I have become aware through personal experience that there is shame in mental illness in Korean culture. Immigrant parents are often are in denial about the seriousness of mental illness of family members. In conversations with professionals I have learned that when mental illness issues come up in Korean families, family members tend to try to place blame as opposed to solving the problem. What this means is that even if some of the shooters teachers saw problems and tried to help him, he very well might have been told by members of his family that “there is nothing wrong with you, you are working too hard, you should pray more, something is wrong with the school etc…” As one psychologist told me “the family becomes enemy of the treatment.’

Psychotic mental illness doesn’t just pop up because a kid is having a bad time at school. It is cased by a chemical imbalance in the brain( like bipolar) or trauma during childhood , almost always before the age of 13. Yet I have hear from school professionals that initial reaction when talking to Asian immigrant parents of mentally ill young adults is either denial or to blame a girlfriend, job, school, or spouse. I talked with psychologist who said the parents blamed him. That their kid was fine until the psychologist convinced him he was crazy.

Teachers and fellow students felt the killer had problems and recommended treatment. WHAT ABOUT THE FAMILY!! Why weren’t they aware of his problems and trying to get him help. I think this denial of mental illness within the culture may be to blame .

I agree.

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BRAVO! I wholeheartedly agree.

I read a news article (link forgotten) that stated that others *did* reach out to him, but he rejected them. According to one article, his sister even asked a friend to check up on him, and he rebuffed the friend’s attempts at friendship.

He had a debilitating mental illness, and it did not manifest itself in overt acts of threatening behavior. This is why he slipped through the cracks. He was quiet and secretive, and no one could have imagined that he would commit such an act, not even his family. He wrote weird, twisted, and badly written plays, and he was socially awkward, but there were people in my high school and college who were more menacing than what was reported about Mr. Cho. And these people went on to live healthy lives.

People, let it go. Please. 99.999% of weird loners with odds thoughts don’t go on rampages. Seung Cho was a statistical outlier whose actions had devastating consequences, but a statistical outlier nevertheless. The APA community shouldn’t treat this incident as anything more.

Since when did the community do anything wrong? If I’m not mistaken, there is help available, you just have to a) swallow your pride and b) ask for it. The unfortunate part is, if someone may have actually suggested to him that he seek some help, I have about a 95% gut feeling he wouldn’t have gone anyways.

I think people are forgetting that the more central theme to all of this, isn’t really his own mental condition, but the mental condition of every sniper, Colombine shooter and Montreal executioner – why they feel such rage to take so many lives before their own.

WE disassociate from him because he acted in a way that the asian or korean communities do not condone. We do not support murder, so we do not want him to be visualized by race-sensitive america as our legacy.

Are we responsible for what he did? Not a chance. Unless free will doesn’t exist anymore, he had a choice. Shoot 32 students then off himself or figure out a better alternative. He chose a permanent solution for a temporary problem. He’s a fool and a coward.

Rather than a “white washing”, the reaction of Koreans and Korean-Americans has been all too disappointingly rooted in Confusionism. Somehow the collective Korean community feels this responsibiity for the actions of Cho and thus feel compelled to apologize for him. There is absolutely nothing to apologize for. Cho’s actions are as much a reflection of the Korean community as Ted Bundy’s actions were a reflection of the white community. If you’re trying to blame anyone, I’d blame the overall American culture and its overwhelming blood lust. Without Columbine and any other countless school shootings (and the subsequent media attention given to these events) I doubt Cho would have had the wherewithall to even dream up such a planned act of violence.

As a first generation KA I have no sympathy for Cho, nor do I take any responsibility for his actions. I refuse to apologize for the actions of a monster, nor do I feel any shame. Mindless solidarity to an individual, concept, country is what leads to group think, mass genocide, and overall loss of common sense.