Contempt is basic root of all injustice
As a New York resident, my heart and sympathies goes out to the people devastated by the shooting rampage at NIU.
This kind of horror has occurred all too often in our nation, leaving people to wonder why things like this happen.
American educator Eli Siegel showed that contempt, "the addition to self through the lessening of something else," is the cause of all human injustice.
Contempt can take many forms: Making fun of the way someone dresses, laughing at a person when they make a mistake or ignoring a coworker when they are talking.
Taken further, contempt is what has a person deny the reality, the feelings of other people to the point they can take their life.
In his great book "James and the Children," Mr. Siegel writes, "as soon as you have contempt, as soon as you don't want to see another person as having the fullness that you have, you can rob that person, hurt that person, kill that person."
The study of contempt and its opponent -- good will -- is a national emergency.
Matthew D'Amico
East Rockaway, NY