Asian-Americans, and Koreans in particular, are bracing for possible backlash in the wake of the massacre:
“In the wake of 9/11, we saw so many racially charged incidents that I don’t think it’s out of the question to suspect this [prejudice] will happen,” says Aimee Baldillo, a spokeswoman for the Asian American Justice Center, a Washington-based civil-rights group. “The lesson we learned then was that individuals are going to get targeted on the basis of a perceived race or ethnicity with connection to a suspect.” . . .. . . Other Asians in the United States also experienced mixed emotions when it was confirmed that Cho was indeed Korean. Vietnamese-American writer Andrew Lam says he had held his breath waiting to learn the killer’s identity, hoping his community wouldn’t shoulder collective blame for the acts of an individual.
I admit that last thought did cross my mind as the news was unfolding.
