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...
If he was referred to or looking for more information on suicidal tendencies, depression, medication, antisocial behavior, etc. then e-mail correspondence, Internet searches, library research, etc., related to a world expert on those very subjects--namely, Dr. Ismail Ak--could be very possible.
Except most universities have insurance available for students. If I remember correctly, mine required us to buy it when I lived on campus (despite the fact I already had dual coverage through my dad.)
This fellow actually needed a lawyer to take him to court to plead for involuntary commitment.
Thanks for the info. The media is saying that the guy came from South Korea at the age of 8. However you do not know, may be he and his parents are North Korean refugees who escaped first to South Korea and then they came to the US as immigrants.
The character has nothing to do with MacBeth.
Those weren’t kids. They were grown NK propaganda agents. It’s just that a diet of grass and beetles for your formative years makes you look like you are a kid even if you are 40.
However, what's really strange is that respect for elders has been historically very strong among east Asians. It's also interesting that he spent much of his time at home "playing basketball," which is stereotypically a black urban pastime. I really think this guy is a product of the N Va urban cultural scene.
Wrong jaw. Different guy.
agreed.
I’m reading a related site discussing whether it’s Chu or not. **sigh**
A look at his browser history would be very interesting.
The head-covered lady is irrelevant: she’s a relative of the photographer as you can learn if you rummage around on the photographer’s pager on flickr.
But an ill-remembered name that sounds almost identical to the shooter’s name and the person pictured in Indonesia having taken Ismail as a pseudonym is while there last year (the text was posted along with the photo on 1 August last) seems a bit too coincidental.
The objection raised on the photo site, that he was from South Korea, not the US is a non-starter: if the shooter had travelled abroad last year, he’d still have been traveling on an ROK passport.
Unlike China with “old hundred names” being the term for the common people, Korea has 12 surnames ~ for all practical purposes. Variations in spelling and pronunciation have expanded it a bit over the centuries since they were a totally militarized society. The Welsh “suffer” from the same sort of history and have 12 primary surnames.
Wait a minute...Cho tried to have himself committed?
The guy in Indonesia has a more massive, squarer chin. His glasses are different (yes, I know that’s not crucial, but...) Also, it’s hard to imagine killer Cho smiling, by all the accounts of people who knew him, whereas the Indonesian guy looks like a normal happy sociable person who smiles easily.
Yes, the universities in Virginia offer a plan ~ it excludes psychiatric services. You have to pay for that separately.
Centerville is hardly a throbbing urban hub. On the other hand there are a lot of high-tech employers in the area, private and government owned.
Sorry, but neither is Jewish. Any way you spell it, Yishmael (the Hebrew phonetic) is not Jewish, but the stepson of Abraham by his concubine, Hagar.
Let’s do a deep dive. Youth culture. Indeed as you have alluded to, there is a well “developed” urban African American youth culture. What I noticed was, starting during the 80s and coming to full fruition during the 90s, the Asian American youth culture started to merge with the African American one to a certain extent. “Rice burners” started sporting all the subwoofers and playing the same rap as the black kids. Even the lingo of both youth subcultures is increasingly shared. Just a few passing observations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.