Goudie's column right on the mark

On Monday, a letter was printed that strongly took Mr. Goudie to task for his column written last week in the aftermath of the NIU tragedy.

I understand how emotional this time is for anyone connected to NIU, but I believe that Mr. Goudie's column was misinterpreted.

Mr. Goudie's column was exactly right on with his opinion, and it perhaps needs to be repeated.

His point was in direct reference to all comments made "that there were absolutely no warning signs" that the shooter, in the words of his girlfriend "was the bestest."

Well, he wasn't.

Nobody blames the administration nor should they. But the DeKalb police chief got it started in the first press conference by stating "there were no warning signs."

There really weren't any that the administration or police could have been expected to pick up. But Mr. Goudie did excellent research and uncovered numerous facts that revealed a very disturbed person. He didn't draw any conclusions as to who could have pieced it all together, just that warning signs in general did exist .

As a reader of the news , I have been disgusted over the years as to how successful the press has been in finding friends or relatives of mass murderers who label the murderer "the gentlest, nicest person in the world."

What Mr. Goudie has done is simply reveal the obvious -- that there are often multiple signs of disturbing behavior as you begin to "peel back the layers of the onion."

Thank you for your refreshing honest journalism, and it is my opinion that you owe no apologies to anyone.

Bob Buchta

St. Charles