Anything racist was the very last thing on my mind. Nor was I overtly meaning to be insulting in anyway. I was merely speaking my mind. Is that still possible nowadays without my character getting attacked?

However, I will stand by my assertion that most non-asians in the states are largely ignorant of Korea and the various nomers of Koreans in America (Korean American, Korean resident alien, 1.5 generation, etc.). Quite frankly, I don’t really care. Given that Koreans in America make up only a fraction of 1% of the U.S. population, that’s actually understandable. My comments regarding the average American’s ignorance of the difference between Koreans in America were strickly related to Hong’s article. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a state of being, rather then a value judgement.

So, it’s ridiculous to consider backlash. The only people backlashing will be dumbfucks who don’t know better.

However, when it comes to apologizing for the sins of one’s countrymen, I find myself doing it all the time.

I constantly apologize to Koreans for the idiots running America, namely the shrub and the dick and all their assorted ilk.

“They aren’t Americans,” I tell them. “They are something totally evil. Something else.”

I have only met Adrian a couple of times and have exchanged emails with him a few more, but that is enough to convince me that he is smart, passionate and (most importantly) driven enough to go far.

Plus he has really nice hair.

“As an expat in Korea, you can certainly differentiate between KAs (or what you call “Kyopos”), Koreans who have lived in America and native Koreans.”

Please, that’s kind of insulting and almost racist. Really, you shouldn’t underestimate other people’s intelligence like that.

Me, being KA, I understood it perfectly. As an expat in Korea, you can certainly differentiate between KAs (or what you call “Kyopos”), Koreans who have lived in America and native Koreans. But I think a lot of Americans are going to get lost somewhere in the middle of that article. If I’m wrong, let me know. Let’s all respect one another here.

So, Korean Americans make up one percent…and then you group the rest of Americans in the same boat regardless of the wide variety of demographic factors that exist in such a culturally diverse society? As a teacher and a non-Korean American who got his message, I have to grade you an F.

PS. It just occurred to me…Would the South Koreans who say that Cho was really a Korean American despite his lack of American citizenship consider me a Canadian-Korean since I’m a permanent resident?

A couple of things. Several of my colleagues (including myself) felt uncomfortable with a “memorial fund” being the first official KA act in response to the tragedy. We were hoping that the organizations that repute to represent us would issue something more softer and sincere. Discussions about money seemed a bit self serving right after the press releases that revealed the shooter’s ethnicity came out.

You are correct though. The verbiage from the announcement itself doesn’t say anything directly about guilt or responsibility. I think the objections were more about timing and just how monetary compensation in general, given the timing, may make us appear to have more then appropriate feelings of guilt and responsibility.

Thank you for taking the time to post the original language. Frankly, I do not see even any implied motive communicated in the excerpt you provided. Numerous religious, civic, and ethnic organizations solicited aid from their members in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Such solicitations in no way implied guilt or responsibility. Likewise, I am sure that there are other groups in this country organizing help for VT victims and their families. With no motive communicated in the excerpt you provided, we can only surmise the intent of the organizers.

The appropriateness of soliciting money as opposed to prayers or vigils is a separate issue from the ethnic Korean identities of the organizers and the distribution list.

It’s not my place to tell you how to feel about the appropriateness of the request for money. I just don’t see any admission of guilt whatsoever in the text you provided.