Otto Warmbier's death - blameworthy or pitiful?

Some people think Warmbier brought this on himself, others see no solid evidence that he broke North Korean law.

Otto Warmbier being escorted by North Korean soldiers in March 2016. Photo: AP

In Cincinnati, Otto Warmbier was known as a school star, a good friend and a favorite son.

But on social media and some news sites, Warmbier has become a subject of controversy.

For some, Warmbier became an example of “white privilege.” They said Warmbier was to blame for being reckless and “putting himself in a trap” by thinking he didn’t have to obey the law in a foreign country. Warmbier was arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda banner from a hotel in Pyongyang.

Even in Cincinnati - Warmbier's hometown, when Warmbier was first arrested, a Facebook group strongly criticized this student.

"Don't go abroad and break the law and think you're special because you're Christian and white," one person said.

"I hope he learns his lesson. Privilege doesn't exist abroad," another wrote.

Before Warmbier's release, a 2016 Huffington Post article criticizing Warmbier was shared more than 6,400 times, attracting national attention.

Just last month, Salon published the article: “This Might Be America’s Most Stupid College Kid: The Virginia Undergraduate Who Thought He Could Prank North Korea.” The article has since been deleted.

After Warmbier's death, American university professor Katherine Dettwyler continued to criticize him, saying that Warmbier "got exactly what he deserved" and calling Warmbier "a rich, spoiled, white, stupid American student".

He is like "those kids who whine about their grades because they think they don't need to read and study to get good grades. His parents are to blame for letting him grow up thinking that he can get away with anything he does," the professor commented.

"Otto's parents will pay the price for the rest of their lives," Dettwyler wrote.

Dettwyler's comments sparked widespread outrage. The University of Delaware, where she was an adjunct professor in the spring, announced that she would no longer be allowed to teach at the school in the future.

On the Daily Review, writer Joseph Curl criticized the professor, saying, "Why blame Warmbier's parents at their darkest moment, when they were grieving the death of their son?"

The Daily Beast pointed out that aside from the video of the unidentified person removing the propaganda sign provided by North Korea, there was no clear evidence that Warmbier had actually broken the law. Meanwhile, Warmbier’s fellow travelers said they saw no indication that Warmbier had done so and felt that the American student was not the one who did so.

In addition, for the other side, Warmbier also became a symbol of former President Obama's failure, when a 22-year-old student was abandoned in a closed country.

Josh Caplan, editor-in-chief of Vessel News, tweeted that “police release sketch of Otto Warmbier murder suspect” and posted a drawing of Obama. The tweet was liked more than 4,300 times and retweeted 2,500 times.

"Obama chose Bergdahl over Otto Warmbier. That's why we chose Trump," wrote a person named Kristin.

She mentioned Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier who was captured by the Taliban after abandoning his post in June 2009. Bergdahl was released in May 2014 in exchange for the release of five Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay. The exchange caused great controversy. In 2015, the US military announced that Bergdahl would be tried on charges of desertion and misconduct before the enemy. There has been no final ruling on the case. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump denounced Bergdahl as a "rotten traitor."

However, writer Mary Sachez believes that Americans should not politicize the Otto Warmbier case but should focus on dealing with North Korea.

Agreeing, writer Joseph Curl wrote: "Make no mistake: Otto Warmbier's death was clearly a tragedy."

According to VNE