There's no excuse for criminal acts
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Dear HCN,
I found it ironic and disturbing that the same issue containing an article decrying the hate crime in Laramie had a letter cheering the hate crime in Vail and an opinion piece loosely excusing it (HCN, 11/9/98). Whether you like the Vail decision or not, it was shaped by public involvement and scrutiny. Applauding or making excuses for the secretive unilateral criminal act at Vail is to discard our system of rules, checks and balances and show tolerance for the bully's violence-on-a-whim of anarchy.
If that is what we really want, then in principle we should hold the burning of buildings in Vail with the same regard as the bulldozing of a road into the Utah wilderness or even the senseless murder of a young man. Personally, I view the perpetrators of these acts with the contempt and disgust they deserve.
Bruce Erickson
Frenchtown, Montana
I found it ironic and disturbing that the same issue containing an article decrying the hate crime in Laramie had a letter cheering the hate crime in Vail and an opinion piece loosely excusing it (HCN, 11/9/98). Whether you like the Vail decision or not, it was shaped by public involvement and scrutiny. Applauding or making excuses for the secretive unilateral criminal act at Vail is to discard our system of rules, checks and balances and show tolerance for the bully's violence-on-a-whim of anarchy.
If that is what we really want, then in principle we should hold the burning of buildings in Vail with the same regard as the bulldozing of a road into the Utah wilderness or even the senseless murder of a young man. Personally, I view the perpetrators of these acts with the contempt and disgust they deserve.
Bruce Erickson
Frenchtown, Montana
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