Who's the Korean Tipper Gore?
The fact that Cho Seung Hui was not a white suburbanite or an angry Muslim has mercifully cut down on the psychobabble and generalizations that usually follow these tragedies (not counting the rumor-mongering by the odious Debbie Schlussel). Since no one can blame filthy Hollywood movies for the massacre, Steve Sailer picks up the baton and bashes Korean movies:
South Korean movies and music (e.g., hip hop by returning Korean American rappers with street cred in Asia because they grew up on the mean streets of San Marino or wherever) are super cool now in Japan. The trendier Korean movies are, I hear, awfully violent. I made it through about ten minutes before fleeing of the popular South Korean film "Oldboy," which makes Quentin Tarantino's movies look like Erich Rohmer's. It's part of a series with "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," which I managed to avoid completely. (Not all South Korean films are quite so carnage-filled.) I have no idea if the shooter was a fan of pop culture developments in the country he left when he was about ten, but it's a possibility.
At the WashTimes, Eric Pfeiffer runs down the top four massacres of all time and notes that none were committed by those rotten, Grindhouse-watching*, Grand Theft Auto-playing American citizens.
- South Korea, 1982. Woo Bum-Kon killed 57 and then himself, using grenades and a high powered rifle
- Australia, 1996, Port Arthur massacre. Martin Bryant, using two semi-automatic weapons, a CAR-15 and an L1A1 SLR, killed 35
- United States, 2007. Virginia Tech student Cho Seung-hui, a South Korean, killed at least 33, including himself
- Japan 1938, Tsuyama massacre. Mutsuo Toi, using an old Japanese rifle and swords, killed 29 and then himself.
None of this is meant to minimize the massacre or the evil of Cho Seung Hui. Thankfully, the culture marms who'd be doing that right now have been caught flat-footed. (Caveat: I'm waiting for Dr. Phil's researchers to reveal what video games Mutsuo Toi used to play.)
*well, not really
