Reaction to CBC interview with Jun Lin's parents

Our interview with the parents of Jun Lin struck a chord with the CBC Community and many of them expressed those emotions in the comments of our story.

Lin was killed in May and his body parts sent through the mail to the Ottawa headquarters of the federal Conservative and Liberal parties. Luka Rocco Magnotta has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Lin's mother, Zhigui Du, and father, Diran Lin, spoke to the CBC's Mark Kelley in an interview that aired Monday on The National.

• "It appears as though this poor woman is literally dying of grief. Unimaginable pain," said Salmonid.
  
  
• "We were a better country for having your son here, and we also have a loss now that he is gone. As a Canadian who has visited China and found so much friendship in your country, I have no words to express my sadness," said Ron Good.
  
  
• "Tonight's interview with the parents of Jun Lin is heart-breaking. To lose a son in such a brutal way is earth-shattering. As a Canadian and a mother, I want to express my deep sorrow for your loss. It is an unfortunate truth that evil lurks in all places, even a country such as ours. I hope there is justice for you as parents and for your dear son," said colantonio.

Many people reacted to Zhigui Du's comment about her change of opinion about Canada. "We still believe that most people here are very kind, but this heinous crime happened in Canada. It's made me reconsider what kind of place this is," she said.

• "Please don't blame Canada because of this creep that murdered your son. There are a lot of wonderful people in this country," said safemode.
  
  
• "This creep could have grabbed anyone and could have been from any country in the world. This guy was just incredibly unlucky to run into this psycho. It is like getting struck by lightning. One person out of hundreds of thousands of foreign students gets picked out of a crowd. It is bad luck, a tragedy. Canada is still a wonderful opportunity for foreign students. I work with plenty of people who were lucky enough to get to Canada to study and then get a job," said freedomlovin.
  
  
• "Please don't base your view of Canada on one psychopath. What you went through was unacceptable and horribly wrong, but please do not group us all with one horribly sick individual," said imkelz.
  
  
• "I know this lady just lost her son, but come on, think rationally. It's the same as hating all Chinese people because one Chinese person did something horrific. One person's actions have nothing to do with Canada as a whole," said j1ggy1.

But many of the comments expressed understanding for Zhigui Du's feelings about Canada.

• "Her opinions of Canada will always be tainted by the murder of her son, it is not rational but it is very human," said theoden.
  
  
•  "She lost her son in the most horrific manner imaginable. Of course Canada will be nothing but a bad memory and connection for her. No feeling person can blame her or hold it against her. Her anguish will never end, the thought of how her son died will always haunt her," said RealityBased.
  
  
• "Why don't you overly sensitive people give the woman a break? She lost her son in a horrible and unnatural way. She's in pain and trying to make sense of the situation as best she can. Let's just put that fragile Canadian ego on the shelf for a while, okay?" said Armand Guerin.
  
  
• "Watching the interview with Mark Kelly was heart-breaking. Please don't judge Mrs. Lin. She is full of sadness as any mother would be," said Anne Owens.
  
  
• "I can only imagine what Mr. Lin's parents are going through right now. With the media frenzy on this subject, they are reminded constantly about the horrible tragedy that has befallen their son. For those of you that are criticizing Mr. Lin's parents, please take a moment and put yourself in their shoes," said wpgplumber.

CBC Community member red_cliff commented about Du's reaction to the suggestion that his slaying has allegedly been posted online. "People watched it over and over. It's like my son is being murdered again and again," she said.

"I hope the guy from 'Best Gore' reads that. My heart goes out to these people."

Thank you, as always, for following our coverage. Please feel free to comment on or challenge any of these points and continue the conversation below.