Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Male Journalists Urge Media Not to Mention Sex of Virginia Killer

That's only slightly more ridiculous than this press release from the "Asian American Journalists Association" urging the media to not reveal the ethnicity of the Virginia Tech shooter:

Asian-American Journos Urge Media Not to Mention Race of Virginia Killer
By E&P Staff
Published: April 17, 2007 2:50 PM ET

NEW YORK The Asian American Journalists Association has issued a statement calling on the media to avoid references to the race of Cho Seung-Hui, the student who killed 33 people at the Virginia Tech campus yesterday.

"There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people," the journalists' group said in a statement. "The effect of mentioning race can be powerfully harmful. It can subject people to unfair treatment based simply on skin color and heritage."

Additionally, the group's statement said that it wished to remind the media that "the standards of news reporting should be universal and applied equally no matter the platform or medium, including blogs."

Cho was a 23-year-old South Korean immigrant who had been in the U.S. for 15 years. Early reports of the horrific massacre on Monday mentioned sources who incorrectly said the shooter was a Chinese national who had come in on a visa last year.


"avoid references to the race of Cho Seung-Hui, "
Do they see the stupidity of their own statement? Do they, for a moment think people are going to mistake someone named Seung-Hui for Hispanic or White? How many Black Seung-Hui's do you know? and if Seung-Hui turned out by some fluke, to be a white male, what do you want to bet that the "AAJA" would be lobbying to have the race known of the murderer so people wouldn't assume he was oriental - oopps, sorry, "Asian" (even ultra-pc Canadians are baffled of how this word came to be 'offensive').

Two funny points here, number one, we have a group of journalist who identify themselves by ethnicity yet don't want the rest of society to identify the murderer as such (why is he called a 'gunman' would someone wielding a knife and killing people be called a 'knifeman").

Secondly their first reaction is not revulsion but to circle the wagons. It rather neatly illustrated the conclusion that Prof. Putnam did want to come to - diversity causes mistrust. It might even exacerbate the pathologies the gunm- murderer - displayed. Its well known that, for example the Soviet secret police was made up of people from the fringes of mainstream society - because they were less likely to be squemish about murdering people. After all, all things being equal, its probably easier to kill a innocent stranger than your innocent neighbor (unless of course you really hate your neighbor)

My guess is many, many of 'asians' don't feel this way - but its amazing how its that % of asians, whites, blacks, whatever ,that always seems to get the attention of the media or control of key institutions that create a perception of consensus.

Fortunately not all 'asians' agree: michelle malkin writes:

Asian American Journalists Association:
Don't call shooter Asian!
By Michelle Malkin · April 17, 2007 01:26 PM
An important media advisory from the AAJA: Only they can use ethnic descriptors. Everyone else: Back off!
Too.
Ridiculous.
Reader Doug in Colorado writes:
Unbelievable. If there were any consistency, they would be lauding the fact that he made great strides in bringing greater diversity to the ranks of mass murderers, a segment in which the Asian-American community has been historically under-represented.


further she has a brilliant column today :
Missing At Virginia Tech: A Culture of Self-Defense

By Michelle Malkin

There's no polite way or time to say it: American colleges and universities have become coddle industries. Big Nanny administrators oversee speech codes, segregated dorms, politically correct academic departments and designated "safe spaces" to protect students selectively from hurtful (conservative) opinions—while allowing mob rule for approved leftist positions (textbook case: Columbia University's anti-Minuteman Project protesters).
Amen Mrs. Malkin

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