In the wake of the recent tragic crash and deaths of our three beautiful brothers and sister in Kakaako, a tragic memory from the past came to my mind. In October 2006, a milk tank driver went into an Amish one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., and shot dead five little girls and wounded five others before killing himself.

The shock, grief and suffering of the Amish community was deep and profound. But what distinguished the Amish from others was their level of forgiveness and expression through action.

On that day, a grandfather of one of the slain was heard saying not to hate or think evil of this man. Members of the community visited the family, attended the killer’s funeral and even lovingly invited his widow to the funeral of one of the victims.

With aloha, can Hawaii’s people be as forgiving, or does our judgment and anger call out for all sorts of new laws to punish? No amount of legislation will eliminate suffering from life. Love, education and living by example are the only ways to reduce such things.

Keith Caywood

Kaimuki

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