THE CRUELEST MONTH
Rodel Rodis
Philippine News Online, Philippines
April 25 2007
It was not surprising that the Virginia Tech massacre should occur
in the month of April. The poet T.S. Elliot wrote back in 1922 that
"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land,
mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain."
The Siege of Waco occurred on April 19, 1993, when FBI agents raided
the headquarters of cultist David Koresh causing a fire which killed
72 people. Two years later, on the anniversary of the Waco Siege,
a right-wing zealot named Timothy McVeigh, seeking to avenge Waco,
bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people and
injuring 800. Four years later, on April 20, two teenage students,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, entered their Columbine High School
in Littleton, Colorado, and killed 12 students and a teacher. And
this month, on April 16, deranged "Asian" student Cho Seung-Hui,
invoking the memories of Harris and Klebold, massacred 32 students
and instructors at Virginia Tech.
But April is not only cruel to the US, it is also cruel to other
countries.
On April 9, 1942, 66,000 Filipino soldiers and 12,000 American
soldiers surrendered to the invading Japanese Army in Bataan after
defending their posts for three months. The Japanese then forced the
78,000 Bataan defenders to march about 100 miles to Capas in what has
gone down in history as the Bataan Death March. Only 54,000 soldiers
survived the march.
Six years later, on April 9, 1948, Jewish armed factions including
the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, attacked the Arab town of Deir
Yassine in what was then Palestine killing about 250 men, women and
children. Stories of how they were killed caused many Palestinians to
leave their homes (the Palestinian Exodus) in fear that they would
suffer the same fate, allowing Jews to take over their land and
proclaim the state of Israel. Many believe the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict began on that day.
Before the Nazi genocide of six million Jews, there was the Turkish
genocide of one million Armenians from 1914-1917. The implementation
of the first genocide of the 20th century began on April 24, 1914
when 250 Armenian leaders were arrested and subsequently executed
by the Young Turks led by Mehmet Talat Pasha. What followed was the
forced removal and deportation of all Turks of Armenian descent from
Turkey. While they were being transported out of Turkey, they were
systematically slaughtered.
Perhaps the last genocide of the century occurred in Rwanda in
1994 when 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were killed by their Rwandan Hutu
neighbors. The first day of the slaughter was on April 24.
To Christians, April is generally when Holy Week falls, with Good
Friday marking the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
Why is April so cruel? Perhaps because it carries the teasing promise
of spring and rebirth – "lilacs out of the dead land", "stirring dull
roots with spring rain"- but not delivering on that promise.
Perhaps we should remove April from the calendar and get by with the
rest of the 11 other months.
Many of us who remember where they were on September 11, 2001 may
also now recall where we were on April 16, 2007 when the early press
reports identified the Virginia Tech killer as an "Asian man".
Members from every Asian ethnic group must have prayed that the killer
did not share their same ethnic heritage. Filipinos must have heaved
a sigh of relief when it was announced that the lunatic killer was
a Korean immigrant.
The fear that the American public would wreak its collective
vengeance on all Koreans caused South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun
to immediately condemn the killings and offer condolences and support
to the families of the victims.
Even though the 23-year old Cho Seung-Hui immigrated to the US when
he was 8 years old and grew up totally immersed in American culture,
the repeated press reference to him as a "resident alien" caused many
to fear another upsurge in anti-Asian, anti-immigrant sentiment among
the American people.
Many still recall that after the Oklahoma bombing in 1995, press
reports that Arab terrorists had blown up the building caused a wave
of anti-Arab hysteria in the US leading to the killing of a Pakistani
who looked "Arab" to a racist who wanted to avenge the killing of
800 people in Oklahoma.
When Andrew Philip Cunanan began his killing spree in 1997, Filipinos
with his surname were questioned by FBI agents if they were related
to him and if they knew where he was hiding.
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the most popular button
among Chinese and Filipinos was one that declared that they were not
"Japs", just in case people lumped them in the same category. In
fact, the US government lumped all Japanese in the same category,
incarcerating 110,000 of them in concentration camps throughout the
US for the duration of the war.
It was this fear that America would turn its wrath against all Koreans
that prompted the Korean people to stage candlelight vigils all over
South Korea to offer their condolences to the families of the victims,
demonstrating to Americans that they share their grief.
Cho’s murderous rampage had nothing to do with being Korean or Asian
but everything to do with being psychologically disturbed and having
guns and ammunition readily available to even deranged individuals.
The families of the victims can thank the National Rifle Association
(NRA) for guaranteeing Cho Seung-Hui that right.
Our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of the victims.
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