I'm typing this while digesting the latest on Cho Seung-Hui, the 23 year old male from South Korea who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech before committing suicide.
What intrigues me about tonight's coverage is the package that Cho took the time to assemble and mail. While critics assail the campus and local police for the two hour lack of response (which seems worse now that the shooter mailed out a press release), I am struck by something...familiar.
His written diatribe, still photos, and video files remind me of gangsta rap. Now, I'm not saying that rap is responsible for this massacre. However, since the media has jumped on the issue of culture, Cho's "me against the world" mentality is eerily reminiscent of the worst that hip-hop has to offer.
I'm wondering how long it will be before this narcissistic and nihilistic time bomb will be immortalized in rap lyrics and bootleg DVDs of his manifesto. Perhaps I'm concerned because so much rap is narcissistic, nihilistic, and concerned about being immortalized for murder-suicide. Self-destructive behavior is celebrated in gangsta rap; it's the bastard step-child of rock with it's phallic posturing and "die in a blaze of glory" worldview.
Again, I'm not saying that rap is responsible, I just kept thinking about how this killer reminds me of rap icons. His backwards baseball cap, the black clothing, the flack vest, and even his choice of weapons say "hood." The .22 caliber and 9mm handguns (with filed off serial numbers, no less) are realities in the streets that are also immortalized in rap.
Before the ashes cool on the career of Don Imus, let's take the tragic example of Cho Seung-Hui and see what this says about violence, imagery, and impact in our society. This bothers me because so many young black men also exhibit self-destructive behavior.
I swear Cho's posturing reminds me of 50 Cent...
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