Melissa's Outline

Introduction

a) Americans like to believe that evil was there and not in America, therefore blaming others for tragic events.

b) Americans like to believe that this country is better and do not have problems and in tragic events, Americans distinguish the person that’s related to the event from Americans. As in the Virginia Tech event, the media, for example BBC News, The New York Times and The National Ledger referred to the shooter as, Cho as the South Korean.

c) This could be seen in the New York Times and New York Post after the Virginia Tech event. On April 18th, 2007, in the New York Times, Jennifer Steinhauer wrote in the article Korean-Americans Brace for Problems in Wake of Killings “Across the nation, Koreans have braced for harassment in the wake of the Monday shooting rampage on the Virginia Tech campus that left 33 dead, including Cho Seung-Hui, the South Korean-born gunman.” In addition, according to Susan Sontag in Regarding the pain of others, “American prefer to picture that evil was there and from which the United States - a unique nation, one without any certifiably wicked leaders throughout its entire history - is exempt."


Body

a) In tragic events, Americans distinguish the person that’s related to the event from Americans.

i) On the BBC News on April 17th, 2007, the identity of the Virginia Tech shooter was revealed, “Police have named a student who shot dead at least 30 people at a US university on Monday as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old South Korean.” The media emphasis on that he was South Korean as if the fact he was South Korean had influenced what he did. In the same article, the mention again that he was South Korean and migrated to the United States at the age of 8 with his family.

ii) In the National Ledger on April 17th, 2007, in the article by Jon Shanks, “Virginia Tech University officials have identified an undergraduate student from South Korea as the gunman who shot and killed at least 30 students and professors on Monday. Police identified the classroom shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived in a different dorm on campus.” This shows that not only one media distinguished Cho Seung-Hui from Americans.

b) Distinguishing the Americans from other Citizens that have been involved in tragic events causes discrimination. On Sept. 06th, 2006, an article in ABC News states “Five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Muslims and Arab Americans say they still feel the sting of discrimination and fear in America.” This article shows that because a few Arabs caused a very tragic event the Americans discriminate against all Arabs.



Conclusion

a) Americans like to distinguish themselves from others when a tragic event has occurred, so that they can have someone else to blame for the event. This could be seen in the way the media reports the event.

b) The media needs to stop reporting events in a basis way that tends to distinguish Americans from other Citizens that causes the Americans to blame someone else when a tragic event has occurred so that people can have the actual events and see what can be done instead of playing the blame game.