Lives lost abroad just as tragic as ones in Virginia

Editor,

We've been reminded in the past days of the failure of American society to control its own weapons of destruction. The loss of 33 lives is certainly tragic, but do the same Americans who cry and pray for those 33 respond likewise to other, greater losses of life?

This one act of violence will be in the news for two weeks or more, yet there is barely a passing mention of thousands of innocent Iraqis killed in the civil war we have facilitated. Moreover, the genocide in Darfur is practically invisible to the corporate media in this country. What makes us so special that 33 American lives are worth more than the people of Darfur or the citizens of Iraq? What makes 33 college students and faculty more deserving of sympathy than more than 3,000 soldiers we have needlessly sacrificed in an unjust war?

As you reflect on the events at Virginia Tech, remember that violence perpetrated against anyone - Iraqi or American, college student or serviceman - is an affront to everyone. Stop the violence and honor the lives of the Virginia Tech victims by ending this war.

Ian Kleats

UNM student