Student Adds Memorial Stone for VTech Gunman
crittables
Posts: 342
just curious what everyone's thoughts are on this. i can see the argument eitehr way.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/student-adds-memorial-stone-for-gunman/20070426115109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Student Adds Memorial Stone for Gunman
Virginia Tech Senior Cites Moral Responsibility
AP
BLACKSBURG, Va. (April 26) - A senior at Virginia Tech said moral responsibility led her to add a stone for gunman Seung-Hui Cho to a memorial for his 32 shooting victims that was set up at Virginia Tech late last week.
The stone was later removed, but was restored by Wednesday morning.
Katelynn Johnson, a senior sociology-psychology major, identified herself in a letter to the Collegiate Times as the person who added the stone for Cho.
"My family did not raise me to do what is popular," she wrote in her letter to the campus newspaper. "They raised me to do what is morally right. We did not lose only 32 students and faculty members that day; we lost 33 lives."
In her letter, Johnson said she feared a backlash from students and possibly faculty members who did not agree with having a stone for the killer included in the memorial. But she said feedback since the letter was published has been largely positive.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/student-adds-memorial-stone-for-gunman/20070426115109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Student Adds Memorial Stone for Gunman
Virginia Tech Senior Cites Moral Responsibility
AP
BLACKSBURG, Va. (April 26) - A senior at Virginia Tech said moral responsibility led her to add a stone for gunman Seung-Hui Cho to a memorial for his 32 shooting victims that was set up at Virginia Tech late last week.
The stone was later removed, but was restored by Wednesday morning.
Katelynn Johnson, a senior sociology-psychology major, identified herself in a letter to the Collegiate Times as the person who added the stone for Cho.
"My family did not raise me to do what is popular," she wrote in her letter to the campus newspaper. "They raised me to do what is morally right. We did not lose only 32 students and faculty members that day; we lost 33 lives."
In her letter, Johnson said she feared a backlash from students and possibly faculty members who did not agree with having a stone for the killer included in the memorial. But she said feedback since the letter was published has been largely positive.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
i agree. i think the gunmen's family probably appreciates it just as much as the victims families.
Not so sure about that. And I'm not sure she went about this the right way. Maybe a stone should be included for the killer, but perhaps bringing up the discussion first rather than just doing it, huh?
Anyhow, my vote would be to not include a stone for the cause of the other stones, but I can definitely see the value and could be convinced otherwise.
my comment isn't about whether the stone should be there or not ... only about her actions ...
And I don;t see how sneaking a stone for a killer in a memorial and then writing a letter about it equals courage.
I think the policeforce that ran towards the building with a gunman that killed over 30 students is the definition of courage.
But to each their own I suppose....
because she acted in the face of popular opinion to do what she felt was morally right ... she owned up to what she did and was prepared to suffer any consequences ...
courage doesn't just have to be about facing physical threats. there is the threat here of backlash from other students, not necessarily violent backlash. so i think it's courageous.
True courage for putting a stone out for a mass murderer? Yah, REAL COURAGE!
puke
I'm not saying that everyone dosn't have a right to their opinions, or that they would be wrong to NOT want the killer included in the memorial, but at the same time, there is a grieving mother & family involved for this person too. The shooters life met a tragic end as well.
For some reason when I first read this, I thought about ground zero in NY. I would have had a totally different reaction to someone memorializing the hijackers on 9/11. I don't mean to open up a whole other debate here, but I am not sure what the difference is beyond a gut feeling, a sense of sympathy that the VA tech shooter felt so enraged and depressed about his life that he felt he had no other options. The hijackers were something of a different breed to me.
Its an interesting debate, and both sides have valid points.
Yeah, I can kinda see that....but 'true courage' is a bit strong. Maybe I'm making a big deal over semantics.
maybe ... maybe not - it's up to you to decide ... we can all define that word our own way ...
If she wants to mourn or grieve the loss of Cho's life, I certainly respect that, but I don't think that it belongs with the rest of the innocent victims of the tragedy.
She must be much more forgiving than me, because I couldn't do it... if someone shot and killed my friends or relatives or whatever, the last thing that I would want to do is honor them in some way.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Yeah, but 32 of those lives were taken.
Only 1 person planned to lose their life that day.
I feel for his family, but they can have their own memorial for him.