When a Johns Hopkins University undergraduate used a samurai sword to kill an intruder last month, many people supported the student, who told police he acted in self-defense and expressed sadness that a human life had been lost.
It was a tragedy, both for the 20-year-old from New Jersey and for the 49-year-old repeat offender who had just been released from jail a few days before he was killed.
Fellow students and many city residents rushed to John Pontolillo's defense, which is perfectly understandable and reasonable. Others turned him into a hero for vigilante justice, assigning him a label he had not sought, a label that undermines his position that he was forced to do what he did. Many vilified the suspect as deserving his fate.
Now, some are exploiting the killing - for humor, money and political gain.
One group, which claims not to be affiliated with Hopkins but whose members have refused to identify themselves, set up a Web site - "johnpontolilloisa badass" - and is selling T-shirts for up to $23.95 with slogans such as, "Samurai Home Security" and pleas that the student's sword be "given a prominent place of honor in city hall."
And a Hopkins freshman, Wyatt Larkin, turned the samurai killing into a thinly disguised campaign slogan in his race for president of the freshman class, with a poster of two crossed swords with the words, "9 out of 10 Hopkins Samurai are voting Wyatt Larkin for President."
The ballots were counted last week, and Larkin beat his closest opponent, Amit Thakrar, 281 to 269. To be fair, I have to mention that Thakrar didn't exactly take the high road either, exploiting his own Indian background with posters saying, "Big Indian kid for President" and "What can the brownie do for you?"
Both candidates talked about helping students get heard, bringing people together and of their own experiences running student government in high school. Trying to set themselves apart, both candidates searched for that defining image and, as you'd expect, the most talked-about event on campus (and in the city) apparently trumped a play on ethnic origin.
The use of the killing in the campaign got the attention of university administrators. Hopkins spokesman Dennis O'Shea said he didn't think the poster was appropriate: "For everyone involved, this was an extremely unfortunate and tragic occurrence. I think all of us should view it that way."
