. Monday, April26,1999 . . ; : Page2
“I would be misleading you if I said I understand this.
I don’t know why human beings do evil ”
—Vice President A1 Gore
Rick Wblkins/Newsmakers
CLASSMATES PRAY NEAR the coffin carrying the body of Rachel Scott during her funeral in Littleton, Colo., on Saturday. Scott*
family and friends wrote farewell messages on the casket.
Funerals held for Denver victims
■ A1 Gore, Colin Powell
and other U.S. administra
tors spoke at the Littleton,
* Colo., funerals, which
70,000 attended.
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) -
Thirteen white doves fluttered in the
slate-gray sky Sunday, over th^ heads
of 70,000 people who filled a parking
lot to mourn the 12 students and one
teacher massacred at Columbine High
School.
Families, friends and strangers
clung to each other during a 75-minute
memorial service. They clutched flow
ers, blue and silver balloons and Bibles
as they wept and wondered why it hap
pened.
“All of us must change our lives to
honor these children,” Vice President
A1 Gore told the overflow crowd a few
i
blocks from where two teen-agers
went on a rampage and then killed
themselves Tuesday.
“More than ever, I realize every
one of us is responsible for all of the
children.
“No society can be perfect, but we
know the way things should be,” Gore
said, his voice thundering like a
preacher’s.
As Gov. Bill Owens read the name
of each of the 13 victims, a dove was
released. The symbol of peace had a
special meaning: Columbine,
Colorado’s state flower, derives from a
Latin word meaning “like a dove.”
“God grant them eternal peace,”
Owens said of the victims.
Mourners - twice as many as had
been expected - stood in rapt attention
as Gore described how children must
be raised.
He never mentioned by name the
two classmates, seniors Eric Harris
and Dylan Klebold, who went on the
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rampage and tried to blow up the high
school apparently because they felt
like rejected misfits.
Investigators have found a diary
plotting the mayhem in precise detail
for more than a year, as well as bomb
making materials and weapons in one
of the pair’s bedroom.
“I would be misleading you if I
said I understand this. I don’t know
why human beings do evil,” Gore said.
“We must have the courage not to
look away from those who feel
despised and rejected,” he said. “If you
are a parent, they need your attention.
If you are a grandparent, they need
your time.”
Gore and retired Gen. Colin
Powell led an array of dignitaries sur
rounding the makeshift stage in the
movie theater parking lot.
The service was punctuated by
songs performed by a variety of
Christian entertainers, including Amy
Grant, and student musicians.
At 1:30 p.m., brothers Jonathan
and Stephen Cohen opened the ser
vice with a simple “Hi,” and sang a
song they wrote in tribute to the mas
sacre’s victims.
Jonathan Cohen, a junior at
Columbine, was trapped in the choir
room when gunfire erupted. Stephen,
a senior, was in the cafeteria where
many students were shot or hit by
shrapnel from pipe bombs. ; :
“Can you still hear raging guns
ending dreams ofjprecious ones?”
they sang. “In Goa’s sun, hope wilt
come, his red stain will take our pain.”
Roman Catholic Archbishop
Charles Chaput of Denver opened the
services with a prayer.
“Surely the past weeks is about as
much suffering as any community can
bear,” Chaput said. “Love is stronger
than death. I believe that. Perhaps
beyond all this suffering, something
good can be achieved.”
Other dignitaries included U.S.
Sen. Wayne Allard and most of the
state’s congressional delegation, and
state officials, and the Rev. Franklin
Graham, son of evangelist Billy
Graham.
“In the face of an unimaginable
evil, this community has drawn clos
er,” the governor said “The communi
ty has found in itself a tremendous
healing power.”
Mourners of all ages began arriv
ing four hours before the service, for
some, it was the second or third vigil
they had attended since Tuesday’s ram
page. Many were Columbine High
School alumni. One student painted a
heart over his face in Columbine blue.
Four F-16 fighter jets from the
Colorado National Guard zoomed
overhead, led by Columbine graduate
Capt. Scott VanBek. A private plane
trailed a banner overhead reading:
“Our love and prayers are with
you.”
The growing crowd was a swarm
of dark winter parkas splotched with
bright floral bouquets. Florists donat
ed 25,000 bouquets of white and
orange lilies, yellow sunflowers and
daisies, pink carnations and roses of
all hues.
“I wish I could do more,” said
Margaret Stark, 19, who graduated
from high school in nearby Aurora last
year. “You can only give so many flow
mr
Deputies suspended their investi
gation and media briefings for the day,
concentrating insfeadon directing;
traffic for the. service; ;
Later Sunday, die families of vic
tim^ Daniel Mauser and Kelly
Fleming were holding a joint funeral
for their children.
1;; .5 n Slowly, life in Littleton is returning
to normal, even as memorials and
investigations continue.
Jefferson County school officials •
said Columbine’s 1,800 students
would return to classes Thursday at
Chatfielrf High School, a few miles
south. They said Cohimbine^ gradua
tion ceremony will be held May 22 at
Fiddler’s Green, a large suburban
amphitheater normally used for rock
concerts and dance performances.
I I
■ Washington
Congress gives up on
1999 Social Security
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Congress will not act this year to
revitalize the Social Security sys
tem because President Clinton has
failed to lead the way, Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott said
Sunday.
Lott, R-Miss., also predicted
Congress will add as much as $6
billion to Clinton’s $6.05 billion
emergency request to finance the
conflict in Yugoslavia. The money
will come from Social Security’s
surplus.
House Republican leaders
spread word last week among
GOP members in the House that
trying to overhaul Social Security
before the 2000 election campaign
could involve too much political
risk without strong Democratic
involvement.
“Once again, we need some
leadership from the president,”
Lott said. “He backed away from
real reform of Medicare. He’s real
ly proposed nothing on Social
Security.”
White House economic advis
er Gene Sperling said Lott and
other Republicans are the ones
who have failed to present a plan
for Social Security
■ Thailand
Plaque commemorating
American POWs replaced
KANCHANABURI, Thailand
(AP) - A defaced plaque com
memorating American POWs who
died while building the so-called
“Death Railway” during World
War II was replaced Sunday dur
ing a ceremony for the war dead.
The new plaque, which is
located next to the bridge over the
River Kwai, replaces one that was
unveiled in September 1997 and
subsequently vandalized by sou
venir-seekers who pried pieces off
it.
U.S. Ambassador Richard
Hecklinger unveiled the new
plaque during a ceremony that fol
lowed a memorial service hosted
by the New Zealand Embassy at
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery,
where the remains of almost 7,000
Allied POWs are buried.
■ China
Quiet demonstrators
take streets of Chinese
capital
BEIJING (AP) - In the largest
demonstration in Beijing since
Tiananmen Square a decade ago,
more than 10,000 people silently
protested outside China’s leader
ship compound Sunday to demand
the right to freely practice a form
of meditation.
Instead of loud calls for politi
cal change, adherents to Falun
Gong - a brand of meditation and
exercise - quietly and peacefully
occupied sidewalks along the
streets outside Zhongnanhai,
where China’s top leaders work.
From early Sunday until their
orderly, peaceful dispersal late in
the evening, people of all ages
stood or sat on the sidewalks and
did not block traffic.
It was unclear what prompted
the sudden demonstration.
