It's disgraceful to blame society

To the editor:
In regards to the letter to the editor published May 1 and written by Roderick Berry, I would like to make known that blaming society for your failures is a huge disgrace to our society.
This man has taken no ownership of his actions. For a man to take another man’s life and to blame society is beyond shameful. There is never an excuse to take another human life. There are many more people who have survived much worse childhoods than Roderick Berry and they do not kill people and blame society for the choices that they make. Some use their poor choices to be better than their childhood. Some find it easier to blame their misfortunes for the poor choices they make as an adult. Reality-check for everyone, there comes a time during childhood and early adolescence when you begin to take ownership for yourself and are held accountable for your actions.
What kind of life does this leave Shawn Buckner’s daughter? She could very well use what happened to her daddy as her own excuse to make poor decisions and engage in a life of drugs and violence. Or she can use this nightmare as her reason to never engage in people and activities that could lead her down the same road that Roderick Berry, Tom Smith, Michael Heffern, Addison Pijnapples and Tina Whiting made. It is my job to see that her influences are good ones, much the same as the mother of the 9-year-old boy Roderick spoke of.
Roderick mentioned that along the way to where he is now, many people did try to help him. Yet he chose not to take the help offered him, and instead reflects back on one mother who was simply trying to protect her own. While Roderick may or may not have acted inappropriately at age 9, more times than not, negative outweighs positive and those who are suffering want to engage in people who also suffer. Kudos to the mother protecting her own, even though the life of her son was lost too soon, she can sleep at night knowing she protected her son the best she could until God called him home.
I believe the point Roderick was trying to make was that it is not a child’s fault that he has “good will” clothing to wear. It is not his fault that he had no one to come home and check in with. It is not his fault that he had parents with a poorly reputable name.
However, his childhood was over. His adulthood was in full swing. He had the world at his fingertips. He had opportunities to become better than his childhood, better than his parents.
But this is the path Roderick Berry chose. To fulfill the self-preconceived expectation of being a “Berry boy.” And as a result, the majority of his life is ruined. And he permanently ruined the life of Shawn Buckner, and the chance for Shawn’s daughter to grow up with her father.
In his moment of opportunity to speak about his actions, he blamed society. Not even so much as an apology to Shawn or Shawn’s family who will live the rest of their life with heartache that will never end.
Roderick Berry, my hope for you is that you use your time in prison to stop playing the victim card. You are not a victim of circumstance. You are not a product of society.
I hope that you find remorse for your actions. I hope that you use your time in prison to mentor the youth coming in with less heinous crimes than yourself. If you can touch the life of one person during your time, and help them off the fence of the same mistakes you made, then it was time well spent.
When you are released, I hope that you become a member of the society you speak of; where you help less fortunate, outcast adolescents. Please don’t continue to play the victim card and continue to burden society.
And, if ever given another opportunity, you owe my daughter an apology. Until then, forgiveness is really hard to find.
Angie Landers
Portland[[In-content Ad]]