Thursday, April 19, 2007

By Rinaldo Del Gallo, III, Esq.

I was interested in the story about Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho who, three days before the writing of this article (Monday, April 16, 2007), massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia and injured many others. I became interested in some notes Cho wrote, and along my journey came upon something else. While in college, last year in 2006, Seung-Hui Choi wrote a play “Richard McBeef” which is reproduced below, in full. The notable thing about the play is that it is a conflict with a boy and his new stepfather. The stepfather tries to sexually molest the boy and eventually kills him at the play’s end.
The play has improbable dialogue. Here is an excerpt after the stepfather, Richard, has denied to his new wife Sue, that he has sexually molested John, Sue’s 13-year old boy who just became Richard’s stepson:

RICHARD

Honey—poo. Don’t you believe me? John is just a mischievous kid who [sic, is] having trouble getting over his father’s death. He’ll get over it. He just needs time.

SUE

Really?

RICHARD

Yes. Now, why don’t we go to the bedroom and do it doggy style, just the way you like it, honey-poo.

The line is a life-like as a denial that one killed someone’s father followed by an inquiry whether Miller Lite taste great or is less filling; it is far from realistic dialogue. The play also makes superfluous use of the explanation point, has some grammatical errors, and never will compete with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar—but it might be a window into the soul of the future mass killer.

But the play created questions. So I was wondering—did Seung-Hui Cho have a stepfather? Were his parents originally divorced? (An inquiry that fathers’ rights activist such as myself naturally immediately make.) Did his first father die?

There were some clues, but none were definitive. There are numerous stories stating that his parents moved to Fairfax, Virginia from Korea and opened a dry cleaning business. But that wasn’t enough to assume that Cho did not come from a broken home, or a family of divorce, or had a step-fathers, so I decided to do some of my own “minor” investigating work. Surely, I thought to myself, I could make a few quick phone calls to the law enforcement involved, and get a relatively straightforward answer to such a fundamental background question. The result would prove to be absolutely stunning. Nobody had answers. I was told my questions were impertinent and inappropriate. And most frighteningly, I was told that the questions were not relevant in trying to understand why what happened actually happened.

My first telephone call was to the Blacksburg Police Department, who referred me to Mr. Larry Hincker, who was the spokesperson of Virginia Tech. The principle police agencies involved were the Virginia Tech police, the Blacksburg Police Department, and to a lesser degree the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms was also involved. About an hour after my phone call I was called by Christopher Clough on Mr. Hincker’s behalf, who according to Virginia Tech’s website, is the director of marketing and strategic communications.

Now mind you, it was two days after the murder, April 18, 2007. It was reasonably clear that Seung-Hui Cho was the lone shooter and killed himself in the end. Whatever the remote chance there was of a second shooter, it was impossible to believe that my asking about Seung-Hui Cho’s parents could somehow thwart that investigation. In other words, now was the time to find out just what made Seung-Hui Cho go on his murderous rampage. Apart from where he got the weapons, whether he was acting alone, and whether the police had prudently handled the matter (there appears to be a serious issue in the gap of two hours between the first killings and last fatalities where the police did not take greater action), what everybody wants to know, is why did he do it?
So I asked Mr. Christopher Clough my two straightforward questions: Did Seung-Hui Cho come from divorced parents? Did he have a stepfather? His response—a peeved one I might add—was that it was a “highly inappropriate question. It is no way relevant.” Mr. Clough added, “We absolutely will not release that information under any circumstances. It is private information and not relevant for public disclosure. You should look for other avenues to that information. We will not discuss psychological profiles.” A later telephone call confirmed that Mr. Clough not only spoke for Virginia Tech generally, but Virginia Tech’s Police Department. A telephone call the next day revealed that they were not changing their position and not releasing any information on something so basic in the shooters psychological profile.

So when that avenue was shut down, I decided to call the FBI, who told me that the Virginia Tech Police were leading the investigation. When I called the Virginia Tech Police, they told me that the Virginia State Police were leading the investigaiton. The state police then told me the Virginia Tech Police were in charge. This was a little Keystone Coppish, but it undoubtedly was the result of intra-departmental respect rather than incompetence.

On April 18th, yesterday, I spoke to Ms. Corrine Giller, a public information officer for the Virginia State Police. We were to have two telephone conversations that day and one the following. I asked her the two basic questions of whether Seung-Hui Cho had divorced parents or whether he had a stepfather. During the first telephone call, her response was “I don’t know.” She added that it was not a “principal part of the investigation.” Ms. Giller did state that she would get back to me later. During the first conversation with Ms. Giller, I did mention the plays, one of which had a stepfather character that had an abusive relationship with the son.

I called Ms. Giller in a few hours where there was confusion as to who actually was in charge of the investigation. She later confirmed that the Virginia State Police were in charge of the investigation, but heavily emphasized the inter-agency respect and cooperation—in fact, I could hardly get her to talk about anything else. I could see that this was beginning to be a problem. The public could not get basic information about the killer. Rather, all that I was getting was public relations speak on cooperation, concern for the victims, and things that are just generally known. Ms. Giller told me that she would speak to the investigators regarding my questions. I told her that I would contact her the next day. I still thought that the questions regarding whether Cho came from a divorced home or had a stepfather were basic. Ms. Giller should have been able to provide immediate answers.
On the evening of April 19, 2007, I even talked to a journalist source from Korea, that asked not to be identified. The journalist said that he had no information on whether Cho had come from divorced parents or had a stepfather.

When I spoke to Ms. Giller on April 19, today, she stated that she had spoken to the investigators and had asked them my questions. She told me that though they had talked with the next of kin and knew the answers, they would not release the information. Ms. Giller, speaking officially for the Virginia State Police who were in charge of the investigation, repeated the viewpoint that it was “not relevant” whether Cho was from divorced parents or whether he had a stepfather. So we had the spokesperson for the Virginia Tech Police, and the spokesperson for the Virginia State Police, telling me that something as fundamental to a psychological profile as whether or not someone came from a divorced family or had a stepfather was not relevant.

It appears not to be an isolated incident of astonishingly downplaying the importance of basic psychological profile information. According to Newsday, regarding a videotape that was sent to NBC by the killer between shootings and was aired, “Virginia state police superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty told reporters at a Thursday morning news conference he was ‘disappointed’ that Cho’s footage had become such a public spectacle, saying it provided only ‘marginal value’ to their investigation.”

The statements of the Virginia Tech Police and the Virginia State Police are puzzling at best. We know that Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on Monday in what was the biggest shooting spree in American history. While we need to know whether there was another shooter (which appears to be a very unlikely event although technically possible if they used the same gun), the public’s main questions regard how the police handled the event and why the shooter went on the rampage. The stated disinterest of the Virginia Tech Police and the Virginia State Police in such fundamental questions as whether Seung-Hui Cho came from a broken home, whether his parents were divorced, whether the “parents” constantly referred to in news stories included a stepfather, and the meanings of his ranting gives me little confidence. The decision not to do anything to secure the university between the two-hour gap of the first dormitory shootings and the later shootings raises serious questions. Police should ask themselves what is the best policy in university or other similar settings when there is a shooting and the shooter has not been apprehended.

Whether Seung-Hui Cho had a stepfather will have little affect on the fact that the overwhelming majority of criminals come from fatherless homes. According to divorcemagazine.com, 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes. A visit to almost any jail and prison shows similar results for criminal offenders. In fact, there are high correlations between being fatherless and almost every major social pathology. But it is shocking; after all we know about fatherlessness, that the two principle police investigative bodies did not think the question is relevant.

It appears from a Guardian article (a British newspaper), that the mother might have been involved in a forced marriage. According to the Guardian, who claimed the source was Cho’s aunt Yang-soon [spelled Yong-soon once in the article] “Cho’s mother was forced into an arranged marriage with his father, Sung-tae, who was 10 years older and from a very different background. She was from a well-educated family of North Korean landowners, who had been forced to flee without possessions during the Korean War; he was from a poor family in the south, but had made enough money to marry by working in Saudi Arabia for 10 years on construction sites and oil fields.” The Guardian continued, “As Hyang-im was 29 - a late age for a woman to find a husband in South Korea - her father told her she had to accept the proposal. ‘She didn’t want to marry, but she gave in,’ said Yong-soon. ‘Her husband was not fit for her. But she always followed and obeyed him. She never fought him, though sometimes I wish she had done.’ No one in the family recalls any violent behavior from Cho or his parents that might have hinted at the carnage to come.”

Who knows? Perhaps “Richard” in “Richard McBeef” was inspired by a father, that according to the aunt, “who was not fit for her.” Perhaps Richards many jobs and past poverty were inspired by Cho’s own father’s different jobs at low salaries. Maybe the class difference between Cho’s parents was the source of the suggested class difference between Richard and Sue in the play. Maybe Cho was alienated towards his father by his own family—his own aunt’s unkind comments about the father suggest that this was possible. Perhaps this belittling of his own father caused him to hate himself and heighten his own insecurity. Children view themselves as extensions of their parents, and to criticize their parent is to criticize themselves.

Much ink was spilled over the last few days regarding the issues of wealth and class in Cho’s notes. These comments are reconcilable with the character of Richard. In the final dialogue of the play, the 13-year old John says to his stepfather Richard, “You can’t provide for my mom. You barely make the minimum wage, man. All you do for mom is all that honey-poo shit. Honey-poo! Honey-poo! You piece of shit. You were a janitor one time. You’re a one time truck driver. You taught preschool for two months. And now your like what you like to call yourself a chef, what the rest of the world calls a hamburger flipper.” Were these the autobiographical sentiments of a disturbed boy/future mass killer who resented his father’s poverty, resented the “forced marriage,” and did not think his father was good enough for his mother? Did parental alienation cause him to hate his own father, which in turn became self-hatred, which in turn became uncontrollable rage?

In another part of the play, “Richard McBeef,” the stepfather Richard puts his hands on the 13 year-olds lap. John replies, “What are you, a Catholic priest! I will not be molested by an aging balding overweight pedophilic stepdad named Dick! Get your hands off of me you sicko! Damn you, you Catholic priest. Just stop it Michael Jackson. Let me guess, you have a pet named Dick in Neverland ranch and you want me to go with you to pet him, right?” Was Seung-Hui Cho ever sexually molested?
As interesting as you and I may think these questions regarding Cho’s home life, it appears to be of little interest to the Virginia Tech Police or the Virginia State Police who are investigating the crime. Both agencies have told me, through official spokespeople, that these questions regarding Cho’s parents are of little interest. They are wrong to so think. These appear to be politically correct answers so as not to offend those who have chosen to get divorced and also a misplaced concern over the privacy of the killer. Understanding the psychological profile of a killer can help us understand why people kill and what are the warning signs. Under the psychology behind our marriages, family life, and parent-child relationships can help us understand why we are the people that we become. Whether there was parental alieniaton appears to be a prominent concern, given the aunt’s statements and the Richard McBeef play. And understanding this may help us help the next Seung-Hui Cho before he becomes a mass murderer.

Mr. Del Gallo is a practicing family law attorney and spokesperson of the Berkshire Fatherhood Coalition.
The Berkshire Fatherhood Coalition website is http://berkshirefatherhood.com/ and Mr. Del Gallo may be reached at 413-445-6789.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usguns/Story/0,,2061278,00.html

——————————————————————————–

Richard McBeef
by Seung Cho

Cast of Characters

Richard McBeef . . . .Step Father, 40
Sue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mother , 40
Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John, 13

Setting

Living Room, Basement, Car

ACT 1: Scene 1

(It is morning. The sun is shining through the windows of the kitchen. John enters the kitchen, grabs a cerereal bar, and opens it. Richard McBeef is sitting in the kitchen with his legs crossed reading the newspaper.)

RICHARD

Hey John. (He forces a smile at him).

JOHN

What’s up Dick? (He frowns.)

RICHARD

Try Dad.

JOHN

You ain’t my dad and you know it, you Dick. (John chews on the cereal bar angrily.)

RICHARD

Come on, John. Sit down. We need to have a man to man talk. (Richard pulls a chair next to him from under the table.)

JOHN

Man-to-man up your ass, bud!
(John sneers then proceeds to the living room and turns on the TV. Richard follows him, sits down, and faces him.)

RICHARD

I may not be your biological father, but I’m your new father. We live under the same roof. We really need to get along. Come on, son, give me a chance. (Richard gently rest him [sic, his] hand on John’s lap.)

JOHN

What the hell are you doing! (John slaps Richard’s hand.)

JOHN (cont’d)

What are you, a Catholic priest! I will not be molested by an aging balding overweight pedophilic stepdad named Dick! [No commas in original] Get your hands off of me you sicko! Damn you, you Catholic priest. Just stop it Michael Jackson. Let me guess, you have a pet named Dick in Neverland ranch and you want me to go with you to pet him, right?

RICHARD

(He sighs and ignores the comment.)
What is it you want from me, what do you want me to do? Why are you so angry at me—

JOHN

Why am I so angry at you! Because you murdered my father so you can get in my mom’s pants!—

RICHARD

Now hold on right now mister. It was a boating accident. I did everything possible to try to save your father.

JOHN

Bullshit! Are you always full of shit McBeef. I can see that you are by the extra fat that you packed on! You MURDERED my father and govered it up! You committed a conspiracy. Just like what the government has done to Maryln Monroe or John Lennon.

RICHARD

WHAT? WHAT?

(Frowing, he catches a glimpse of an old tabloid titled “The Cover-up of Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon”)

JOHN

You once worked for the government. As a janitor, at least. You hated the fact that my mom was with my dad. You knew my mom was too good for my father. So you took him out, and stole her, you son of a bitch!

RICHARD

ST-

JOHN

No, Dick! You shut the hell up and listen to me.

RICHARD

You—

Me what! You want me to stick this remote control up your ass, buddy! You ain’t even worth it man. This remote was five bucks. Your such a—

JOHN

NOW THAT’S ENOUGH.
(Richard raises his hand to strike his stepson, but before he does, John’s mom comes downt he stairs.)

SUE

Oh my god! What’s going on?
(She covers and hugs John and ushers him to the other end of the couch.)

SUE (cont’d)

What are you doing to my son! You said you would have a nice chat to get on terms with him. And this is what I catch you do! [sic, doing] What kind of a step-father are you? Pretending to be nice to him with a fake smile on your chubby face! Tell me what you were about to do to him. You were about to hit him! Damn you Richard!

RICHARD

He was—

SUE

I don’t want to hear it!

(Sue tells John to go up to his room. But he observes the spectical half way up the staircase.)

RICHARD

I swear it Sue. I tried talking to him. He called mea son of a bit—

SUE

How dare you! John would never-NEVER-say such a thing, my poor little pooey poeey boy! He lost his father just a month ago. Show some compassion. Some stepfather!

JOHN

He tried to touch my privates!

SUE

(She gasp.)

Holy shit. Ooops. Sorry John. Dick, you son of a b—

(She peeks at John. She approaches Richard and slaps Richard in the head multiple times. Taking off her shoes, she hits him hard.)

RICHARD

(He brushes Sue with his large arm and build)

Sue. Sue. Sue. Listen to me!

SUE

(The manner and girth frightens her.)

Oh my god! What are you trying to do! Are you gonna hit me too! [sic, to?]

(She cowers and runs in the kitchen. She grabs the first thing which she can which is a plate.)

Stay back! Stay back! Or I’ll—

(She throws the plate, shattering squarely on his forehead. But he is unmoved.)

You fact piece of pork! John, go to your room and lock it!

(She runs down the basement.)

Are you a bisexual psycho rapist murderer! Please stop following me. Don’t kill me!

(She throws wrenches and pipes laying on the ground at him, but he is unhurt.)

RICHARD

I didn’t even do anything. O.K., I will stop following you.

(He stops with his hands in the air. He kneels. She throws a few more heavy objects at him.)

Let me explain! John is a rambunctious pubescent boy!

SUE

Oh my god! You’re a pedophile!

RICHARD

No. No…Honey—poo.

SUE

Honey—poo?

RICHARD

Honey—poo. Don’t you believe me? John is just a mischevous kid who [sic, is] having trouble getting over his father’s death. He’ll get over it. He just needs time.

SUE

Really?

RICHARD

Yes. Now, why don’t we to to the bedroom and do it doggy style, just the way you like it, honey-poo.

JOHN

(In his room, he smile and throws darts on the target that is the face of Richard.)

I hate him. Must kill Dick. Must kill Dick. Dick must die. Kill Dick. . . Richard McBeef. What kind of name is that? What an asshole name. I don’t like it. And look at his face. What an asshole face. I don’t like his face at all. You don’t think I can kill you, Dick? Gotcha. Got one eye…Got the other eye.

(He runs down to the basement by his mothers side.)

That fat man murdered dad. He told me so while you were asleep, mom. And he molested me.

SUE

What! Ahhh!

(She grabs a chainsaw and brandishes it at Richard. He runs out of his house and into his car. Thirty minutes later John goes out to Richard and sits on the passenger’s side eating a cereal bar.)

JOHN

I wonder why it is so sunny out! Today is a fruity day!

(John stares squarely at Richard with a contemptous look who is sitting with a flushed face.)

Guess what, Dick. You wanna know something.[sic,?] You wanna know why I don’t like you? Because you can’t provide for my mom. You barely make the minimum wage, man. All you do for mom is all that honey-poo shit. Honey-poo! Honey-poo! You piece of shit. You were a janitor one time. You’re a one time truck driver. You taught preschool for two months. And now your like what you like to call yourself a chef, what the rest of the world calls a hamburger flipper. Back where you came from. The pinnacle of your career was when you were a pro football player. How long did that last? Three weeks! Ha! You’re over the hill, buster. Just look at yourself, all fat and lazy. Only if you were smart enough to stay in the league, you wouldn’t be like this. A former player. No wonder your name is McPork—I mean McBeef. While the guys were packing on muscles, you were packing on McDonald’s fat, chowing down on three Big Mac’s [sic Macs] in three minutes. You want me to call you dad? Okay. Hey dad, you are such an asshole! Asshole of assholes, DAD! And as for you banging my mom, looks like that lasted as long as your pathetic career, you prematurely ejaculating piece of dickshit. Sucks for you, you motherfucking McBeef.

RICHARD

HOW DARE YOU TALK TO YOUR STEP-FATHER LIKE THAT!

JOHN

Eat this, you giant piece of trunk ass.

(John takes his half-eaten banana cereal bar and in his step-fathers mouth and attempts to shove it down his throat.)

RICHARD

AHHHHHHH! (He pushes John away and takes out the cereal bar.)

JOHN

Fuck you, DAD!

RICHARD

(Out of sheer desecrated hurt and anger, Richard lifts his large arms and swings a deadly blow at the thirteen year old boy.)

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