Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Pat Buchanan Blames Immigration for Virginia Tech Shootings


I read an article today that made my blood boil. In "The Dark Side of Diversity," Pat Buchanan tries to pin the blame on the Virginia Tech shootings squarely where it belongs - on American immigration policy:

Almost no attention has been paid to the fact that Cho Seung-Hui was not an American at all, but an immigrant, an alien. Had this deranged young man who secretly hated us never come here, 32 people would heading home from Blacksburg for summer vacation.
Buchanan goes onto say:
Cho was among the 864,000 Koreans here as a result of the Immigration Act of 1965, which threw the nation's doors open to the greatest invasion in history, an invasion opposed by a majority of our people. Thirty-six million, almost all from countries whose peoples have never fully assimilated in any Western country, now live in our midst. Cho was one of them.
Undoubtedly, it was Cho's inability to assimilate into the beautiful fabric of (White) American society that was the cause of this disaster.

Cue the insidious music. Fade-in with a picture of a slanty-eyed, evil-looking Asian. The tableau is complete. Pat Buchanan releases his screed to the willing racists of the world, collects his checks, and goes home.

Buchanan's logic basically reads as follows:

1) Cho and individuals of other ethnicities commit terrible acts of violence
2) Cho and these other dangerous people are non-citizens
3) Therefore, non-citizen people of other ethnicities are dangerous and degrading to our society, because they aren't assimilating
4) Likewise there are citizens that LOOK like non-citizens and are therefore equally dangerous

Airtight case, Pat.

Despite my recent plea for moderation, I think it's safe to say that if you think engaging in this type of blatant bigtory is wrong, you should head on over to the comment boards on the site and make your voice heard. Warning: The comment boards read like a tutorial in what's wrong with America.

Good luck, and stand up for what's right. Because an America without immigrants is no America at all.

30 comments:

Jenn Kim said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Afe said...

We are all immigrants.

Unknown said...

Pat Buchanan = putz

what about all the other shootings hmm? None of them were imigrants.. so shut your ignorant trap... jeeze.

Anonymous said...

Cho seemed pretty assimilated to me, he played video games, listend to Guns N' Roses, and swore like your average american. He spoke english like any other american, and even felt like the two "gringos" who shot up Columbine High School where "martyrs".

Good one Pat Buchanan you fucking imbecile.

Anonymous said...

Correct. Each and everyone of you who cannot trace your ancestry back to 1642 and possibly earlier, get the heck out of my country. I didn't invite you here! We pure-blooded, undiluted 100% skins (known as Native Americans and skins to us) didn't invite you, so why don't you all leave? Yes, you came here for our casinos... and our women.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe a politician like him are capable of making such low ridiculous comments, one that doesn't understand the true fundamental element that helped shaped American the way it is today! If I remember correctly Timothy James McVeigh from the Oklahoma City Bombing was Caucasians, does that mean we should blame millions? We are all immigrants one generation or another, the comments made by Buchanan really wasn't necessary and moral.

Metal Babble said...

He forgot to mention other immigrants like Albert Einstein, Wernher Von Braun, etc.

I am an immigrant and I'm happy to say that I am a productive member of this society, but above all that I practice the values of tolerance and compassion (and I am not religious).

Too bad Mr.Buchanan doesn't strike me as that (to his credit, I don't know him)

Rob Dicken said...

I wouldn't consider this bigotry or racism at all. Just a firm belief by a man that thinks the United States immigration policy should be more firm. Instead, we let people in by the bundles, and essentially has caused the US in general more problems than not.

I really don't like how our society has come to believe racism is being used when any other race is involved with a white man. That's a pretty skewed point of view.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip, Dave. I wrote up a post with a similar take, but different approach on 8asians.com

Eriq Duong said...

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger dangerous? Should we ban him from America?

Anonymous said...

It is sickening that the lessons we should be taking away from this tragedy(his inability to cope socially, how to spot people with this problem, what can be done differently to help people with this problem BEFORE they snap, etc…)are being twisted by individuals into a bigoted, political platform.

He was human and he had problems, we need to understand those problems in order to solve them.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. Immigration is what made America. The "melting pot" idea still holds true.

Unknown said...

wow.........just wow..

Anonymous said...

>> We are all immigrants. <<

Strangely, I can't remember being born outside the US.

sal said...

This is ridiculous, like most things Buchanan says. And it makes me sad. This and Lou Dobbs ... out of control.

Anonymous said...

this is so ridiculous. Between Buchanan and Lou Dobbs, i'm sick. Who listens to these guys?

chardday said...

32? But a lot of his victims were immigrants too, and they shouldn't count, right?

Patach said...

As an Asian American myself, I am a little urked by this reaction about some kid just off the boat tip toes into a college and open fires on people.

Cho had been in the states since he was 8. He shouldn't be characterized as a man who has just come out of the woodwork of some Korean jungle and trying to comprehend Western Society, as if South Korea was any much of a haven for Eastern tradition as it used to be.

Every mention of this incident needs to also mention that he was a Korean immigrant, and it disturbs me to see that out of all the school shootings that have taken place, only this one has the mention of a race.

If there's any optimism, Pat Buchanan represents a fold in history of prejudice and discrimination that will slowly, but surely erode over time, just like it has throughout history... little by little.

Anonymous said...

I am married to a wonderful Korean immigrant wife. After the shootings we were worried that some person would start blaming Korean immigrants for the mess. Thank you, Pat Buchanan, for showing us that our faith in wingnuts did not go unrewarded!

Anonymous said...

Either you are for unity, in which we have shared values, contribute positively to culture, and work towards common goals, or you are an outsider whose diversity harms the unity upon which civilization is founded.

Buchanan is making a larger point that the forced diversity in society harms everyone and helps no one, except those who want to destroy civilization so they can profit thereby.

Unknown said...

Every non First Nations American is an immigrant. Very stupid and racist tirade.

Anonymous said...

You have one craze asian dude shoot up a school and you blame all the immigrants for this problem? The majority of asian immigrants are hard worker, who never cause any problems. I would bet over all, asians are harder working and commit less crimes on a percent base then Pat Bucannan s' americans. The last 4 school shooting I can remember were by crazed white dudes. Maybe we should send all the white people back to europe, then 90% of the school shooting victims would not have died.

Anonymous said...

Timothy McVeigh's ancestors came from scotland. I'm sure mr Buchanan's ancestors came from Scotland too. This goes to show without a doubt that the Scotish hate us and that immigration policies are wrong. we should do something about it. Send them all home to Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, Norway, Denmark, every one must go. We need to free this country from the people.

kkw said...

Flip the coin, tho. Haven't spent 34 months in Korea, I can attest that this sentiment is even more prevalent there. Koreans have a difficult time tolerating Americans there, and ritually protest daily. I think Pat Buchanan's ideology is too conservative, but it's hard not to empathize when I've witnessed the bigotry present in Korea.

Anonymous said...

I Just wanted to remind everyone that Pat Buchanan is a fucking moron. This article didn't even make me mad, because it's so stupid, I can't think seriously about it for even a second.

Not only is he ignorant, but the "facts" that he bases his opinions on are incorrect.

The man's a lunatic, and so is anyone who thinks the things he says have any basis in reality.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps only mature adults should read Buchannan's articles. True statistics are often misconstrued as racism, so here is another racist comment for you to wet your diaper over.

9000 Americans are killed by illegal immigrants every year.

Now change your pampers and try to prove Buchanan wrong.

Steven

Anonymous said...

okay, those of you who are agreeing with this idiot, go to college. perhaps take an ethnic studies class. biology, communications, whatever. they'll open your ignorant eyes.

goddamn ignorant people.

sure there's racist ideas everwhere, but the whole idea of supremacy and race? that was started here. sorry. try having a foreign military base in your country, their politics skewing everything that's going on in yours. not just in korea. middle east. europe. japan. i don't even know why i'm wasting time with this. never mind.

Anonymous said...

So immigrants are more voilent than those guns? hummm, Never knew that!...

Geoffrey B. Taylor said...

This is a perfect example of why we as a society need to promote understanding of different cultures. On the one side, there are the people who think that if it's not American, it's bad, and on the other side, there are the people who say we should put our differences aside and just get along.

How about trying to understand our cultural differences? How are we supposed to act or speak intelligently about other cultures if we don't even understand them? If Mr. Buchanan wants to talk about Korean immigrants, I would like to know what kind of experience or knowledge he has about Korean culture, and what specific aspect of it could possibly make him think that Cho's cultural background had anything to do with the massacre.

I think what Mr. Buchanan said is an interesting insight into the way a lot of Americans still think about diversity. Just remember that next time you're wondering why your office is holding diversity training... again.

Frank Kim said...

The link to Buchanan's post is no longer working. You might want to update it to http://buchanan.org/blog/pjb-the-dark-side-of-diversity-731. Thanks!