Excited
Our internal e-mail lists have us discussing all kinds of stuff: Asian American identity, representation in the media, the experiences of activism in an academia setting and its progression as we transition to the working, adult world. And sometimes, we talk about about psycho Asians gunning people down.
Jeff: Shooting at a Korean religious retreat in southern california. Yet another Asian-american shooter – what’s happening?
John: What do you mean? Of course, there is the Virginia Tech guy, but who else?
Jeff: There was the guy in Santa Clara who shot his family, relatives, and himself just this week. The guy who last year killed a company president, HR VP, and another VP after he got fired just went on trial. A few years ago there was another guy who killed 6 hunters and shot 2 others.
Tim: There’s a good article in the Mercury news about why people snap. I considered taking the Merc article and writing something about Asians going psycho, but I just haven’t had the time.
Moye: To answer Jeff’s question, I don’t think anything is really happening in terms of Asian males going psycho and gunning people down. Is it bad to think that these things are pretty common and we just notice them more if they happen to affect the Asian American community?
Ernie: I want to say that [is the case]. But I do think “public face” has a lot to do with it; the pressure to conform and match status quo with all the other Asians out there, as well as the stigma of mental illness and therapy and “talking it out.” I would be a prime candidate for “talking it out” with all the stuff I’ve gone through and even I can’t bear to go, while people half my problems go to bi-weekly sessions; that’s definitely a cultural thing for me.
Efren: Well, there are a lot of things that are going on, especially concerning Asian Ams and mental illness; and how we’re extremely unlikely to seek mental health care b/c it’s either inappropriate culturally and there is such a huge stigma against saying one has mental health issues in Asian communities. Many Asians actually end up having physical symptoms that start from mental health issues, and that’s often the only signal for them to go in and seek care for both the mental and physical health issues.
I think for men it’s compounded even more since they’re supposed to be stoic and emotional in order to prove their masculinity, while it may be slightly easier for women (though Iris Chang unfortunately proved that isn’t the case at all). …
Moye: I definitely agree when you put it that way: I always wonder why my non-Asian friends love going to therapy so much and I can’t even imagine bringing the option up to my parents (for me…but honestly, I don’t think I need it). There are definitely socio-economic factors that are putting a lot of stress on people right now, and this is sadly the only option that some Asian males are finding. Though I don’t believe this is going to be a turning point in the perception of Asian males and that they are all dangerous with violent/suicidal tendencies.
Efren: … I found it telling that people talked about how he was made fun of by other Vietnamese by not being “Vietnamese enough” since he wasn’t able to understand everything that other Vietnamese said. I also know that Chinese Vietnamese tend to either play down the fact that they’re Vietnamese or play up that they’re Chinese, at least in the Bay Area, since they seem to get shit if they claim to be both. I also found it curious that they brought up things in his particular story that weren’t brought up in the other Asian male shooters, like his attempted bank robbery, addiction to crack cocaine, etc.
Bo: … Many of the people who have come forward have mentioned the obvious “warning signs” present. One has to wonder, if there was a broader social safety net and less of a perception that Asian-Americans don’t want, need, or require intervention, could someone have gotten him the help he needed. If the letter that has been attributed to him is authentic, the guy was seriously mentally ill. Possibly border line schizophrenic. We know that the VT-Tech shooter had been battling depression and had been in therapy in the past but hadn’t gotten any help for some time prior to his rampage.
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I don't really see how you can hope to gain insight into a crime of this sort without mentioning America's gun culture. It's common practice to place blame at "dysfunctional" Asian cultures, but billions of Asians "lose face" every day and don't go out and commit mass murder. Similarly, I would argue that Asia's culture of shaming might be a factor in preventing crime amongst Asians. At the same time, just about anybody can walk into a gun or pawn shop, and within a few days possess a firearm. You can even buy shotguns at Walmart. So, which cultural phenomenon is more likely to lead to gun crime u00e2u0080u0093 Asiatic shame culture that keeps people in line or a gung-ho, machismo, gun culture that glamourizes gangsterism and the notion of liberty through the right to bear and use firearms? Iu00e2u0080u0099d say the latter.
With regards to mental health treatment, it's easy to lose site of the fact that the culture of weekly therapy sessions is not as prevalent amongst the poor or those working (Voong seemed not to be financially secure) and middle class families who struggle to make ends meet, no matter what their ethnicity. The budget doesnu00e2u0080u0099t allow for it, even for those that can (barely) afford insurance. Plus, when you consider the cost of missing one, or two mornings of work, childcare arrangements ( if both parents work, indeed if there are both parents), and transport requirements (many of the poor donu00e2u0080u0099t possess cars) itu00e2u0080u0099s easy to see that therapy is not as accessible as we imagine, even if the will to utilize it was there.
Basically, the dysfunction of Asian families as a causative factor is so overplayed that it really is an obstacle in understanding the reasons why any individual would commit this kind of crime.
I don't really see how you can hope to gain insight into a crime of this sort without mentioning America's gun culture. It's common practice to place blame at "dysfunctional" Asian cultures, but billions of Asians "lose face" every day and don't go out and commit mass murder. Similarly, I would argue that Asia's culture of shaming might be a factor in preventing crime amongst Asians. At the same time, just about anybody can walk into a gun or pawn shop, and within a few days possess a firearm. You can even buy shotguns at Walmart. So, which cultural phenomenon is more likely to lead to gun crime u00e2u0080u0093 Asiatic shame culture that keeps people in line or a gung-ho, machismo, gun culture that glamourizes gangsterism and the notion of liberty through the right to bear and use firearms? Iu00e2u0080u0099d say the latter.
With regards to mental health treatment, it's easy to lose site of the fact that the culture of weekly therapy sessions is not as prevalent amongst the poor or those working (Voong seemed not to be financially secure) and middle class families who struggle to make ends meet, no matter what their ethnicity. The budget doesnu00e2u0080u0099t allow for it, even for those that can (barely) afford insurance. Plus, when you consider the cost of missing one, or two mornings of work, childcare arrangements ( if both parents work, indeed if there are both parents), and transport requirements (many of the poor donu00e2u0080u0099t possess cars) itu00e2u0080u0099s easy to see that therapy is not as accessible as we imagine, even if the will to utilize it was there.
Basically, the dysfunction of Asian families as a causative factor is so overplayed that it really is an obstacle in understanding the reasons why any individual would commit this kind of crime.
lol at your previous posts criticizing blanket statements about Asians because of the existence of an "Asian-American diaspora", yet doing the same thing with this post. Cute argument, but quite hypocritical...
lol at your previous posts criticizing blanket statements about Asians because of the existence of an "Asian-American diaspora", yet doing the same thing with this post. Cute argument, but quite hypocritical...
First, I think that whenever this topic pops out in any conversation, often we probably have to say the same sentiments that this is a tragedy, sympathies for the victimes regardless of background and a murderer is a criminal regardless of background. Also, particular offenses do not represent an entire community.
You all can ask the experts who study crime but many have mentioned in the media and classrooms that crime has gone done throughout the years.
There really isn't a "spike" in violent crimes per se and Asian Americans as a group (per capita I think) still have one of the lowest crime offenses in general. It could be that the media is just reporting more and the people involved happen to be Asian Americans. I remember the president of Virginia Tech had to make a public letter saying that ever since they recieve many questionable comments.
With that being said, I totally agree with the fact that there is a lot of work that needs to be address with Asian Americans and mental health. It's such a diverse topic because many issues aren't necessarily particular to the Asian Americans. While some may be about minority experiences...immigrantion issues for others, some is universal such as marriage problems, career problems, etc. Maybe it's a stereotype some of you all have but actually there's quite a lot of non-Asian individuals who dislike therapy. While we may be the cultural "face" issue to deal with, sometimes it's also personal or just personal and face is an excuse to use. It really depends.
First, I think that whenever this topic pops out in any conversation, often we probably have to say the same sentiments that this is a tragedy, sympathies for the victimes regardless of background and a murderer is a criminal regardless of background. Also, particular offenses do not represent an entire community.
You all can ask the experts who study crime but many have mentioned in the media and classrooms that crime has gone done throughout the years.
There really isn't a "spike" in violent crimes per se and Asian Americans as a group (per capita I think) still have one of the lowest crime offenses in general. It could be that the media is just reporting more and the people involved happen to be Asian Americans. I remember the president of Virginia Tech had to make a public letter saying that ever since they recieve many questionable comments.
With that being said, I totally agree with the fact that there is a lot of work that needs to be address with Asian Americans and mental health. It's such a diverse topic because many issues aren't necessarily particular to the Asian Americans. While some may be about minority experiences...immigrantion issues for others, some is universal such as marriage problems, career problems, etc. Maybe it's a stereotype some of you all have but actually there's quite a lot of non-Asian individuals who dislike therapy. While we may be the cultural "face" issue to deal with, sometimes it's also personal or just personal and face is an excuse to use. It really depends.
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