A Nation in Mourning

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.

Two diplomas on my office wall bear the Virginia Tech seal. The university and the Blacksburg community hold a special place in my heart. Virginia Tech was an idyllic refuge from many of the social issues that plague too much of modern-day America. Today it is stained by the actions of a lone coward, and a little piece of me has died inside. The media have criticized the responsiveness of police and university officials as politicians debate the merits of gun control. So-called experts have provided explanations for an insane act. In the end, we will continue to ignore the fact that our culture has so cheapened the value of life that we have instilled in a generation of young people a lack of personal responsibility.
Christopher J. Fettig, WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA, U.S.

Our son received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math and engineering at Virginia Tech in 2001. The campus has an extraordinary atmosphere. I am dismayed by those who insist that security is lax. To expect that buildings have badge readers and surveillance cameras is ludicrous. An open campus is essential to university life. Installing numerous security devices would adulterate that atmosphere. Moreover, it would give a false sense of security and would not have prevented this tragedy. A very determined, very deranged young man perpetrated these atrocities. He was intent on mayhem, and he succeeded. It was the courage of many individuals that prevented the mayhem from being far worse. Hindsight is 20/20. Rather than cast aspersions on an exemplary institution, let’s move forward in healing.
Sharon Conley, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.

Causes of Psychosis
Re Jeffrey Kluger’s “Inside a Mass Murderer’s Mind” [April 30]: Thank you for the insight into Cho’s mental state. Of course, no one can be sure what exactly was going on in his brain, but it helps to read substantial psychological facts that might give some answers to a devastated nation. People are desperately trying to find the reason something as horrific as this could happen, and the article provided some understanding of a mentally unstable human being.
Laura Bowman, LOS ANGELES, U.S.

Cho’s mental illness is just one of the many issues in the terrible tragedy in Virginia. But most types of mental illness do not have a component of psychosis. In fact, many people with psychosis are rehabilitated with medication, counseling and monitoring, and never turn violent. Let’s use the term mental illness judiciously so that its stigma does not prevent people from seeking help and early intervention. If we don’t, paradoxically, that could cause more patients to slip through the cracks.
Anuradha Gupta, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.

Liberation in the Long View
I am once again dismayed by Nigeria’s inability to conduct free and fair democratic elections [April 30]. There was democracy in Nigeria before, and there can be again. We have not only politicians to blame for this disgraceful situation but also those shortsighted individuals who mastermind ways to rig the voting process — burning electoral offices, stealing and stuffing ballot boxes — all in a bid to make money that won’t get them past the weekend.
Sheye Lawal, LONDON

Smoke Screen
Your article about how Hollywood glamorizes smoking was illustrated with photos of Scarlett Johansson, Terrence Howard and Jack Nicholson lighting up in recent films [April 30]. You did not mention that all three were playing criminals. We don’t see a lot of heroes smoking in films anymore. We do, however, still see lots of movie heroes solving their problems with fists and guns. That’s a bigger problem than cigarettes.
William Flanagan, NEW YORK CITY

Impoverished and Afraid
Alex Perry’s excellent article “Land of Chains and Hunger” highlighted the tragedy of Zimbabwe under the rule of President Robert Mugabe [April 23]. Another loser is South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki and his ineffective policy of “quiet diplomacy” (what South Africans call “silent diplomacy”). Mbeki’s supposedly close ties with Mugabe have not helped him develop a plan to rescue Zimbabwe from its dire situation, and his government needs to shoulder responsibility for its indecisiveness. While it may be difficult to imagine the situation in Zimbabwe worsening, it will, and South Africa will surely feel the effect. It is only a matter of time before the African leaders who so often criticize Western governments call on them to aid Zimbabwe.
Gavin Murray, TONBRIDGE, ENGLAND

After months of excessive coverage of the Iraq war and the 2008 U.S. presidential election — issues that, while pertinent to the world, don’t have the same level of urgency for southern Africa — it was heartening to see such a major disaster highlighted on the cover. Characterizing the situation in Zimbabwe as political oppression would be putting it mildly. The stories being told by many Zimbabweans now living in South Africa seem to be straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. When they return home to Zimbabwe, they find that their family members are afraid to speak out for fear of landing in jail. If Zimbabwe had the assets that world powers have, perhaps the people of that beautiful country would find salvation. I just hope that my own country’s policy of quiet diplomacy turns noisier.
Nicole Geater, CAPE TOWN