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Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watmum!tjsmedley
From: tjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Space Shuttle Children's Fund
Message-ID: <387@watmum.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Feb-86 18:38:47 EST
Article-I.D.: watmum.387
Posted: Sun Feb  2 18:38:47 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 3-Feb-86 05:52:45 EST
References: <221@hadron.UUCP>
Reply-To: tjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 33

In article <221@hadron.UUCP> klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) writes:
>
>	A trust fund has been established by the American Security
>	Bank in Washington DC.  The funds gathered are to be used
>	to provide financial assistance to the children of the 7
>	astronauts killed in the explosion of the space shuttle.
>

This will probably get me a lot of flames, but here goes;

I don't understand why this fund was set up. Don't get me wrong, 
I feel very sorry for those families, and all involved with the 
disaster, but I would be more inclined to send my money somewhere 
where it can really help. These kids don't need money. If it were 
me I think I would be insulted by people thinking that they can in
some way make up for the loss of a parent with money. The money 
will never bring back their parents, but if it can save some other 
child from losing a parent, or save some children from a premature 
death, then it will be money well spent. What has our society come 
to when we respond to any disaster with money? If one of my parents 
died, and someone came up to me with say ten thousand dollars 
saying, "I'm sorry, but maybe this will help" I'd hit them, and I am
not a violent person. On the other hand, if my parent had died of 
some incurable disease, and that person gave the money to research 
to help find a cure for that disease I would never be able to fully 
express my gratitude. I would think the families would appreciate
a donation to an important charity made in memory of the astronauts 
more than they would the money.


Trevor J. Smedley                    University of Waterloo

{decvax,allegra,ihnp4,clyde,utzoo}!watmum!tjsmedley