CLEARWATER - A lot of people, it seems, have something to say about a troubled boy and a virgin mother - and about forgiveness and punishment as well.
The e-mails started coming to me in the days after Clearwater police arrested Kyle Maskell, an 18-year-old high school student who officers said broke three windows of a glass building at U.S. 19 and Drew Street.
If those windows were plain panes of glass, not a lot of people would have cared.
But those three windows held the top part of an iridescent, rainbow-hued image that some believe to be the shape of the Virgin Mary. Since the appearance of the image became news in 1996, millions of people have visited the office building, which was bought by Shepherds of Christ Ministries in 1998 and turned into a shrine.
Along with sandy beaches, Hooters restaurants and the Church of Scientology, the image became one of Clearwater's most famous icons.
As the image became famous, Maskell was quietly growing up without his birth parents. He was learning disabled and living in foster homes. Like many young people, he struggled with self-identity and anger.
Clearwater police said in the early morning hours of March 1, Maskell grabbed the slingshot he had bought at a local Wal-Mart and headed out into the night.
Police said Maskell happened upon the image. He fired three steel marbles into the top panes of the shape, essentially decapitating the figure. Maskell was not motivated by religion or hate, police said. He simply wanted to vent his anger and garner some infamy.
More than two months later, police pulled Maskell from class and arrested him on a charge of felony criminal mischief.
A Shepherds of Christ Ministries leader, Rosie Reed, said her group is praying for Maskell.
Others have not been as forgiving. They say he should be charged with a hate crime, punished with prison time.
I covered the vandalism the day it happened, and I covered Maskell's arrest. In the days after, I received a number of e-mails, some expressing outrage at Maskell, others sympathy for him. Some encouraged punishment. Some encouraged forgiveness.
Here is a sampling of opinions, edited for length:
Teen may be mixed up, but not bad
All right, I know you always want a story, and I know everybody imaginable is mad at Kyle Maskell and so am I, one of his best friends in the world. He really does deserve punishment, but the whole world does not have to know.
I got to know this kid, and he really does act like a child. He worked for my dad, and he shows great potential. But really that does not matter, I know. I'm not just saying this: I really love my friend and so do others, and when our teachers do not know the whole story and only know one side of the story, they talk about how much of a bad person he is when, after all, he is a great person.
He may be a little mixed up, everyone who knows him will agree, and yes, he deserves punishment. I don't agree with prison; maybe something a little better, but a good punishment. Unlike you or me, he never had parents to punish him, no one who really cared, no one to make a role model of.
All I can do is pray that he will be okay.
If only you could see the tears that were shed at our school Tuesday morning. It was horrible . . .
He really did not do this out of anger of religion. He did this out of hurt.
LindZ McHenry, ClearwaterTeen's past shouldn't affect charge
Sir,
We are shocked that the police chose to not charge Kyle Maskell with a hate crime. Even if he claims to be neutral on all religious issues, it is most obvious he targeted that window for a specific reason.
He lived in the neighborhood, and he knew what the window was there for. If it was merely felony criminal mischief, he could have chosen a local home, car or business. However, to commit this crime, Kyle had to walk through rows of chairs that parishioners sit in and shoot over the prominent cross in full display, targeting not just any window in that building but the window that specifically represented the Virgin Mary.
Obviously the police are being oversensitive due to Kyle's unfortunate childhood. This can have no bearing on whether he violated the law or not. Do we allow serial killers or other criminals the option to get charged with lesser crimes if they plead an unhappy childhood? No, because there is a point that everyone reaches where they are responsible for their own actions.
The article quotes the police as saying that Kyle broke down crying with remorse. If he had been truly remorseful, he would have come forward before he was caught. If crying and saying that you're sorry allows you to get a reduced plea in Clearwater, then we will become a haven for criminal behavior.
Have we learned nothing from the effective way that Rudy Giuliani reduced crime in New York? You target every criminal action, even the smallest ones, and you throw the book at the offenders. When the small crimes are addressed, the larger ones diminish.
This has nothing to do with our personal religious beliefs. We're not even Catholic. It has to do with the ability for all of us to be able to practice religion in a hate-free environment. It is still not too late to charge Kyle Maskell with a hate crime. We hope that other community leaders will come forward to pressure the Clearwater Police Department to do the right thing.
Freda Drake and Ron Moss, LargoVirgin Mary would forgive vandalism of window
Hello. In reading this article about the boy accused of damaging the image of Mary, all I could think of was: Who do children always lash out at when in the depths of sadness or anger?
Their mother.
I wish there was some way to let this child know that Mary would be the first to forgive this act. No doubt the people are upset about this, but if it is truly from God, and if they are truly his followers, this will be forgiven, and much good will come out of it for this young man.
May God bless him.
Carla Platt, Rockford, Mich.People of faith: Salvage troubled teen's life
I just read this story and couldn't stop crying. I'm not sure who to feel worse for, the people who came to worship or this troubled young man. What he did was wrong in and of itself, but the greater wrong is that society (or better yet, we) dropped the ball on this kid.
I was raised in a Christian home by a mother that would make Jerry Falwell look like a bleeding heart liberal. One of my sixth-grade Sunday School teachers was Anita (believe it or not) Bryant herself. And the one thing that has always stuck in my head is the concept of forgiveness.
There is no doubt that this kid will have to live with what he did for the rest of life. I want to remind all Christians (and people of faith) that this is a test of your faith. No pane of glass, regardless of who or what it resembles, is more valuable than a human life. We all need to realize that the real tragedy here is what has happened to Kyle Maskell. The glass can never be replaced, but this young man can be put back together.
Carl Thompson, St. PetersburgFriend made a mistake in dealing with his emotions
Dear Mr. Tisch,
I am Kyle Maskell's best friend and I would like to speak on his behalf.
It is true that Kyle is a sweet guy and would never harm anyone. It was a real shock to me. I denied the reality of this situation and had to drive out immediately to find the paper.
The paper did not make me believe anything still. I was speechless. I sat myself down to watch the news last night. I started believing the reality. I even viewed the picture you had of him during his court appearance. My hands are shaking as I type this. I am very concerned about him.
I feel like the public has very much misunderstood him. He has never had much of an easy life, and there are rare times he actually spoke to me about it. I've known him for five years, and he tries so hard to hide everything he feels. His life was really hard. He lived in a foster home with about 12 other boys his age, none of which were blood-related to him. He never got any attention.
When I read the part about him feeling so depressed about his life, I felt disappointed in myself as his best friend. I absolutely love him very much as my close friend, and I felt like all this time if I had taken the time to ask him how he was instead of complaining about my life to him, he would have never taken the course he has. I feel like I let him down.
He is a really kind, selfless guy who would listen to others' problems with full attention. He would never hurt anyone. He just never was lucky enough to have the life most people take for granted: a biological family, good communication skills.
Also, because he was learning disabled and a couple grade levels below where he should be for his age, he watched his friends move on in life without him, so he became more alone through time.
As for the Virgin Mary image, that is probably the main reason this situation is such a controversy. I, for one, never noticed the "Virgin Mary" until this article came out, and I always assumed that the windows of the building were just unclean.
So if something like that was supposed to be as obvious as others think, the public is mistaken. It was a coincidence that someone happened to notice it resembled Mary.
I do wholeheartedly believe that it was a coincidence. He happened to arrive at the church when he felt upset. Imagine a teenager, struggling to find just his one identity, who approaches a church. He would be asking God why his life is like the way it is, as it is a natural questioning of belief from anyone in need of an answer.
Angry and disappointed, he made a mistake and "beheaded" the "Virgin Mary." He harmed no one though. When someone is that upset, they will not think straight.
And yes, he is 18. To many, that age is considered adult. But many understand that at this age, no one's mind is fully developed yet, and emotions are not as controlled as people hope they would be.
I ask everyone this: Have you ever felt so upset about something that you did or said something you regret? I know he meant no harm. Please let him know all his friends send love out to him. We are all worried about him. This is my comment to the situation, and all I feel I could do for him right now, my best friend.
I say all this in hopes to speak up for the kindest guy I know in my life.
Victoria Huynh, Clearwater[Last modified May 16, 2004, 01:00:38]
