Thursday, April 19, 2007

Needless Backlash Against Koreans

I've tutored a number of Korean students from Centreville, Virginia. The Korean students (most of them immigrants) I've encountered have stretched the wide range of human characteristics. Some have been smart, some engaging, some warm, some funny. And there have been students who are deceitful, stupid, or monotonous. In short, they are human beings. They also are not responsible for the Virginia Tech shooter's actions.

I tutored a student in nearby Haymarket, Virginia yesterday. He came to America from Korea a little over a year ago. He told me that he and his friends have been blamed for the shooting by some of his high school peers. One of his friends had chicken thrown at him. My student heard that something had been thrown at a Korean church in Annandale. This friendly and enthusiastic kid felt sadness because of the incident, but was angry that he was being blamed for this tragedy. In over a year of tutoring him, it was the first time I had ever seen him angry. Speaking of the shooter, my student said, "It wasn't because he's Korean. He could have been white, black, Spanish, anything."

It's ok to be angry. I'm angry too. But be angry at the killer, not others who were uninvolved. There is no logic in being mad at Koreans in general just because they happen to share the same nationality as a murderer. Regardless of you are, so do you (but if you're going to hurt Koreans over this, you're probably white. I'm just guessing).

No comments: