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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Scream that can't be shaken
Producer Kenya Friend and I are booked in rooms at the Inn at Virginia Tech next to several family members of one victim.

At about 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, we were awoken by a scream. It was the sound of a woman crying hysterically in the hallway outside our hotel rooms. This wasn't an ordinary cry. I've heard this type of cry before. She had lost someone, someone she loved. And it was a cry of torment, of a physical and emotional nature. We couldn't go back to sleep.

As I move through this day, that scream rings in my ears. Perhaps it's because I feel some guilt being so close to such tragedy, perhaps my guilt is some inexplicable shame that the shooter is Korean, as I am. But I can't stop hearing it, feeling that scream not just in my head, but also in my heart.

-- By Kyung Lah, CNN Newsource Correspondent
Posted By CNN: 3:40 PM ET
  9 Comments
You should not be ashamed, it is a matter of great sadness, for those who have been lost but also for the sad, sad perpetrator. The fact that individuals can fall through the cracks of society to this extent, is incredibly sad, heartbreaking, and then the much larger loss which takes place.
Posted By Anonymous Carol McFarlane, Yakima, WA : 5:20 PM ET
AC360:
The blogs/coverage from reporters and producers of CNN/AC360 have given a greater picture of what Virginia Tech students are facing whether it is about the "spirit" of the Hokies to thrive or it is about the puzzling and unanswered questions about why Cho Seung-Hui made the choice to kill.

Unfortunately, it takes a horrific event like the massacre at Virginia Tech to talk about unpopular topics like waiting periods for gun purchases, identifying mental illness in young adults, or early warning systems on college campuses.

As the Blacksburg community continues to pull together, our hearts and prayers are with them.

We will never forget the students killed at Columbine High School. And we will never forget the students killed at Virginia Tech.

I appreciate the comprehensive coverage from CNN/AC360.
Posted By Anonymous Sharon D., Indianapolis, IN : 5:46 PM ET
We all should be so loved that someone screams for our loss when we die. My heart aches for her and all the other survivors of this tragedy. And maybe instead of blaming people, griping about gun control, or worrying about Anderson worship we should all say a prayer for those involved in this tragedy and hug that person that we'd scream for a little bit tighter tonight and be grateful we still can.
Posted By Anonymous Tammy C., Berwick, LA : 6:13 PM ET
Kyung,
I know that hysterical scream. The sound of pain when you loose someone you love untimely. Most of us have heard it and some of us have been the one in pain.
It is just horrible.
Please don't put any energy into the fact that the gunman was Korean as yourself. Sometimes you get caught up in the whirlwind of the moment and it is difficult to step outside the box and look back inside. You sound like a sensitive and empathetic person.
Take care of yourself FIRST and hang in there sweetie.
God speed~
Posted By Anonymous Betty Ann, Nacogdoches,TX : 7:23 PM ET
I am korean too and I am feeling the same. Your message has moved me.
Posted By Anonymous A.lucas S.Carolina : 7:35 PM ET
A scream that could only come from a heart breaking,a soul shattering.I've witnessed it and let it out myself. I can't stop hugging my son,even more than usual,which is a lot.
The killer might have been Korean,but all the Koreans do not need to carry the shame. And to anyone that would point a finger at you(and there will be some)it is only more ignorance and free violence.
Keep your head up and spread hope and confort.

Joanne R.
Laval Quebec
Posted By Anonymous Joanne R.Laval Quebec : 8:44 PM ET
When I lost my baby son,at the hospital,they gave me a little book with his foot print in it and a little message:
"Dear parents,I was with you only in passage,for a while...
The memory of me is like a favorite book,a book that we read and reread and is never closed."

At the time,it made me mad to read that quote,that was my way of grieving,but,it is true. Those victims will live on and on....in our hearts,especially the families.

Joanne R.
Laval Quebec
Posted By Anonymous Joanne R.Laval Quebec : 9:21 PM ET
I wonder how many Americans, or Koreans, have thought of the 170 or so screams that must have been heard in Baghdad today.
Posted By Anonymous Ramon G. Guadalajara Mexico : 10:38 PM ET
Dear Kyung Lah:
I have read many posts on the VT website from Korean people who feel as you do. I hope that you will believe the people on this blog who tell you that you should not give energy to this feeling of shame. This young man had many many issues and who really knows if any of them have anything to do with his being Korean. He was a very troubled person who might have been of any race or nationality. [I would have liked the opportunity to voice this same sentiment to the writers from Korea on the VT website also]!
As for the 'scream', I've experienced that twice in my life and both from untimely losses of young people..one my young brother, and one my son! It is just the most horrendous feeling and I am told it comes from the very depths of a person's soul!
This, I'm sure, is a very difficult assignment for all of the media at VT. Remember to take care of yourselves!
Posted By Anonymous Sharon C Burlington, Ontario CANADA : 3:11 AM ET
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