Thelma

I agree with you. It's important to know why he did it if we stand any chance of preventing this from happening again. What bothers me about the media is asking these students and families to relive their horror and loss for our entertainment. They should be allowed to speak when they are ready to relive that horror.

My son was ridiculed for his race throughout his school years. He was also ridiculed for not having expensive clothing and toys. He handled it without lashing out because I was there for him whenever he came home crying after he'd been doused with urine and called a "ni**er."

When he graduated from high school, he couldn't find a job or get into college. I worried about him because he was surrounded by wealth. Half of his friends were from wealthy families who indulged their children with luxuries. The other half were gang members who flaunted their luxuries. When he went out to dinner with his friends, they ate the entrees - he ate crackers. I was glad when he decided to join the Navy because I was afraid the temptation to join a gang might be too much. Now I'm terrified because he's scheduled to go to Iraq on his next deployment. I spent so much time and energy teaching him to communicate with his mouth to settle disputes - not with fists or guns.

When I was growing up, there was a young American Indian boy who had been taken from his reservation and placed with a family here. The kids were vicious towards him. Like this VT killer, he was the target because he was quiet, shy, and "foreign" - a boy of a different color. His family beat him regularly in order for him to become a good Christian. It didn't work. He didn't become a killer, but he dropped out of school, turned on his family, and turned to drugs. Last I heard, he was dying from AIDS. His family says it's HIS fault.

One of my son's closest friends was a young Jordanian boy his age born and raised here in town. After 9/11, everyone treated him like a "terrorist" - including the teachers and community. One day he was pulled out of his car and beaten in front of the school - and NO ONE came to his aid. He committed suicide on Christmas day, 2001 - at the age of 17.

My heart breaks for the parents of that boy who killed all those students. It was very touching to see a stone placed for him as well in memorium.