A Nation in Mourning

• Share

I applaud TIME for featuring victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy on the cover [April 30]. You reminded us that the lives taken were real. Some of the photos hinted at extracurricular interests; others were obviously school, military or formal photographs. All were pictures of promise. The images of Cho Seung-Hui were disturbing and indicative of the evil in the world. But the faces staring at me from your cover, while heartbreaking, were reminders of the love and promise that abound. Thank you for showing them to us.
Christopher Yodice, LEVITTOWN, NEW YORK, U.S.

Your cover was a very stirring tribute and a great way to memorialize victims of the terrible tragedy that was the Virginia Tech shooting. Unfortunately, Cho's face was missing. While far from a tragic hero, of course, he did die that day, and there's no telling how his death — and that of 32 other people — could have been avoided.
M. Brandon Robbins, GOLDSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.

Why does it perplex us when these violent eruptions take place? One needs only to channel-surf the television any night of the week to see show after show dealing with murder, rape, stalkers, violence toward police, gangs, war and domestic violence. Ours is a culture in which The Sopranos is considered great entertainment. What entertains you becomes a part of you.
Anne M. Perry, HAMILTON, NEW YORK, U.S.

Why don't schools install loudspeakers all over campus so students can be notified immediately of a life-threatening crisis? Sending an e-mail is a little like sending notices by post to a population about to be hit by a tsunami. That said, those of us living and teaching in Canada are very saddened by the events at Virginia Tech and send everyone our sympathies and support.
Benet Davetian, CHARLOTTETOWN, CANADA

We mourn the inexplicable, tragic murder of innocent people at Virginia Tech — the worst killing of its kind in the history of our country, we are told. Let's also take just a moment to reflect on what every day must be like for the citizens of Iraq, where senseless killings of this magnitude have become a regular occurrence in the four years since we invaded their country. Every time we read a sidebar saying "32 killed by suicide bomber," this is what it is like.
Paul Graff, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.

The truest form of self-sacrificing heroism was demonstrated by a man whose career choice promised him safety and security. As a schoolboy, Liviu Librescu survived the Holocaust, but as a professor more than six decades later, he died blocking a classroom door to save his imperiled students. Perhaps the horrors he experienced as a youth created in him a bravery so profound that as soon as he heard gunshots, he knew what he had to do. It's impossible to say how God's hand plays into such things, but no matter how miraculous Librescu's survival during World War II, moments before his brave death, he became a doomed but beautiful guardian angel to the students who are alive because of his heroism.
David L. Fraser, CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, U.S.

While the world can sympathize with the bereaved in the Virginia Tech killings, there seems little point in the American people getting too upset about them. Such killings are merely a form of blood tax that has to be paid for the imagined privilege of gun ownership.
Paul Eastaugh, READING, ENGLAND

Voices from V.T.
As 1973 graduates of Virginia Tech, my wife and I were very impressed with your cover honoring the victims of the horrible assault at our alma mater [April 30]. As true Hokies, we will remember the best four years of our lives at Virginia Tech. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. In true Hokie tradition, we also feel for the family of the gunman.
Dennis L. Napier, YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA, U.S.