"Ismale Ax" tattooed on VT shooter's arm. May have math connection.

[The Backlash Cometh]

Calling all Mathematicians. There was a tattoo on Cho's arm which said, "Ismale Ax." Most the the links that came up suggest it's a mathematical term.

Can anyone check this out?

My 2 cents: Cho may have had some proficiency or interest in mathematics, but may have focused on an English major because it was an obstacle he had to clear. In which case, being on a campus with highly proficient Techies must have been too much for him to bear, and he snapped.

[soothsayer]

1. wasn't it written in red ink rather than tattooed?

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Rawstory linked two different sources that said two different things

.

According to the Chicago Tribune, "Cho also died with the words 'Ismail Ax' in red ink on one of his arms."

On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Cho had a tattoo, as opposed to just red ink, and that the words were written as 'Ismale Ax.'

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Virginia_Tech_killer_identified__Cho_0417.html

[gaspee]

2. Those!

Dastardly math geeks! The guy was deranged. He had a persecution complex. Someone could have used his *shampoo* and he would have done this. I don't know why the calls for investigation into his mental health weren't acted upon. You can never tell, exactly, who's actions will be directed internally and whose will go outward.

I don't think the lone spree killer can ever be stopped. Limiting his access to weapons is another matter.

[Vilis Veritas]

3. Uhmm..Ismail Ax

Story of Ishmael.

Biblical spellings differ.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15774/15774-h/15774-h.htm

Another:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I don't think it has a biblical origin. Do a yahoo search for "Ismale Ax"

It has references that have to do with arithmetic.

[Vilis Veritas]

10. You have the spelling wrong.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0407/1803_vt_cho_arm.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704170800apr18,1,6836393.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

And then of course there is this.

http://crimeblog.us/?p=370

The spelling is Ismail. A biblical derivative of Ishmael...or the blog poster nailed it.

You decide. Just adding my 10 bucks...

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Geeesh! Was I having a dyslexic moment this morning!

[Vilis Veritas]

12. The yahoo..

listing I get deals with the method isMale(), not arithmetic...

There are only two articles that I can find on google that refer to the ismale spelling all others confirm the ismail spelling.

http://crimeblog.us/?p=370

Read the whole blog...if it interest you that much.

[msmcghee]

6. Sounds like one of those fantasy names . .

. . that gamers pick up. Something I'd expect to see in the list of high scoring players on a game in some arcade.

[Rocknrule]

8. That's what I'd expect to hear from Jack Thompson

since, you know, videogames are the root of all evil according to him

[Clark2008]

23. And, according to the poster's avatar.

[azurnoir]

20. The Dracomancer Chronicles

never heard of it before looks like an online work in progress maybe
http://forums2.battleon.com/f/printable.asp?m=4606901

[azurnoir]

9. A DU thread about a place where that would make you a hero

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x688240
nice try

[Vilis Veritas]

7. Anti-depressants

can make some people crazier...just my 10 bucks worth...

[HardRocker05]

11. "ax" is arabic transliteration for "brother;" doesn't make any sense, that i can see,

but that possibility occurred to me.

[Vilis Veritas]

13. Ishmael was Abraham's eldest son

Brother of Isaac.

Read the story Ishmael on Project Guttenberg to get the full story and also the references to the Ax...

A link and a quote from the story...http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15774/15774-8.txt

"Nora hesitated, shivered, and gasped; but could not then ask the
question that was to confirm her fate; it was worse than throwing the
dice upon which a whole fortune was staked; it was like giving the
signal for the ax to fall upon her own neck. At last, however, it came,
in low, fearful, but distinct words:"

[trashcanistanista]

14. Bob Marley song "Big Tree"

"You are the big tree, I am a small ax, going to cut you down, cut you down" refers to the big three record companies at the time in Kingston, if memory serves.

[WiseButAngrySara]

15. H2OMan had a fascinating thread on this yesterday. I'll

try to find the link. Just google "Ismael Ax" ... I did yesterday and there were already thousands of links.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x682977

Edited to add link.

[Vilis Veritas]

16. He was a English Major.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15774/15774-8.txt

Read the story. It is interesting. There are quite a few lines in the story that made me blink.

A good read regardless of why I read it.

l8r...

[Saynowod]

17. I read this somewhere yesterday

Read the story of Ibrahim destroying the idols of the people, their idols
of wealth and debauchery. He used an Ax. Allah, thankful of this
happening, blessed Ibrahim with a great prophet. Who Ibrahim named
Ismail.


Can't confirm this is true, but it fits in with what they've been reporting about (I believe it was) his note he left. Said something about the rich privileged kids and debauchery on campus.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi Saynowod!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. Thanks for explanation!

No one ever wants to believe that there are consequences when a society develops a class of privileged individuals, but, I suspect, we are on the edge of the breaking point.

[Jacobin]

26. That looks to be the most likely connection

And welcome to DU

:hi:

[Geek_Girl]

19. I believe it was a biblical reference

I read in some article that said, his note that he left behind had references to religion. My guess is this is not a math reference.

[coffeenap]

21. Code to remind himself to "mail" his package to NBC? nt

[ecstatic]

24. Would people try to understand mindset if gunman was black or muslim?

Nope. The guy would just be a criminal/terrorist and that would be the end of it.

Nevertheless, I am intrigued to find out what drove this guy...

[ohio2007]

27. Maybe AX it is short for "Maniax"

XFL - Memphis Maniax









http://www.all-xfl.com/memphismaniax/

interesting twist to Ax,
just putting it out there

[RamboLiberal]

28. Some other theories and I wonder if he mailed answer to NBC?

Two theories come from literature, where Ismail is spelled Ishmael.

In one, tied to James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Prairie," Ishmael Bush is known as an outlawed warrior, according to an essay written in 1969 by William Goetzmann, a University of Texas History professor. In Cooper's book, "Bush carries the prime symbol of evil — the spoiler's axe," the professor wrote.

Also, the narrator from "Moby Dick," Ishmael, is considered an enigma who is well-educated yet considers his time on a whaling ship worthy of time at Yale or Harvard, according to education site Sparknotes.com.

Cho was an English major at Virginia Tech.

Other theories speculate that Ismail Ax could be a reference to Cho's nickname on a video-gaming site or that it is a misspelling of Turkish hip-hop artist Ismail YK.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003670889_shootax18.html?syndication=rss

One "Nightline" viewer recognized "Ismail-Ax" from a poem he had read by Drum Hadley, the 1960s beat poet. The poem is called the "The Goat Ranchers" and in it Hadley, under the pseudonym Yonder Ridgeline, writes about "Ishmael's Ax." Here's the excerpt:


Went where they'd herded goats when they were kids,
Went where they were lovers,
Went where they were married here, those fifty years ago.
Traces of Ishmael's ax on the scarred trunks of the cedar trees,
Crossing the canyons and winding arroyos.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3053904&page=1