The controversy over showing the video of the Virginia Tech killer isn't even a close call for me. We want and need to know why this horrible crime occurred and the killer is trying to tell us. The more we know and understand mental illness, the better.

The killer's writings and rantings are invaluable clues into the workings of these tragic and mysterious diseases. We truly know so little about the brain and mental illness when compared with our knowledge of physical illnesses. We need more videos, not fewer. People need to see what these people sound like, what their writings look like. So the next time a concerned teacher, neighbor or friend takes these valuable clues to law enforcement and the psychiatric community, we will recognize the common symptoms and take these cries for help seriously.

Now I would like to see even more stories and videos on mental illness. Let's see videos and stories on the lives of each and every one of those students and professors who lost their lives, including interviews with the families whose lives are now devastated. For all those impressed with the notoriety of the killer, let us also give them the truth -- the devastation caused and the tremendous loss to our society of these bright young people and valuable professors.