Virginia Tech Shooting (and that other thing), Two Years Later

First, in the news:

"Relatives run in memory of 2007 Va. Tech victims"
The Associated Press (April 16, 2009)

"Relatives of victims and some of those injured are among about 4,000 runners and walkers marking the second anniversary of a student gunman's rampage at Virginia Tech.

"The 3.2 mile race is in memory of the 32 people killed by Seung-Hui Cho (sung wee joh) before he took his own life...."

Two years ago today, someone killed over two dozen people at Virginia Tech - a sad, sad, situation.

Earlier this year, another murder happened at Virginia Tech: this time a simple decapitation.

Again, a sad, sad situation.

In both cases, the killer was from east Asia. Local authorities and the news made very little of that fact: and rightly so.

Just the same, I think it's significant that two high-profile murders took place on an American campus - both committed by people from east Asia - and there isn't a big fuss being raised.

I think it's because America isn't, really, the big bad racist oppressor it's assumed to be in some circles.

I wrote about that odd idea, back in January:

"America, Racism, and What Didn't Happen at Virginia Tech "
Another War-on-Terror Blog (January 22, 2009)

As I wrote then, "America isn't perfect," but it's not all that bad, either.

Me? I'm waiting for the first Asian-American president. Or, better yet, the first Lakota president: or Cree, or Pueblo, or any of the American Indian tribes. Now that would be an historical event!