The Washington Post Plays Race Card with Cho Seung Hui
This afternoon, the Washington Post Virginia Tech Shootings blog reported this:
Washington Post Staff Writer David Cho reports that [here is the updated link] several Korean youths who knew Cho Seung Hui from his high school days said he was a fan of violent video games, particularly Counterstrike, a hugely popular online game published by Microsoft, in which players join terrorism or counterterrorism groups and try to shoot each other using all types of guns.
First, why is the ethnicity of the youths relevant? Does it add anything to our understanding of their observation? (On Monday, the Asian American Journalists Association anticipated such actions and advised “all media to avoid using racial identifiers unless there is a compelling or germane reason.”)
Second, how should we understand the reference to his affection for “violent video games?” Isn’t that a trait shared by millions of his contemporaries? Did Hui listen to rap and eat pizza, too?
2 comments April 18, 2007
