(Associated Press photo)
Liviu Librescu was killed on Monday by the shooter at Virginia Tech. He died protecting his students as the gunman tried to enter his class.
I was immediately impressed by Librescu’s act of heroism. Then, as I learned more about him, I found that he faced cruelty and insanity before.
While Cho Seung-Hui whines and blames in his media manifesto, Liviu Librescu is loved and respected for facing real oppression, not imaginary enemies.
An Israeli engineering and math professor, Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years. He was a teacher, a builder, and a family man.
What really hit me on a deeper level was that this hero survived the Nazi death camps. The Jewish Holocaust is well known but the American public is still learning about the far reaching effects of its oppression and violence. The families of the victims at Virginia Tech now share this somber reality.
However, the student emails and testimonials of Librescu’s heroism are a source of hope. The killer’s defeat didn’t come with his suicide; it came with the defiance of a parent and Holocaust survivor.
As we make sense of this tragedy, there should be a balance between reporting on the shooter and the lives of the victims. Don’t immortalize a madman and forget the real heroes who suffered with dignity and died in possession of their humanity.
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