Opinion

Why die in vain?

Suicide at ground zero says everything, does nothing

By Mike Melochick

Posted on Nov. 11, 2004, at 12:00 a.m.

Last week Andrew Veal, a 25-year-old Georgia resident, shot and killed himself as a result of the re-election of President Bush. The act of suicide itself exhibits an extreme feeling of despair. Veal was so distraught by election results that he ended his life. Did I mention where Veal blew himself away? He drove nearly a thousand miles from Georgia to New York City to make the ultimate protest at the site of America’s greatest modern-day tragedy; he drove to New York to kill himself at ground zero – the site where the two towers of the World Trade Center were toppled on Sept. 11, 2001.

The mere mention of ground zero, the World Trade Center or the Sept. 11 attacks conjure the same feelings of loss and grief today as they did three years ago.

Veal’s supremely selfish final act at such a prominently symbolic location is the ultimate act of protest. What did he expect to accomplish by killing himself at the epicenter of the worst terrorist attacks ever to hit American soil?

Veal left no suicide note, just family and a girlfriend to grieve for him in Georgia. The absence of a note in such a public suicide is odd. Perhaps Veal felt as if his actions were so deliberate that he need not leave a note. Maybe he just flat out forgot. Again, it seems naive to think that someone who would drive nearly a thousand miles to make a political statement would forget something so crucial.

I believe Veal left no note because he wanted to be viewed as a martyr. Actions speak louder than words, and what could be louder than blowing your brains out at the site of the worst attrocities in our nation’s history?

Veal’s death and the prominent location of his suicide offer insight no note ever could. What better way to exhibit the needless loss of life than at ground zero – the very spot where over three thousand innocent people lost their lives. The difference is that these people were there because they had to be; they were there working. Veal was there for selfish motives and outrageous political ideals. He could not cope with the current political situation and opted to die.

Veal took the easy way out. He never tried to bear the hardship or strive for change. Instead of making a difference, he opted to make a statement regarding our political system. He wasted an opportunity to do something positive by killing himself in an area abounding with negativity.

Sen. Bob Kerrey spoke at the University of Maine this past Tuesday regarding the findings of the 9-11 Commission, which he was part of. He said people are prone to disagree with our government in some way, and that’s fine. He said the problem comes when zealots, like Osama bin Laden, take it upon themselves to implement change through negative resistance or action.

Couldn’t the actions of Veal be viewed as a similarly overzealous political discourse with equally ineffective results? Bush isn’t going to leave the office because one man who took issue with his re-election shot himself at ground zero. Hell, he wouldn’t leave office if a slew of people shot themselves on the White House lawn to protest his victory.

The three thousand people who died in the Sept. 11 attacks need not die in vain because they showed us the price of freedom. The same cannot be said about Veal and his selfish squandering of life. Nothing was gained from his death besides a sensationalist sentiment, as well as a grieving family left with one less son and so many unanswered questions.

Mike Melochick is a senior journalism major who never ceases to be amazed and appalled by human nature.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 11th, 2004, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.