The White Peril 白禍

When it turned out that the perp in the Virginia Tech shootings was South Korean, I actually chuckled mirthlessly at CNN and said aloud, "Well, at least no one's going to work the race angle on this one."

What a moron. Salon.com has a selective but interesting roundup of commentary on whether and how Cho Seung-hui's Korean-ness relates to his having shot at several classrooms full of college students.

I don't think some of the more ignorant commentary is necessarily motivated by sheer axe-grinding against Korean culture or violent movies or what have you. Treatments for mental illness have come such a long way that no one seems to want to conclude that it's possible for someone to be just a plain wrong'un who may not be reachable by drugs or counseling. The emerging evidence seems to indicate that Cho might have been schizophrenic; at the very least, he was seriously screwed up in the head.

Maybe his parents' Asian background made them chary of involving counselors, psychiatrists, and other outsiders in what they saw as a family matter. But, even in this therapy-everywhere age, there are plenty of native-born Middle Americans who would do the same thing. And even when people do try to get help for family members they can't handle, it's not always forthcoming. After Sylvia Seegrist killed three people outside a mall near Philadelphia two decades ago, it came out that her mother had tried unsuccessfully to keep her institutionalized. (It was reported, IIRC from the local news shows, that she'd told the officials who wanted to release her, "But she's psychotic!" and been told back, "Lady, half of Philadelphia is psychotic.")

One of the blogs Salon singles out for opprobrium is Michael Hurt's Scribblings of the Metropolitician. Hurt lives in Seoul, and his post asks several thorny questions about how Korean men are acculturated. It's worth reading and thinking about; if you know Japan, you may find quite a bit of it familiar.

I still don't buy one of Hurt's key, if vaguely stated, points, though:

So the top two spots for shooting sprees in history are now held by two Korean men. Hey--I just find this interesting. Is this information not somewhat relevant to the issue at hand?

Well, no, not if the overwhelming majority of Koreans don't go on shooting sprees and the overwhelming majority of shooting sprees aren't committed by Koreans. That two major killing sprees have now been committed by Korean men is a catchy-sounding little fact to mention in news items, but in and of itself, I don't find it very suggestive. After all, millions of guys, Korean and otherwise, are sexually-jealous hotheads who rant and throw tantrums like little boys when their lovers (actual or imagined) cross them, but they still manage to stop short of opening fire on a few dozen people.

You don't say.

Only one in seven Americans exercises enough and eats enough fruits and vegetables, and men are worse than women, federal health officials said on Thursday.

"These results underscore the need to promote diets high in fruits and vegetables and regular physical activity among all populations in the United States and among racial and ethnic minority communities in particular," U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said in a report.

The CDC tracked the percentage of Americans who eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily and engage in moderately intense exercise for at least 30 minutes five days per week or vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes three days per week as recommended by the government.

Hmm...you know what I bet would help? If some kind-hearted government agency started haranguing us about it regularly.

Oh, yeah. Forgot.

"The population right now really needs to take responsibility for their own health," Mary Kay Solera, head of the CDC's National Fruit and Vegetable Program [*sobbing*--SRK] and one of the report's authors, said in a telephone interview.

...

"People know that they need to be eating more fruits and vegetables and they know they need to be doing more physical activity. But we're not doing it," Solera added.

Well, I guess that depends on how you define "need." Surely if you're an American who hasn't heard by now that obesity increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer, you've been living in a cave. Otherwise, you're presumably weighing your options and choosing your own priorities. Which is to say, people are taking responsibility for their own health, but physical fitness is only one among many things they value. What is it proposed Washington do about this--declare National Steamed Kohlrabi Day? Switch to having kids do artichoke rolls (cholesterol-free, and you can't start encouraging healthy habits too early!) on the White House lawn on Easter?

The report was based on self-reported data from a 2005 telephone survey of 356,112 Americans. The survey asked respondents to report their level of exercise and their diet with questions such as, "How often do you eat potatoes, not including French fries, fried potatoes or potato chips?"

Well, if French fries, fried potatoes, or potato chips are the only ways of consuming potatoes that count as unhealthy, I can keep on getting mine the usual way. Which is to say, time for a vodka and tonic. (Starch and malaria prevention! Ooh, and scurvy prevention if we count the lime.)

Have a good weekend, everyone.