David Ritcheson, In His Shoes

David Ritcheson jumped to his death from the cruise ship Ecstasy earlier today, in a decided effort to bring his personal pain to an end.

David is the young man who suffered unspeakable violence and acts of hatred last April, when his attackers taunted him with racial slurs, kicked, punched and sodomized him, poured bleach on his body and left him for dead.


David fought gallantly through 30+ surgeries to repair internal injuries, testified successfully against his attackers, and appeared before Congress on April 17th of this year, on behalf of Hate Crime legislation:

"I appear before you as a survivor. I am here before you today asking that our government take the lead in deterring individuals like those who attacked me from committing unthinkable and violent crimes against others because of where they are from, the color of their skin, the God they worship, the person they love, or the way they look, talk or act."

It is a common experience to us all, that we grow and pass through life, wanting to fit and wanting to blend. If we are known for something, we dream of being known for athletic prowess, beauty or talent. Teenagers chart their paths in many directions, but with one overriding fear: embarassment.

I've thought, many times, of young David... a teenage male, having to face his peers and his infamy, with the burden of his past, albeit a past over which he had no control. And, at his tender young age, I couldn't fathom his strength. I'm sure that people, who ordinarlily wouldn't have, reached out to him... with the best of intentions. And still he questioned. And still he hurt.

This is such a shame. I believe the world lost a young man that held a lot promise for many good things, had he found the strength to endure these tender years of emotional hardship. If I truly place myself in his shoes, however, I understand. I totally understand.

That awful event, a year ago, should not have happened. And it could not have happened at a worse time in David's life, psychologically.

His refusal of therapy, in my opinion, should have been the first sign of his growing depression and impending decline... but I also understand the mixed signals that the truly troubled soul can convey. And often, by human nature, their loved ones see what they want to see.

I'm sorry that it came to this. My heart goes out to his parents, and to all that love him. It's a shame... not on him, but on the hateful and criminal perpetrators.