THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505120237
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 34 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
LENGTH: Long : 161 lines
North Carolina Editor Ronald L. Speer is on vacation this week.
Filling in for him is a group of seventh-graders at First Flight Middle School who have written to express their feelings on the April 19 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.
Every day I see pictures on the news and in the paper of a destroyed building, injured people, grieving friends and relatives, and the smiling faces in pictures of those killed in the explosion. I hear about all the destruction and grief present in Oklahoma City, and I hope that the consciences of the people who are responsible for this will haunt them forever with the knowledge that they caused this sorrow.
Colette Corbin
One day as I watched my TV set, I saw a woman crying because her two children were killed in the building on the day of the bombing. During the interview she said that she would do anything just to read her children one last story. It was then that I realized how precious life is, and how there's nothing that can replace it, and that no amount of money can take the place of her children.
Unfortunately, those who died in this tragedy will never hear another bedtime story, or have the opportunity to see another day. But their memories will live on.
Jacki Dare Fritz
I am very angry at the incident in Oklahoma. I don't think it is great to kill people. I wish everyone could live in peace. I don't think it is great to be mad at the FBI and kill the rest of the people in the building. The people that let the bomb off are very stupid to do this; they know the police will get them. It just seems so stupid to kill all those people.
Billy Morton
Whenever you see the innocent children that were killed, your heart breaks. The bombing in Oklahoma has made families come together in sorrow. The people who did this should have to go through the same pain and agony as the people who were in the federal building that day.
Martin Zarate
This event is very tragic and pointless to some. More than one day should be designated for mourning after such a devasting blast. To me this was a personal anger display to avenge a woe that was set upon his family or clan. The group that inflicted this pain to the family has hereby suffered the consequences.
Alex Baer
This has caused nationwide grief, and since this is a very serious matter, it should be dealt with very seriously. We feel that the person or people that did this should get a fair trial, yet they should be punished for harming so many people. People of the United States were at first so quick to judge; some connected the bombing with those of Arab nations while others thought it might have something to do with the current acts of terrorism in parts of Asia.
Leanne Macklin
Angela Steese
Brandy Gibbs
I feel that when Americans start killing each other they should not be jailed, but publicly executed. When people start doing things this bad I don't feel sorry for them at all! I am sure the only people who can forgive these men are God and their parents. I will think about all the victims of this terrorist act for a long time.
James MacDonald
I feel that most people would not expect this to happen in Oklahoma City because it is middle America, and things like that just don't happen there.
The people who did the bombing have robbed this country of citizens that could have made our future better, but they will not rob me or America of the spirit that has made this country the greatest on earth.
Laura Fulcher
Not all people in this world are cruel. Most people are of a loving, caring nature and would not do a horrible thing such as this. Just because someone is upset and displeased with the government gives them no right to go and hurt and kill this many people.
Wondering if you will survive, lying under the debris from the building, wondering if you will be rescued. This thought gives you thanks you are in your secure home. It sends a chill down your spine to just think about being trapped in the building next to a dead, hurt, or dying child.
Jamie Rawdanowicz
Elizabeth Gray
I still can't believe about the bombing in Oklahoma. Although I don't have any relatives or friends in the bombing, I am still sad and terrified and don't know what to expect next. The first time I heard about it I was watching TV and about to go to sleep when I saw a bunch of people crying. At that moment I felt like it would change my life. I am still worried that something like that could happen where I live.
Donnie Smith
This was a horrifying tragedy which should not have ever happened, but I feel there was another tragedy as well. The other tragedy that happened just after the explosion was that the media and many other people were very quick to judge who the bomber was based on things that happened in the Middle East in the past. We must realize that our nation is changing in views and outlooks on issues like politics, religion, etc. And that the people that once were doing horrifying acts against people could very well be your next-door neighbors rather than someone far across the globe around the world.
Matthew Ottavio
Our forefathers fought together to keep freedom in the United States. Our freedom has been replaced with fear. Not only from such acts as the bombing, but also from walking on the beach at night or through a city street.
What can we, as the next generation that will run this country, do to make the United States survive such acts as this bombing? In order for our country to survive and maintain the freedom that was given to us centuries ago, we must work together, not against each other. We must keep this nation from killing itself, and punish the ones that commit the acts of violence.
Jennifer Falstick
The death penalty should go for all those involved in the bombing. Wednesday, April 19, will definitely be remembered by my family and me.
My heart will only be filled with sadness for those who died and happiness for those who survived. Sadness is a deep emotion, and I think it has been felt in the hearts of everyone. I am very happy to see people coming from all around to help Oklahoma in this disaster.
Teresa Kreiger
What was done would have been like blowing up the school because you didn't like your hamburger from McDonald's. All of the people involved in this crime must have a heart the size of a pinhole. Hundreds of innocent human beings were killed by other human beings because of political beliefs.
I hope that the people involved in the bombing will soon be found and given the punishment they deserve!
Brooke Jacobson
The men who did this terrible bombing should suffer the same fate as those who died or were injured. Yet I think there is no penalty that could possibly justify these senseless deaths, especially where the young children are concerned. It was also such a big disaster that the men who did it should have known that the police or FBI will catch them eventually.
Nicky Urch
I think anybody involved in the bombing is a real nut. The reason for that is they must have known that there was a day care center in the building and the bomb would kill lots of innocent people and children.
I don't have any family or friends in Oklahoma City, but I'm really sorry for them all. I'm also kind of scared something like that might happen here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Dan Chiles
This really woke me up to how the world really was. How violence has taken over the United States. After thinking of this, I began to think of how the criminals would be punished. The worst thing the judicial system could give them would be a quick death. The next thing is to serve time in a prison. This again isn't fair, for the taxpayers pay for these menaces to society to live in a cell protected from everything. To get that much protection, I might just commit a crime.
Whatever these madmen get, I hope and pray justice will be served.
Ryan Perry by CNB