Give me Kerry or give me death

...He chose death.

A 25-year-old Georgian apparently killed himself at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan over the weekend as a result of George W. Bush's reelection. Now, I can only assume this man, Andrew Veal, was a democrat...and as a democrat myself, I must say this does not reflect well on us. I voted for Kerry, and when Bush won, I wasn't exactly thrilled, but I'm still alive.

His friends, family and coworkers all said that this was a form of protest on his part and that the location of the former WTC site was symbolic. Maybe Veal thought that Bush did in fact know about what was going to happen on Sept. 11, 2001, and he allowed it to happen. I suppose Veal's alledged actions are a symbol of Bush "allowing" another person to die at that same site.

Personally, I don't believe Bush would have allowed those attacks, so I do not agree with the "symbolism" of Veal's actions. No national leader turns his back when his country loses that many lives. That theory is ridiculous.

What else is ridiculous is that he supposedly committed suicide because Bush won the election. SUICIDE! It's my belief that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. In this case, that problem would be solved in four years. Maybe that seems like a long time to wait, but if the alternative is death then four years is nothing.

I believe Veal's actions represent something very troubling about our country. He apparently attempted to use suicide as a form of protest. I can't begin to summarize just how asinine that is.

As an American citizen, the guy had the right to vote. Vote against Bush if you want. That's your right. It's not your right to commit suicide. Suicide is a crime. It's murder.

I don't know what was going through this guy's head when he did that, but I can't believe that people would actually kill themselves over an election. Yes, this was the "most important election of our lives" according every political commentator on television, but because it's the most important election of our lives, maybe we should at least live out our lives and see how it turns out. I know that many people threatened to move to Canada if Bush won, and I found out a few people did try heading north of the border. If faced with the dilemma of choosing Canada or death, I'd choose Canada.

But seriously, I hope people see just how stupid this is. Some might say I'm being insensitive to the issue of suicide, but under the circumstances which he apparently killed himself, I can't see this act as being anything more than a childish rant taken to an extreme.

On another note, I would also like to express my extreme frustration about where this man chose to take his life. When the planes hit the towers on Sept. 11 every American's life changed forever, especially those in New York City and Washington. Thousands of people became victims and countless others became heroes. Firefighters and police officers gave their lives to help save others. An enemy attacked us. They killed Americans. It was the worst attack on American soil ever. I cannot express just how sorry I feel for anyone who lost a loved one on that day. That was truly a tragedy.

What this man did disgraces that. Damn you Andrew Veal. You are not a martyr for anything respectible so don't try to be. You are not in the same category of people who were killed on that site three years ago. You aren't a victim. You are a murderer. Just like the hijackers, you too are responsible for taking a life on that very same site.