The Language of Violence

Apparently, in the couple of hours after shooting Emily Hilsher and Ryan Clark, Cho sat down and made a package (a "multimedia manifesto" according to NBC's Brian Williams), went to the mailbox, and dropped it in (guess he had adequate postage), before proceeding onto Norris Hall.

The package, timestamped in the two-hour window between Monday's shootings, was sent to NBC News head Steve Capus.It contained digital photos of the gunman holding weapons and a manifesto that "rants against rich people and warns that he wants to get even," The Associated Press quoted an unidentified New York law enforcement official familiar with the case as saying.

In an interview with MSNBC.com, Capus said Cho talks to the camera in the videos. In one instance, he makes a vague reference to the massacre, Capus said. "This didn't have to happen.""The statement is hard to follow, kind of rambling. He speaks about hatred," Capus said, adding that it was "disturbing, very angry, profanity laced."

Finally, we get to hear his voice. I'm tired of guessing. Does he have an accent? I do find it strange that he had the calm to make a package, and that such a seemingly quiet person would want to broadcast his message with video. Was he used to doing this (recording himself talking into a camera)?

I'm sure he was media-savvy enough to know that he would be entering the pantheon of mass murderers, that with what he was about to undertake, he would enter the house of fame, and by recording his justifications, he would address the larger force at work, the world which made him do it, so there would be no second-guessing his motivations.

The last thing he wants it to seem is senseless.