I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with Paul Douglas Keane’s decision to offer his burial plot in my hometown of Hamden to the family of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. I would like to provide the New Haven community with a student’s perspective on this troubling issue.
I am currently ending my sophomore year at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Bentley is approximately four miles from Watertown, where Tsarnaev’s younger brother was apprehended in a local’s boat. Our school was placed on lockdown for the entirety of the manhunt as the student body quickly became extremely worried about our safety. Like many students in the Boston area, I was horrified upon hearing the news that there was an explosion at the Boston Marathon – especially after realizing the explosion happened in the exact spot I had been watching the race from the year before. For the entire week following the Boston bombing, the actions of both Tsarnaev brothers were responsible for leaving the Greater Boston community anxious, worried, infuriated, and most of all, terrified.
Mr. Keane lives in Vermont and will not thus have to suffer the consequences of his choice as severely as we will. I hope that he will soon understand the consequences of his selfish decision and will choose to honor those affected by Tsarnaev’s violent actions.
These times call for us to respect thy neighbor, not thy enemy. Hamden must not be responsible for Tsarnaev’s family’s shortcomings. Mr. Keane, I speak for many members of our community when I kindly ask that you reconsider your decision to allow this horrible man’s legacy to toy with our town’s peace of mind and innocence. I also ask that you respect our community’s healing process, one that will not cease for quite some time.
Jenna McPhail
Hamden