree that the state of mental health treatment with respect to both a public health issue and insurance is deplorable. However call me politically incorrect but I think there is something to what "Windy City" has relayed.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Apr 20, 04:18:00 PM:
"Asians are culturally adverse to acknowledging any kind of illness."
You can't lump all Asian together. Their cultures are as different from either other they are from the rest of the world. Indonesia alone has more than 300 different ethnic and tribal groups. They are not alike.
"...an Indian doctor who never bothered to contact families when somebody died in the hospital."
That was a characteristic of the individual, not her culture."
"Typically arrogant, she..."
Again, that was a characteristic of the individual, not her culture.
"You KNOW how these first generation immigrants are..."
Stereotyping at its worst.
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 05:46:00 PM:
When was the last time you were in Los Angeles, DEC?
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Apr 20, 06:03:00 PM:
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 06:08:00 PM:
The Asian thing:
VT did not expel Psych-Cho despite:
Stalking two women
Setting fire to his dorm
Campus Police assessment that he was a threat.
Classmates and Profs scared of him.
Room-mate asserting he'd threatened suicide.
Why?
Afraid of a discrimination lawsuit. Cho was Korean. Therefore protected status. VT was stuck with him if they wished to avoid a massive lawsuit. The legacy of liberalism and identity politics conducted through the legal system.
Trivia Note: Psych-Cho watched Old Boy obsessively the last two days according to suite mates. A violent South Korean movie about revenge. His pose with the hammer aped the star's pose.
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 06:51:00 PM:
Well, DEC, I'm not going to try and lump any cultures together, even if there may be some overlap between regional groups (such as Western culture).
In any case, among Korean Americans (a very specific group), there is a huge problem with stigmatizing mental illness that does not exist at the same scale in the general American culture. If you doubt me, then I encourage you to look at the Psychiatric study linked below, which focuses on trying to overcome the metal illness stigma that is so prevalent in Korean (and, as the article mentions,) Asian culture in general. In case you don't have access to the journal, I'll quote a relevant paragraph:
"Many Asian cultures, including Korean culture, do not have the same concrete definition of mental illness as the one used in mainstream American culture. For example, they do not distinguish psychological symptoms from physical ones and tend to regard both kinds of symptoms as signs of physiological disharmony and sickness (6). In addition, mental illness is associated with tremendous stigma. The concept of counseling or sharing one's problems outside the family is foreign to Koreans. As a result, many Korean Americans delay seeking help until a situation has reached a crisis state (7). The scarcity of bilingual services complicates access to care (8)."
From http://www.psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/53/9/1125
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Apr 20, 08:44:00 PM:
"Many Asian cultures, including Korean culture, do not have the same concrete definition of mental illness as the one used in mainstream American culture."
You will get no argument from me on that point, Anonymous. I just don't like to see the different cultures of Asia looked upon as a single unit. I also don't like to see isolated experiences turned into generalities.
Many people with extensive experience in Asia refer to Koreans as "the Irish of Asia." That's probably as good of a description as any if someone wants to stereotype people.
By , at
Fri Apr 20, 09:46:00 PM:
I really agree with that "Irish of Asia" comment, actually. I've been living in Seoul for the last 3 years. While I love this country a lot, I must admit that the drinking style and temper does seem quite Irish. The vibe here in South Korea is interesting. Many people are so worried that there will be a huge backlash against Koreans in the States, probably because that's what happens here in Korea if a foreigner commits a crime. I've even had to tell my students not to worry so much. "Americans usually just blame the crazy person, and not the race, guys." My students seemed quite surprised. In Korea, and there are numerous examples of this, if a foreigner (particularly an academy teacher or US GI) commits a crime, the media seems to jump on an anti-foreigner bandwagon. It's very strange to see played out on the tv. The concept of MinJok (or pure blood/nationalism) is quite strong here. Families and communities take a collective blame if someone messes up.
-DW
By Purple Avenger, at
Fri Apr 20, 10:19:00 PM:
Families and communities take a collective blame if someone messes up.
I'm thinking we could stand a bit more of that here. Not to the point that students are taking high dives off building if they get a "B" in some course, but the notion of shaming your family seems to have fallen by the wayside.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Sat Apr 21, 11:26:00 AM:
The Washington Post has a pretty good survey of Cho's early life, his parents' (as immigrants) and his sister at Princeton. I know you all usually get your news through (chuckle) Hannity or O'Reilley, but the Post's pretty thorough here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042002366.html?hpid=topnews
By Unknown, at
Thu Aug 21, 07:27:00 AM:
I also want to say that I feel sympathy with Cho Seung-Hui because I feel it naturally, because he was a person who suffered (I'm talking about his life), but also, and mostly, because anger, hatred, indifference, 'shock,' 'horror,' 'disbelief,' happiness, excitement, and any other 'state' I can think of would not do anything to prevent future situations (most of those I listed would probably cause more killing rampages) while sympathy, I think, is something that reduces pain and suffering, in the world, in any situation.
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oliviaharis
Vermont Drug Treatment
