Terrorism in Oklahoma City*

In view of the horror of the bombing in Oklahoma City, maybe it’s time for a large number of our elected officials to stop bashing our government.

The U.S. government is not the enemy of the people. Sadly, a constant barrage of mean-spirited attacks launched by officials in order to pander to the worst instincts of many members of our population give license to various kinds of hatemongers. After all, if elected officials think that government is the enemy, why shouldn’t certain types of activists support their thinking in a way that will teach the government a lesson?

S.J. BAER

Woodland Hills

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I find it fitting that a suspect in the bombing would be caught by a model American (April 22). Charlie Hanger, the Oklahoma trooper who caught suspect Timothy McVeigh speeding toward the Kansas border carrying a concealed weapon, is by definition an American hero. He is a model husband and father, takes his job seriously and is expert enough to not only catch McVeigh, but save his own life.

Hanger is an unsung hero.

DIANE SHEPIT SIMONS

Northridge

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As a Muslim mother of three small children whom I leave daily in the care of others to go to work, I was heartbroken by the carnage in Oklahoma City. Reminiscent of similar atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda, the sight of innocent children in Oklahoma, burned and bloodied, reminded me that human savagery knows no bounds.

But my sadness and empathy for the victims of this terrible tragedy quickly turned to fear for the safety of my own children, as the news of the so-called “Muslim connection” broke out, and my community once again became the target of threats and harassment. While the “experts” with their own political agendas were issuing unfounded opinions about Muslims, my children’s Islamic school had to take security precautions and another school had to close down for a day.

When are we going to realize that there are demented individuals in every religion and culture who resort to acts of terrorism, and that no religion, including Islam, would condone such acts? Perhaps, now that we know who the real perpetrators of this crime are, we can start educating ourselves about other religions and stop victimizing other communities out of ignorance.

NAHID ANSARI

DOWNEY

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In your April 22 lead story on the bombing disaster, your first sentence opened with the comment that the captured suspect was a “gun enthusiast.” Your writers could not wait to attack people who collect guns. The connotation was that all people who like guns are potential terrorists, which is untrue.

SION COLVIN

Woodland Hills

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Will the tragedy in Oklahoma open up our eyes to the real enemy in America? It’s not Middle Eastern terrorists or illegal aliens. We tolerate guns and violence in this culture every day. When are we going to fight the real enemy--the violence right here at home?

SANDRA HARPER

Los Angeles

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I am sorry that the building blew up. I am also very sad that children died and 400 people got hurt. People should not kill and hate. I am sorry that some people don’t have their children anymore.

HALEY SIMONS, Age 7

Northridge

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As sad as the events of the past few days have been, the Clinton Administration must bear some of the responsibility for the bombing. The children that were so callously killed in Waco, Tex., did not deserve to die anymore than those in Oklahoma City. When our own government acts like thugs, can we expect its citizens to act any differently?

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno said she accepted responsibility for the Waco debacle, but she didn’t resign. The fact is she nor anyone else in the Clinton Administration did anything to atone for the killing of the Waco kids. Maybe if they had, the people in Oklahoma City would be alive today.

S. MICHAEL PARKER

Reseda

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My compliments on your compassionate reporting on the bombing disaster. To my mind, the most powerful and telling image you have printed is not the heart-rending photo of dying baby Baylee Almon (April 20)--it is the Genaro Molina photograph of Ernestine Dillard singing “God Bless America” (April 24).

Lest anyone, anywhere, should ever doubt the infinite resilience and resolution of the American people, let them look on the smiling faces of the choir behind Dillard. These people have just gone through a terrible ordeal, yet we see them rejoicing anew. God does Bless America!

JEFFREY J. MAILLIAN

Newport Beach

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Since the arrest of the suspects in the bombing, we hear more and more about the militant pro-gun organizations from which these men hail. The more I hear about these militia, the more I pray for gun control.

These people should not be armed, they should be arrested. Their actions are treasonous. But our Republican Congress would give such groups more weapons more powerful weapons.

I think it’s time for the American people, most of whom believe in some form of gun control, to stand up for what is right. Let’s get the weapons of war out of the hands of “John Doe” on the street. Do it in the name of the children who died in Oklahoma City. Do it before it’s too late.

MARTI R. SHELDON

Huntington Beach

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They must be some of the saddest and most unhappy people in our society. They dress in canvas and paint their faces. Their sense of worth is expressed in bullets, sharp knives--and bombs. They find communion in their shared paranoia. Their illogic dictates that to succeed in their sickness, they are justified in killing babies.

Leave each day a little better than you found it. Speak a few kind and reasonable words to someone--children are included.

JOHN BRANNON

Cambria