UCSB shooter Elliot Rodger apparently struggled to come to terms with his Hapa identity before the killing spree that left seven dead Friday night, including himself, according to YOMYOMF.
The Santa Barbara Independent reported that Rodger was born in Britain to a white father and Asian mother. He moved to California when he was 5. His father Peter Rodger served as assistant director for the movie, The Hunger Games.
Elliot left behind a 140 page manifesto in which he describes himself as being “descended from British aristocracy.”
“How could an inferior, ugly black boy be able to get a white girl and not me? I am beautiful, and I am half white myself. I am descended from British aristocracy. He is descended from slaves. I deserve it more. I tried not to believe his foul words, but they were already said, and it was hard to erase from my mind. If this is actually true, if this ugly black filth was able to have sex with a blonde white girl at the age of thirteen while I’ve had to suffer virginity all my life, then this just proves how ridiculous the female gender is.”
A lot has been written lately about the need to pay more attention to the mental health needs of Asian Americans and a recent string of suicides involving Asian American students.
Rodger who’s believed to have turned the gun on himself would be at least the fourth publicized suicide in recent months by AAPI students.
Hopefully greater attention and resources will be devoted to this major concern.
You can read more about Roger in YOMYOMF.