I was thinking the same thing about "local eyeglass-wearers". I don't think I need to apologize for the VT killer, and I don't think there was anything particularly "Korean" about his actions. Yes, some Koreans (and other Asians) feel the stress of academic performance and social integration more than others, but that generalization is so weak, and is outflanked by so many other problems this guy had that have nothing to do with national origin, that only people like Michelle Malkin are likely to detect them. Heh.

What I did find kind of annoying and offensive was Cheryl Lee, local Korean-American busybody, suggesting that local Korean-Americans still feel "vulnerable" because of the 1992 LA riots. Gimme a break.

As an English major, I apologize as well.

As someone under 6ft. tall, who might have worn a tan shirt at some point in my life, I apologize for the VT dude.

Also, as a dark-haired individual I apologize.

Also, as someone that might have written a "manifesto" at some point, I apologize.

Also, as someone that was an angsty youth, grumpy and wearing sunglasses, I apologize.

That is all.

“Local Mass Murderers Apologetic, Fearful After Virginia Tech shooting: They have mixed feelings over need to apologize.”

"Local White Guys Apologetic, Fearful After a Couple Dozen School Shootings Involving White Guys"

As an angry misanthropic loner who creeps everyone out and doesn't talk much, I apologize.

I apologize to the Korean communities everywhere for feeling they need to apologize.

When I heard his background I wondered how long it would be before Immigration Reform joined Gun Control as the topic de jur.

I apologize for all those who feel the need to apologize for others.

As a white male who visited South Korea 10 years ago, I apologize. And as someone who owned a trench coat I apologize for Columbine.

I apologize for not making it clear in my original post that I think its retarded to expect people that share random traits with serial killers -- or senators or sex-advice columnists -- to apologize for the actions of serial killers, senators, etc.

But I do think that male violence against women is a huge problem, and I wish more straight men would step up -- more than already do -- and take responsibility for ending it. This shooting spree would seem to have more to do with male-on-female violence than it has to do with Korea. That's all I'm saying.

Thank you and good night.

Monkey, you don't read the right right-wing kook blogs. Something unusually nasty called "Debbie Schlussel" was using this as an example of why we need to get these dang furriners out of our schools just minutes after the shooting, when she was still convinced he musta been a "paki".
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/who_is_the_asia.html

Great. Thanks, American media, for putting a bullseye on my back, by focusing on the fact that the shooter was an "ASIAN LONER".

Why not just go ahead and say, "ALL LONERS ARE KILLERS WAITING TO HAPPEN. BE AFRAID OF THEM."?

Personally, I understood just fine what you meant, Dan.

"This shooting spree would seem to have more to do with male-on-female violence than it has to do with Korea. "

Maybe, but I'm not convinced it's necessarily the key issue here anyway. A lot of men show an inability to deal with the opposite sex, and that's clearly a serious problem, but the vast, vast majority of them don't proceed to shoot up an entire classroom. I think that the stalking was just one particular manifestation of this guy's more general problems.

An American of Korean descent commented to me yesterday, unsolicited as I certainly was not discussing VTech, that he was saddened and disturbed that the killer was Korean. I pointed out that the killer had lived in America since 1992 and had lived most of his life in America. That seemed to perk up the spirits of this person.

I found both reactions - odd.

Before we knew who the killer was I kept praying ("Please don't be Muslim. Please don't be Muslim), and I'm not even Muslim or of middle-Eastern decent.

As a fellow human, I apologize.

Right on, BD. The dude was an American, and fit the profile of Americans who shoot up places. Remember the shooting rampage in LA several years ago? The guy was Romanian—I don’t think even a US citizen— but that almost never got mentioned.

All I've thought about the Asian aspect is "hrm... That's the first I've heard of an Asian guy going on a shooting spree." But don't they sometimes have shooting sprees in Asia?

But, yes, very sad that the Korean community feels the need to apologize and be frightened of 'retaliation.'

PS, and sorry to change the subject completely, but what's wrong with the girl's boobs in the phone sex ad on this page?

Dan, how do you know this guy was a hetero?

Creepy losers need friends and pussy. Go out there and hump/make homies with your local misanthropic loner today. The life you save may be your own!

As a former lonely and isolated English major at a Virginia university with class issues about my peers, I apologize.

@20, the guy stalked a couple of female students (reported today). sure, that might not definitively prove anything, but The Gays don't typically stalk women as far as I know.

As a nihilist, I won't apologize, because it doesn't matter. :P

Loners are always dissed. Most of us are perfectly normal people. It is always the first thing brought up in tragedies. Wasnt Ted Bundy a friendly outgoing dude?

@23: Heteros don't typically stalk women either.

DOUG. - Oops, agreed, I phrased that poorly.

So how come nobody is apologizing on behalf of all the stalkers?

Just sayin'.

The Korean community should have not apologized. However, they are correctly identifying the White American public's historic propensity to be like, racist and stuff, and react violently or irrationally against other innocent people of color, whenever a person of color commits crimes or heinous acts against white persons (eg, Pearl Harbor and 9/11). If you don't beleive there has been racist backlash from V tech incident, you are not reading the right internet sites.

as an english major, former creative writing student and hetero, let me apologize and note that savage is on occasion a moron. with this post, he has revealed himself to be a complete moron. in the future, he will apologize for the behavior of complete morons everywhere.

Dan, more than half of those killed were men, so categorizing this as "male on female violence" seems a little strange.

Some stats for you:
- In 2005, 60 percent of violent crime victims were male (similar to previous years).

- In 2004, 78% of murder victims were male (similar to previous years).

If you think violence against women is a huge problem, then violence against men is an even bigger issue.

But, personally, I don't understand why people choose to focus on one category of victim over others.

right on, sean @31. injustice and wrongdoing aren't about one particular "martyred class" or another, they're part of the human condition in general, and we should never lose sight of that when attempting to address them.

@31,

I take it you know who's responsible for violence against men?

It disturbs me that men get so defensive when they are simply asked to "step up... and take responsibility for ending [male violence against women]." Why call Dan a moron or site stats about violence against men when he is simply asking straight men to pay more attention to a very specific problem - male violence against women. Clearly, many men were killed at VTech, but the killer's motivation may have been linked to his issues surrounding women. And yes violence against men is a very serious problem, but the vast majority of the perpetrators of violence against men ARE MEN. Certainly men can be victims of a crime such as rape, but the vast majority of their rapists are other MEN (See www.aest.org.uk/survivors/male/myths_about_male_rape.htm for more info). Feminist groups have long battled male-violence against women, but in order to combat male violence AS A WHOLE men need to be a part of the battle and face up to the culture of violence against women. It makes me depressed when men would rather get defensive about male violence than get proactive. And DON'T come back with "Women engourage men to act macho/violent etc." I know what my role is in changing cultural attitudes and perceptions about gender, I'm talking about the action that men should take.

I'm with seattle98104 on this one - as a human, I apologize to the rest of existence for everything. All of it.

Along the lines of violence against women, I learned of this organization just a couple days ago, which doesn't exist in Seattle yet, but should: http://www.impactpersonalsafety.com/

no where in the orig. post was it suggested that this was male on female violence... dan was just saying that for koreans to feel (or be made to feel) any sort of responsibility for the actions of this one man is ludicrous. You might as well pick any arbitrary category that the guy fit into, like hetero men (or tan sweater-wearing myopics), and insert it in that headline and it would be just as dumb.

perhaps just as interesting, sean, would be the percentages of those same crimes committed by men as opposed to those committed by women...

but more on point, dan seemed to be suggesting that this guy exhibited poor behavior in his "interactions" with women in the past, and that might be insight into why he eventually did what he did.

"It makes me depressed when men would rather get defensive about male violence than get proactive."

What we object to - OK, what I object to, anyway - is the flat declaration that the central issue here is domestic violence and misogyny. It does not appear that this guy's only motivation was to "get back at women", although it may have played a part - and it simply doesn't make sense, in my mind, to lump this in the same basket with wife-beating and crazed guys who murder their ex-girlfriends. Not yet, anyway.

No question about it, men as a category are more violent than women. This doesn't make it any less tragic when the victim is also male.

I agree that men should step up to end violence. But the focus on female victims implies that women's lives are more valuable than men's. That style of thinking, which has become reflexive in certain feminist circles, is problematic in my opinion and needs to be called out. It's the same reflex that denies justice to so many black crime victims.

BTW - I don't mean to pick on Dan, here, who I consider to be as fair minded as anyone, no snark, no sarcasm.

As a woman and a feminist I apologize for "certain feminist circles" that would suggest that women's lives are worth more than men's...

why are we all apologizing for the actions of one man. whom we have no ties to other than our ethnicity. i'm sure we all empathize with the VT shooting; however, nobody except seung needs to take responsibility for what happened. (yea, you so called "english/journalism majors.. if you knew ANYTHING about the korean culture, you'd know that cho is indeed his LAST NAME. thanks morons.) yes, we can claim it's in our social contract to be in sorrow; yet, by apologizing for a situation that we have no relation to.. gives "them" another reason to blame "us". the real fear is the uncertainty. but i'm certain it wasn't in the name of all south korean people. or stalkers or heterosexuals or losers or you, you, or you. so please stop apologizing for something you did not instigate nor have a hand in doing. it gives people another reason to generalize the ambiguous us as a whole.

why are we all apologizing for the actions of one man. whom we have no ties to other than our ethnicity. i'm sure we all empathize with the VT shooting; however, nobody except seung needs to take responsibility for what happened. (yea, you so called "english/journalism majors.. if you knew ANYTHING about the korean culture, you'd know that cho is indeed his LAST NAME. thanks morons.) yes, we can claim it's in our social contract to be in sorrow; yet, by apologizing for a situation that we have no relation to.. gives "them" another reason to blame "us". the real fear is the uncertainty. but i'm certain it wasn't in the name of all south korean people. or stalkers or heterosexuals or losers or you, you, or you. so please stop apologizing for something you did not instigate nor have a hand in doing. it gives people another reason to generalize the ambiguous us as a whole.