Rage has its own language

An inarticulate tongue often leads to rage. And rage has its own language. In America, that language often finds expression through using a gun.

Cho's video before his killing spree in Virginia was a jumble of words, but what screamed out were the guns he displayed. They were his language. And they spoke volumes.

Wong went to the firing range every Saturday, newspapers reported. It is there where he was most articulate. There are pictures of him posing with his Berettas.

The successful border-crosser uses language to overcome shame by refusing silence, finding ways to articulate his shame until he rearranges it and redefines himself. His counterpart, however, remains defeated, finding no articulate way to transform himself in the new world. They remain cultural misfits, unable to move forward.

So many famous Asian immigrants have entered America's public space through their power of language, like Yo-Yo Ma and Lang Lang.

But there is another way to enter America's consciousness - through acts of violence.

If the Asian shame-based culture is still prominent, keeping its citizens in line and well-behaved, it is the American gun culture that is most conspicuous.

It is ubiquitous on TV and video games and the Internet and the silver screen, and it is the most accessible language for the tongue-tied. For them, the gun - be it in video games or at the shooting range - speaks volumes.

New America Media editor Andrew Lam is the author of "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres," and "Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora." His next book "Birds of Paradise" is due out in 2013. www.newamericamedia.org