AAJA Says To Avoid Racial Identifiers In Virginia Tech Coverage
(AP Photo/Casey Templeton)
Says the Association: "There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people. The effect of mentioning race can be powerfully harmful. It can subject people to unfair treatment based simply on skin color and heritage."
We now know the suspect was 23-year-old Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui, who yesterday was being identified only as a "young Asian male." In a press release, CBS News initially referred to him as Sueng-hui Cho. The discrepancy comes from the fact that Korean surnames are listed first, while in America they appear at the end of a name. CBS News is now referring to the suspect as Cho Seung-Hui, which follows the Korean tradition.
The AAJA has been irresistibly drawn to the limelight like a moth to a 60 watt bulb. They don't care how stupid they sound and look; their 15 minutes of fame is all that matters, which they must immediately seize before the window of opportunity slams shut.
It is his culture that bred this, not race. Where is Al Sharpton to clarify this??
Remember how Koreans were scapegoated during LA riots by blacks?
AAJA is doing everything they can to prevent even one incident of racial backlash which ironically usually comes from other minorities. I've already heard blacks talk about "go back home" and all that bigoted bs.
Why don't you put up an Asian Male mask and walk around remote part of Virginia and see how safe you feel you hypocrits.
There is a point to be made about the mis-association of facts. But it is not 'Asian' to 'killers'. Take the association of the term "Semi-automatic" to "evil device". Shootings are invariably done with Semi-automatic guns. So when they are mentioned, Semi autos take on an air of evil. Did you know the revolvers from the wild west are "Semi-automatic?" Ban Semi-automatic" guns and you are literally banning guns post 1860. People asking for bans on Semis do not know anything about guns. Would you like to defend yourself with a single shot musket? The powers that be have no interest in correcting this misunderstanding because this error will help our rulers ban Semi autos in the future.
If you were in that building being shot at, you would have been happy for me to come along with my semi automatic .38. And this Cho fellow would have gotten a slug put in him, not because he was Asian, Korean, young, or any of this nonsense. He would have been stopped because he needed stopped. And you would be happy the gun was post 1860.
As for being a hypocrite, can you explain how I am one? Is it my race, ***, etc? If so, how do you know it since I have not stated it anywhere. This sounds like nothing more than name calling to me. (Can't win with facts, call someone a name.)
Again, my main point is that journalism has a principle to give the public facts, not surpress facts.
"There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident"... so do not report it, is the logic here.
Does his age have anything to do with this? If he was old, offending other oldsters, compelling America to believe all oldsters are potential killers?
If he was young, offending youngsters, by compelling America to believe all youngsters are potential killers.
Stop showing his picture as well. His looks are irrelevant. His name has nothing to do with the incident. It is not Mohammad. So please stop reporting that. Insert short, Korean, Asian, black haired.
Thank you AAJA for reminding me that this incident is entirely irrelevant and has virtually nothing to do with my life. We can stop reporting anything about it now.
*Click*
The fact that the shooter was an Asian puts into perspective how people of Arab/Muslim background must have felt post-911. I fear that the sorrow and grief will give away to vengeance. What he did was inexcusable and unjustifiable. Taking so many lives that could not defend themselves was a cowardly act. No different from the suicide bombers of 9-11 and in Iraq/Afghanistan.
I wished that the killer were a white guy, liked Tim McVeigh. The public and media seem to be more tolerant of a Caucasian mass murderer than a non-white.
Japan and Germany are not the same countries that they once were in WWII. The former waged a brutal war in mainland China. The latter will always be remembered for the Holocaust. Both were severly punished for their actions. The first received the atom bomb. The second received harsh treatment from invading Soviet armies, many young German girls and women were raped by Soviet soldiers.
Japan and Germany today are not like the warlike nations they once were.
During WWII most American fighting men did not hate the Germans as a group. The perception being that Germany was led by a couple of rotten apples known as the Nazis leadership. However, the same view was not held towards the Japanese. The whole nation of Japan was regarded as vermin worthy of extermination.
A good example is the interment of Japanese-Americans. Many Japanese-Americans, aka Nisei fought in the U.S. Army in Europe with extradionary bravery and distinction.
Does the Tuskgee airmen sound familar? Afican-American fliers in their P-51 Mustangs never lost a B-17 or B-24 bomber under their watch from German fighters. Are all black men like the Tuskgee airmen cowardly sexual deviants?
Are all Arab Muslims living in America suicide bombers?
The negative fall back due to the ethnicity of the VT murders is that all Asians, particularly Koreans are prone to murderous tendencies.
you don't.
and i'm not wasting my time to provide "examples" on how racism has actually happened. use your own imagination.
"The "leaders" of the African American "Community" were jumping on the fact that the women of the Rutgers Basketball Team were "African American" and the perpetrator of the reprehensible crime was "White". He's not called "Caucasian American" and they black. He's "White" and they're "African Americans"."
The fact is that not everyone in the Rutgers team was African American. There were two Caucasians on the team as well, #21 HEATHER ZURICH and #12 KATIE ADAMS.
-
by asian866
April 20, 2007 6:12 AM PDT
- AAJA, as an Asian-American, I am somewhat ashamed of your reaction. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but the real tragedy here is that 32 innocent lives were stolen -not that the killer was identified as a South Korean student. Sure, the media could have been more PC by acknowledging the fact that Cho was a resident here since childhood and that makes him just as American as everyone else -BUT aren't you being a little too sensitive? You've been too quick to defend yourselves and now you just look silly. Your accusations are unfounded. You've assigned bad motives, when the truth is that the majority of non-Asians are intelligent enough to recognize that the race factor isn't really what's important in the big picture of this tragedy.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 21 Comments