dojN001443.xml

dojN001443.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-08

Tuesday, January 08, 2002 10:11 AM


The word just means fair. While I along with every other American, grieve the loss of lives, and the loss of innocence that America has suffered because of the terrorist attacks, the fact remains that when someone is brutally murdered, the families suffer.

My husband was brutally murdered in 1990; he never had a chance. My, and my children's lives were instantly changed. I became a widow at the age of 34, children grew up without a father, a son was lost that day. There was no life insurance. We were not compensated by the government for the loss we suffered or the post traumatic stress disorder or anything else. The CVC paid for his funeral. Three children were under 17, and I had been a wife and mother all my life. The only child that received survivor's benefits from SS was the youngest; he was five. The other three were "only step-children", and supposed to receive child support. They DID not. We lived a life of poverty although we were innocent victims.

Be it a plane, car, gun, or otherwise that causes the death the loss is the same. The tragedy remains; lives are forever changed, and the change is irrevocable. How do you measure the loss of a human life and what it means to a wife, son, etc? Their heirs are not usually compensated by anybody, and almost never by the taxpayers. As a taxpayer who has suffered all that these victims now suffer I must ask Why the victims of 11 Sept.? Is this not discrimination? How can their suffering and loss be calculated to be more than ours? Is this to prevent lawsuits against the airlines? The airline bailout is so far in excess of their losses associated with 11 Sept., they could pay millions per victim out of the excess.

Charitable contributions for 11 Sept. victims and their families are probably enough by themselves. (I don't know the exact numbers.) The major side effect is the loss of contributions to previously existing charities, such as homeless shelters. Federal funds would be best spent on necessary humanitarian aid, without regard to whether or not 11 Sept. is the cause of the need. And for those who have enough, don't feed their greed.

Individual Comment
Texas

2002-01-08