The nicest tribute I’ve ever seen

Dear Editor:

Many years ago, I was living in St. Petersburg, Florida with my young family, one of whom was diagnosed with ADD. In an issue of People magazine, I was surprised to read of a murder by one child of another in a town I had never heard of. The photograph of the maroon house the child murderer lived in, a normal middle-class house, remains in my mind’s eye (and exists around the corner from my home of 22 years). This child, also diagnosed with ADD, wanted to “see how it felt to kill someone.” His lawyer mounted what came to be known as the “Twinkie defense.” It didn’t work and he is now in jail for life, as he should be.

When I moved to Massachusetts years later and then to Canton, I was amazed to find that house — reminded by the various appeals made by Rod Matthews over the years that have been thankfully turned down. (Editor’s note: Matthews’ most recent parole hearing, scheduled for October 30, was postponed at his request.) I always assumed that the victim’s family was forgotten, as are so many.

Having my own experience with bullying in elementary school, a four-eyed, freckle-faced transfer, I have always empathized with those who are called names or worse and have tried to divert the bully’s and her friends’ attention to me to lessen that person’s pain. So many adolescents, so eager for their peers’ approval, either join in or remain silent when the ridicule and abuse starts. It is so important that our kids become sensitized to this evil conduct before they are tempted to join in.

And now, to see that Shaun Ouillette and his family will not be forgotten thrills me to no end. We easily revere our sports heroes, as indicated by my grandson’s name up on a banner in the Canton High School gym. But to see this open perpetual tribute to the victim of a senseless murder makes me think that Canton is indeed a humane, perceptive town, proved by actions.

I was so impressed by Principal Derek Folan’s and Police Chief Ken Berkowitz’s words concerning the fact that Ouillette’s murder might have been prevented had we had more proactive programs in place.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen such humane actions from the police force in this town. Chief Berkowitz’s order to allow two buses to park on a side street here was another. They were from all over the nation, carrying people to protest the shocking mistreatment at the Judge Rotenberg Center. His officers then accompanied us as we marched by that place of shame.

The superb discipline of the Canton Police Department was also displayed when the high school put on The Laramie Project. The “Baptist” church protesters arrived to protest the play (which attacks mistreatment of homosexuals). Police action was brilliantly designed to divert violence from and upon any of us.

There should be some national organization that we ordinary people could write to in order to nominate our Canton police force for their ethical action above and beyond the call of duty in these cynical, inhumane times when the greedy corporatists rule our country. Thank you for publicizing this (and my deep thanks to Tony Andreotti for just being.)

Alice Brown

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