An Oklahoma City Forever Changed

Re “For Oklahoma City, a Wound Too Deep for ‘Closure,’ ” June 6: Neither my family nor I was physically injured in the bombing. We have friends who were more personally affected--a family member killed, a car crushed, someone employed at a business that had to close. Yet I still get a catch in my throat when I think about the local newscaster who spoke that evening to kids watching TV by themselves: “If your mommy or daddy works downtown, and they are not home from work yet, I want you to call this phone number.”

The writer is exactly right; “closure” is just a media buzzword. They demand it for us, and they have no idea what they are asking. The event and its continuing impact on the community will never go away. The scarred buildings, the site of the devastation, Timothy McVeigh and the mind-numbing grief will go away. And instead of closure we will have wisdom born of looking your worst fears in the eye, then walking away with your sanity and your dignity. God help us all if Oklahoma City ever has closure.

Diana S. Booher

Oklahoma City

So McVeigh wants his life to end on his own terms. Did somebody forget to remind him that he’s being executed? I have a new prototype for irony.

Paul Weingarten

Orange

McVeigh is getting so much attention. Isn’t he just loving every minute of it?

Maurine Reedy Ruzek

Los Angeles

Will McVeigh’s execution bring closure to the many people awaiting it? I don’t think his execution will make us feel any better. People are not always satisfied with what they get. It’s not right to take away a man’s life. I believe that man doesn’t have the power to sentence another man, because we are all evil. It may range from trivial evils to massive evil like that of McVeigh. When the judge and government sentence McVeigh to death, that makes them murderers in a way too. We are saying that it is OK to kill someone, as long as you have a legitimate reason. This is a wrong idea, especially for the children.

Cynthia Kim

Granada Hills