(UPDATE: 29 June: Today, I had a meeting with the Columbia
Administration about this page.
Further details
are available.)
(UPDATE: 28 June: I have been confronted personally
about this page. It seems that many people have not been able to read the obvious implications
of this article - the following is all speculation; an attempt to answer all relevant
questions, no matter how poorly timed. Instead of being in such a rush to pity and sympathize,
we MUST ask why this suicide happened, and we MUST evaluate the consequences of every possible
cause for this suicide. In case I have not been clear enough, let me restate the main premise
again: This suicide is a tragedy if the cause was some external force or mental disorder,
but it is most certainly a selfish act if the cause was weakness of will.)
(UPDATE: 24 June: It has since occured to me that searching for 'richard ng columbia'
(with or without quotes) on either “Google” or “MSN” lists this site as
the #2 hit: ahead of every single news article on this event, and behind only the Columbia
SEAS domain. And an “MSN” search of 'richard ng suicide' gives this page the #1
hit. And since people don't know how to read within context, it was inevitable:
hate mail!)
Richard Ng was just another happy-go-lucky asian computer nerd at Columbia's
Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or “SEAS,” for short. He was
a computer engineering major. He was set to graduate with me in May 2006.
He's dead now. He jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge.
There are only three explanations: either 1)some external force made him
do it, 2)he had some chemical imbalance or disorder in his head and needed psychiatric or
psychological help, or 3)he was just very very distraught, depressed, or frustrated because
of school, work, sex, whatever. If he committed suicide for either of the first
two reasons, then this event is a tragedy. If such is the case, then then my deepest sympathies
go out to Mr. Ng's family and to those who knew him well.
If the bastard took a nosedive because of reason #3, then I hate Richard Ng.
Suicide is the single most selfish, most heinous act that anyone can commit. To forfeit the
one thing in life that is truly your own, at the expense of everyone around you... well shit. Continue
reading for an analysis of picking door number 3.
I Hate Richard Ng
So, the facts:
07 May, 2006: Surveillence cameras last spot Richard Ng leaving East Campus,
a Columbia dormitory located on Columbia's East Campus. Police reports later reveal that
he used his Metrocard at the 72nd & Broadway subway stop. Additionally, his laptop shows that
he had been looking for directions to, or descriptions of the Brooklyn Bridge. At any rate, leaving
campus the night before “Finals Week” is strange indeed.
08 May, 2006: Spring Finals begin. Mr. Ng's fellow computer engineer majors
show up to take their exams.
16 May, 2006: Columbia SEAS Class Day. As every Columbia student earning
a Bachelor of Science hears his or her name read out over a giant crowd of beaming, proud
parents with all sorts of digital cameras, the family of Mr. and Mrs. Ng hear nothing.
17 May, 2006: Responding to a 911 call, a fat Asian nerd's bloated carcass
is fished from Pier 17, between South and Fulton Street, out of the East River.
Just look at that picture. I swear - To look this much of a SEAS Asian nerd
requires tremendous effort.
Let's assume that news reports over a suicide are going to be sympathetic.
With this assumption, we can assume also that any quote about Mr. Ng will be ones full of sympathy
and praise.
Why speak ill of the dead?
“I'm worried about the kid you know, we spent some time together....you
kind of worry,” says Jonathan Oy.
Jesus fucking Christ - the only thing this guy can say is that he kind of
worries - which should be expected if an acquaintance is missing, and that you have a soul. And
the other thing: “we spent some time together:” who the fuck says that about his friend?
You'd expect something like, “we hung out a lot,” or “we ate lunch together all
the time,” or “I stole his bitch.” “We spent some time together” can
only imply that Mr. Ng might have sat in front of you in one of your Asian nerd classes, or that
he lived accross from you. My God.
“The first time I heard about the disappearance was via email and
I saw flyers around campus,” says an anonymous Columbia student.
Wait, wait, Richard Ng's been missing? Nobody knew?
“Richard, we all love you, so whatever you do, come back please,”
says Kin Ng, Richard's father.
Look you bastard, you're breaking your father's heart. You are a douchebag.
Look what you're putting your family through. Just because you have affirmed yourself as
a failure at life doesn't mean you have to make your father lose sleep over you as well. Your old
man does not deserve your punishment of him. Why are you so selfish that you have to make others
suffer along with you?
Oh, and then there's Richard Ng's mother:
“He loved to read.”
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This kid's mother, upon reflecting over his 22 years
of existence, points out that he liked to read. Wouldn't you expect a grieving mother to say, “he
was the best son a mom could wish for,” or “losing him is absolutely heartbreaking?” Nope.
Since she put him through college, it's not that she does not love him - she must be in such a state
of shock that when it finally wears off, she is going to be in a world of anguish.
WHAT THE FUCK?
You may ask, “Dinah, let's say hypothetically that I agree with you
that suicide is a horrible, selfish thing. So what if the kid's a loser? Have you no pity?
Can't you empathize with him? At any rate, why are you making fun of him for being a loser?”
In committing suicide, Richard Ng has validated his social status as a reject,
for all of eternity. Until he killed himself, he still had total potential to better himself,
either not to be an Asian nerd, or at least be a very rich and successful Asian nerd. But
now he has given up on himself absolutely.
“But Dinah, what if he telling himself, 'Nobody would miss me if
I killed myself?,”
That's some narrow-minded bullshit.
The Reality
Anyone walking around this campus these past few days can feel the hurt that
he has caused everyone. Those that knew him are going through unfathomable suffering. Those
of us who never knew him cannot stop thinking about him regardless. How selfish of him to
draw the illogical conclusion that the rest of us lack the humanity and decency not to be affected
by the death of another human being.
He has also stated to us that whatever he was going through was so painful
and unique that he was beyond the help of anyone. He was too good to need your help.
Don't get pissed at me for bashing Richard Ng. Appreciate me for my appreciation
and gratitude for the preciousness of human life.
To pity or empathize with Richard Ng is to condone quitters.
For Christ's sake, this guy was a National Merit Scholar. He was attending
Columbia - an “Ivy League” university. He had potential. He quit on himself. We shouldn't
condone quitters. These people are the kind who sit on their asses, sipping malt liquor as
they wait for their welfare checks. These people are the kind who play the “race card” instead
of actually earning things through personal achievement. We should have nothing but contempt
for them. Those of us who have not given up on ourselves can neither tolerate nor accept
those who are so painfully lacking in strength of will.
However, Richard Ng is much worse than a welfare leecher or an loud-mouth,
“oppressed” minority. Religious or not, we are all aware of the fact that so long as
we are alive, the one thing that we can truly call our own, the one thing that hold onto
until our last faint, faltering breath, is our mortality. Whether life is some sort of divine
gift or just the random firing of neurotransmitters, it is the one thing that we should not and
cannnot take for granted. Society frowns on murderers. Richard Ng has murdered himself.
Written by Dinah Cheshire
Exclusive property of www.applesanity.com
All of that being said, I would feel deeply saddened if someone forced him into
dying or if he suffered some chemical imbalance or mental disorder. All of that being said, I would
feel deeply saddened if someone forced him into dying or if he suffered some chemical imbalance
or mental disorder. Otherwise,
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