Unfair to criticize crash victims

Two teenage Chinese girls, students of a school in Jiangshan, Zhejiang province, on way to attend a summer camp in the US were killed in the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco. Although the nation as a whole is mourning the victims, some people have unfairly criticized them because of their social background, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

Some netizens have criticized the victims because they were part of a students' group whose parents could afford to pay 30,000 yuan ($4,899) for just a 15-day trip. They say only rich families or government officials can spare 30,000 yuan, which accounts for 85 percent of an ordinary person's annual salary.

But it is unfair to blame the children if their parents are rich or government officials. Also, it's insensitive to stereotype people, especially in times of tragedies. It's human nature to sympathize with families of disaster victims. So it's possible that the netizens have criticized the victims to sensationalize the issue.

Admittedly, there is need to question the rationality of sending children in flocks to summer camps abroad. But it is ridiculous to suggest that the mad rush for overseas summer camps is to blame for the loss of lives in disasters. We should be human enough to mourn the victims of disasters irrespective of their identity and social background.