Posted on 04/17/2007 3:50:27 PM PDT by dangus
I read the following from Little Green Footballs:
"Apparently, South Korean student Seung Hui Cho signed his note, “Ismail Ax,” and also wrote those words on his arm. All other signs right now point to this being a deranged individual with a history of odd behavior (not a “sudden jihadi”), but this is very curious."
Hotair.com suggests that he meant only to refer to a story by an author named Ishmael:
You probably already know this, but in James Fennimore Cooper’s story “The Prairie,” the settler Ishmael Bush, who is attempting to escape from civilization, sets out across the prairie with two key tools, a gun and an axe. Each has a symbolic meaning. The axe — which can either kill or provide shelter — stands for both creation and destruction. Given that the VT killer was an English major, might this be the likely meaning of the words on his arm? Just my two cents.
And its widely reported that Cho's writings freaked out one of his English professors. Smoking Gun had one on-line. I read it.
What immidiately stood out was some of the strange language Cho's character used: All of the characters have typically American names, yet "John" uses some strange epithets. The story is basically about a step-son's unexplained rage at a step-father whom he accuses of killing his real father, and (falsely), of molesting him. The father a "fat piece of pork," and "McPork." (The latter is a mockery of his unusual, and unexplained, last name, McBeef.)
It's only weak evidence, I know, but it's just so straaaange...
“by an author named” should be “with a character named”
Drats,
“The father a “fat piece of pork,” and “McPork.””
should read
“The father IS CALLED a “fat piece of pork,” and “McPork.”
I think, from all that I’ve seen, that he was simply mentally ill.
Dr. ISMAIL AK is a Professor of Psychiatry at a university in Turkey. His research interests include the following:
Personal Disorders, Agresivve behavior and self-mutilation, ECT, Substance-related disorders, Sexual Disorders, Forensic Psychiatry, Sleep Disorders
From the Turkish Association of Psychopharmacology website:
President-elect:
Professor Ismail AK, M.D. Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
Ismail AK is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
He is an experienced on clinical psychopharmacology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Dr. Ismail Ak is one of the authors of an article about patients with mental disorders, psychotic features, etc.:
As regards pharmacotherapies, 354 (50.2%) were given antidepressants. . . . Among antidepressants, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were 72.8%. . . .
This is an abstract of an article co-written by Dr. ISMAIL AK:
Even though all psychiatric disorders do not have the same potential with regard to committing a crime, the number of individuals having psychiatric disorders is gradually going up depending on the increase of crimes and violent behaviors committed in a society. . . . The relation between existence of psychiatric disorder and crime behavior has been significantly emphasized in several earlier studies. In conclusion, it is notable that the rates of committing crime for the individuals with psychiatric disorders are on the rise.
Dr. Ismail Ak is apparently one of the world's leading experts on the psychiatry of antisocial and suicidal behavior, psychotic and bipolar disorders, psychopharmacological therapy, etc.
The young man had been noticed to be disturbed and had been referred to counseling. Dr. Ismail Ak is an expert and author in the particular field most directly related to the guy's disorder.
So it's possible that the writing on the guy's arm said
ISMAIL AK
and the K was written in a way that people *thought* it said
ISMAIL AX
That seems more likely to me than a connection to Moby Dick or to Islamic terrorism or to Cooper's story.
This is an angle the investigators need to pursue with the school's counseling service, the killer's computer, and Dr. Ismail Ak himself.
You're only adding evidence to support the islam theory.
I think he was more of a wannabe but the result is the same.
I’m not presuming he was Muslim; I tried to emphasize that the hints were minor, and I included the Little Green Football’s characterization that he was probably simply nuts. But I didn’t think the epiphets in his play should go overlooked.
If he was mentally ill, he was a mental case exercising militancy, who chained doors and did everthing he could to maximize casualties.
Bit too early to speculate on his possible motives. That said, I find the Muslim connection to be a remote possibility.
Of course, my "Ak" theory depends on whether the "K" could have looked like an "X"--imagine writing a "K" on your own arm and the one line being bumped or bent a bit.
Another freeper mentioned the beating of shoes - from the play. the muslim insult
I heard today on talk radio a caller said Homeland Security has this family actually from North Korea. It makes one wonder...who trained this kid? In the early reports...law enforcement said he was military trained or a former policemen.
Extremely weak evidence......and unlikely.
South Korea is not exactly a Muslim hotbed.
if his fam is from NK, that is big. Wonder what his upbringing was like?
See story on Ibraham, Ismail, and ax here, right out of Islamic lore:
http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/ibrahim.htm
you don’t have a kill ratio of 68% (32 dead, 15 wounded; 32 divided by 47 = 68%) without training..this guy knew what he was doing with a gun..
Sorry, logic and common sense is not allowed on these threads. Please make a note of it.
Other reports state that he was 22(?) or so and was in this country for 14 years … mighty young cops were he came from. Still a wait and see situation.
>> South Korea is not exactly a Muslim hotbed. <<
No, plainly, he would have likely converted here. He does also rant about the decadence of American society. Then there’s another recent poster who pointed out that in the Kuran, Ismael used an ax to enact revenge for godlessness. In fact, I’m wondering if that was Cooper’s reason for his character being named “Ismael.” (An early Americana reference to Ishmael as an aggrieved loner is hardly unique; compare, for instance, Herman Melville’s start of Billy Budd, “Call me Ishmael.”)
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