Cho Seung-Hui: The Real Issue

First and foremost, what a sad day for all the families struck by this most recent tragedy. I have done a lot of reading and watching of the media reports swirling around and I have come to one very simple conclusion. The media fails to point the finger on the REAL issue.

Much like the kids of Columbine, Cho fit the description of an outcast, someone who was ridiculed and picked on his entire life just for being different. While I do not condone his actions, it is very clear to me that society and the media is partially to blame for Cho's actions, as much to blame as Cho himself.

Life is not a popularity contest, but for many kids in high school and college, that's exactly what it is. The more confident, athletic guys picking on the "nerdy" kids for whatever reason. I saw it when I was in high school over 10 years ago and I know it still exists to the same degree today. Where does that attitude come from? Media? Parents? Movies? Where ever it came from, it was this attitude that ultimately led Cho and the Columbine kids to cross that line.

Some kids are able to overcome the physchological brutality and find their way into adulthood. Their threshold of pain or anger is greater than others. It's those kids whose patience is less, their tolerance is less, that get more easily pushed over the boiling point.

So to the people out there pointing the finger at anyone and everyone, you should look at the heart of the problem and figure out what brought Cho to his boiling point. Which joke was it that threw him over the edge? The one about his broken english? The color of his skin? His lack of athleticism? Take your pick. While I understand that it is hard to have compassion for someone who hurt so many families, it is obvious that compassion is all he needed. He just needed it 10 years ago...