random blatherings again
The dude from the VA Tech shooting sounds disturbingly like Napoleon Dynamite.
I am a bit shocked that NBC released his self taped footage and manifesto so quickly to the public. It seems a bit early when the even only just occurred on Monday. The motive is clear and boring at the same time: this was a disturbed and stricken man angry at the world, nothing short of typical teenage angst. However, I still maintain that although the grief the families who lost their loved ones is overwhelming, the notion of "Asian Shame" could very well be more overbearing for Cho's parents. Remember, they're the ones who gave birth to this murderer. They're the one's who will have to live in terror of those 32 families, authorities and general mass of angry citizens who will want to take everything out on them. In addition, they will have to live with the shame of their own mother country. It wouldn't surprise me if they were on suicide watch. Korea is acting as if they as a country committed this act and it frustrates me. It gives fodder to those racists out there who are more willing to point the finger to some chink or dark skinned dude or emo-goth trench coat mafia kid who listens to Marilyn Manson...My friend Shawn told me some of his Korean friends are wary of going outside. They all live in Kansas which can be a bit more close minded than Austin, but still, it's unfair. That boy was an American with American flaws. He came here legally when he was a just a kid and I too am tired of hearing "Cho Seung-hui from South Korea..."
***
In totally unrelated news, I've been having nightmares about my father lately. It's made me kind of cranky because I haven't been able to sleep well. These usually involve nurses or med techs injecting him with "happy medicine" and him trying to communicate with me that he's feeling a lot of pain but they want to shut him up. In another one, my dad was trapped in an MRI, but somehow I was inside too and could feel his claustrophobia as well.
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We've held off on the kitten search. I guess I like having Hippo almost all to myself these days. It's like the hubby and I each have our own exclusive cat.
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I've been getting frustrated with the details of recording equipment lately. I sort of have this arrogant streak about me when it comes to "figuring stuff out." This applies mainly to arts and crafts, learning instruments, cooking, home improvement, people and technical gadgets (excluding cars). Intuition usually gets me 90% there. The rest is trial and error. If there's a how-to book or manual the whole process is expedited. Of course it's easier if you know someone...but I hate asking for help sometimes.
In the case of just trying to get my keyboard to send MIDI to my computer, I've been pulling my hair out. Granted I've only spent a couple of hours on this, but I'm annoyed intuition didn't win this time around. I lost my Yamaha PSR manual ages ago so I haven't been able to figure *quite* what order I need to type in things so that it sends the recorded files to Garage Band. I know, I know, the manual could probably be found online, but once again, my hardheadedness is enticing me to do things the hard way. *sigh* I'm not any better than an average guy in this case.
I am a bit shocked that NBC released his self taped footage and manifesto so quickly to the public. It seems a bit early when the even only just occurred on Monday. The motive is clear and boring at the same time: this was a disturbed and stricken man angry at the world, nothing short of typical teenage angst. However, I still maintain that although the grief the families who lost their loved ones is overwhelming, the notion of "Asian Shame" could very well be more overbearing for Cho's parents. Remember, they're the ones who gave birth to this murderer. They're the one's who will have to live in terror of those 32 families, authorities and general mass of angry citizens who will want to take everything out on them. In addition, they will have to live with the shame of their own mother country. It wouldn't surprise me if they were on suicide watch. Korea is acting as if they as a country committed this act and it frustrates me. It gives fodder to those racists out there who are more willing to point the finger to some chink or dark skinned dude or emo-goth trench coat mafia kid who listens to Marilyn Manson...My friend Shawn told me some of his Korean friends are wary of going outside. They all live in Kansas which can be a bit more close minded than Austin, but still, it's unfair. That boy was an American with American flaws. He came here legally when he was a just a kid and I too am tired of hearing "Cho Seung-hui from South Korea..."
***
In totally unrelated news, I've been having nightmares about my father lately. It's made me kind of cranky because I haven't been able to sleep well. These usually involve nurses or med techs injecting him with "happy medicine" and him trying to communicate with me that he's feeling a lot of pain but they want to shut him up. In another one, my dad was trapped in an MRI, but somehow I was inside too and could feel his claustrophobia as well.
***
We've held off on the kitten search. I guess I like having Hippo almost all to myself these days. It's like the hubby and I each have our own exclusive cat.
***
I've been getting frustrated with the details of recording equipment lately. I sort of have this arrogant streak about me when it comes to "figuring stuff out." This applies mainly to arts and crafts, learning instruments, cooking, home improvement, people and technical gadgets (excluding cars). Intuition usually gets me 90% there. The rest is trial and error. If there's a how-to book or manual the whole process is expedited. Of course it's easier if you know someone...but I hate asking for help sometimes.
In the case of just trying to get my keyboard to send MIDI to my computer, I've been pulling my hair out. Granted I've only spent a couple of hours on this, but I'm annoyed intuition didn't win this time around. I lost my Yamaha PSR manual ages ago so I haven't been able to figure *quite* what order I need to type in things so that it sends the recorded files to Garage Band. I know, I know, the manual could probably be found online, but once again, my hardheadedness is enticing me to do things the hard way. *sigh* I'm not any better than an average guy in this case.
posted by cchang at 10:37 AM
4 Comments:
Well, you know, they have to specify he's from S.Korea 'cause American Boys and Girls area all very well adjusted and intelligent and flawless. At least, if we say otherwise it might mean admitting we're pretty fucked up, too. And that just CAN'T be true!!
I think more than all the rest of it, it makes me absolutely sick that folks who self-identify as Korean (by whatever connection that is, birthplace or blood or whatever) would have to hide from backlash. And that people who might be not-self-identified Korean, but might be taken for it, might worry, too - anyone looking vaguely Asian because folks can't see the difference, whatever... I mean, holy hell people, it's not like any race or nationality holds the reins on crazy. There's enough bugfuck folk of every race, creed, etc to go around. No one gets the right to throw stones here, and if you insist on living in paranoia, go ahead and shut your doors and seal yourself in your house with your duct tape and clingfilm and suffocate yourselves out of the mainstream, kthx. Enough with the "evil flavor of the week" depending on who did whatever got them on CNN this week. Seriously.
Yes, the Korean community does seem to feel guilty about the V-Tech shootings. The KSA had plans on giving a "Korean Festival" at the end of this semester and they have decided to postpone it because of the V-Tech shootings. I was really dissapointed in them for doing that. I told my friend - who happens to be president of KSA - that if anything, the Korean students need to have the festival even more now. But he told me that they were worried about the 1% of ignorant people who some of them have heard say "Go back to Korea. Don't go shooting up the place." He also believes that the best thing would be to "move on" and go ahead with the festival, but his opinion was very much in the minority on this issue.
I was also very surprised that NBC would show those videos. Do they have no sense of taste? Is "breaking news" so important? Why did it take years for the Unabomber to get his "manifesto" published? Did they not understand the public reaction to the OJ "IF I did it" nonsense?
That makes me sad that the Korean students association is going to postpone their festivites. At the same time though, I can understand their nervousness. It only takes one psycho to do a lot of damage and I know someone out there has the whole eye-for-an-eye tooth-for-a-tooth mentality.
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