Cho Seung-Hui: A Man On His Own Mission

"You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people." ~ Cho Seung-Hui, Virgina Tech Murderer

Luke 13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Genesis 4:8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." [d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"


As I was looking for the psychology behind the gunman's actions I learned some things:

1. Mass murderers are not necessarily psychopaths (having no conscience).

2. There is a tendency to paranoia (irrational fear and vengeance motives).

The Lord's conversation with Cain illustrates this: for Cain there was a disconnect with regarding another person's ~ or one's own ~ life as valuable. The Virginia gunman was utterly committed to the death. He was carrying out a "righteous" cause in his own head. He was playing God.

It is interesting that the gunman identified with Jesus Christ. He felt messianic in his mission that day. He was saying, "I am going to prove something to the world."

He was also in identification with the "downtrodden." He felt deeply betrayed by the world around him. He was out to get the "rich" in their "debaucheries."

We could also compare this tragedy to the devastation and death caused by a natural calamity or what insurance companies call "acts of God." According to Jesus' statement above, this was not a visitation on a class of sinners who were worse than others, as if God was cleaning up the Virginia campus, snuffing out the wicked. Instead, it appears random and senseless. This was a man gone berserk, a human volcano that erupted. His victims were just those who were in the way at the time.

One of the scary things about life is this problem of chance. Things can happen that defy all logic or meaning. It is as if God is nowhere near the situation and that the world is simply a game of dice. The visitation of grisly death has no bearing on justice or fairness. There were no winners that day.

The gunman saw himself as a catalyst, a dispenser of some weird justice. He was out to right wrongs. But what he did was to inflict evil and put a scar and deep wound on countless families for generations to come. It is as if he were a lone megalomaniac on a mission to change the world. Sadly, he chose the wrong vehicle to affect society. His crusade was no more than a travesty.

In the video clips he sent, Cho looked wasted, like he had not slept or was on drugs, perhaps Prozac. His comments indicate that he felt like the world was falling in on him. He was the ultimate victim and a martyr for his own cause. In the end, it was an extremely selfish act, the sending of the message "I am in pain, and you're going to hear about it."

Doubtless, the next Cho is out there somewhere, walking among us, plotting the day of vengeance that will fall on some innocent and hapless folks, suddenly caught in a frenzy of insane fury. It tells us, even in secure America, that we cannot take life for granted. It is fragile and fleeting and very precious. Our time is always ready (John 7: 6).