Some people are ignorant so I felt the need to compare both of the massacres. Both were tragic events but there were MAJOR differences between the two.
Bellamy's Massacre
1) He killed 320 innocent people.
2) He did it for his own selfish reasons.
3) He did not care who died when he damaged the radio as long as he was the one who got to live.
4) It was a sick act that was PLANNED.
5) It may have been indirectly, however, it was still murder. It was still just as bad as Finn's direct massacre (even worse since it was purposely done).
5) Maybe he did not know about the Culling, however, he still knew people would end up dead eventually if the citizens of the Ark did not know Earth was survivable again and did not come down. He proceeded to encourage the other Delinquents to take off of their wristbands, anyway. He even forced some of them and bribed them with food (which they needed to eat if they were to survive. He would not even let anyone have it- with the exception of Finn- if they did not take off their wristbands). He damaged the radio, too.
6) His massacre was NO accident. He did not accidentally damage the radio. It was done on purpose.
7) The people in his massacre died for NOTHING (since Earth really was survivable). That poor little girl (Reese) even lost her only parent (her father Tor) because of Bellamy's selfish choice.
8) The people did not have a choice of whether or not they wanted to die. Even if there were no volunteers, other innocent people would have still been killed. Volunteers or no volunteers did not matter in this case. After what Bellamy did there was nothing anyone could do to save those Ark citizens. This massacre could not have been avoided after Bellamy did what he did.
Finn's Massacre
1) He was traumatized (due to watching his friends die and suffer) to the point where he developed a mental disorder (PTSD).
2) He did not plan to kill those Grounders. He just snapped.
3) It was mostly self-defense since they tried to kill him first.
4) In a way, the Grounders chose to die. They chose to make a choice. They chose to disobey the order they were given. They chose not to listen to Nyko. They chose to act like warrior wannabes and that is what got them killed. It was the Grounders' own stupidity that killed them.
5) The Grounders were the reason for Finn's massacre. Their violence caused it all.
6) This massacre could have been avoided if the Grounders listened to Nyko.
7) I would also like to point out that the Grounders were not all that innocent. For one, they tried to kill him first. Secondly, they were warriors. Which means that they have killed people before. Probably not for justifiable reasons, either. The Grounders kill/hurt many people (most of them innocent) for no good reasons.
Bad Messages
1) Bellamy's massacre basically said: It does not matter if you do something on PURPOSE that leads to hundreds of innocent people dying. You will be pardoned for it.
2) Finn's massacre basically said: It is okay to kill somebody, who got sick in the head from somebody else's violence, for making one mistake that they truly are sorry for.
My Point
Neither what Finn did or Bellamy did was right, however, people seem to forget the differences between the two massacres. It just bothers me that they stick up for Bellamy (who planned his massacre for his own selfish reasons) but hate on Finn (who was suffering from PTSD and just snapped). Also, if Finn ever needed redemption he got it by giving his life up so the others could live. Even after that, people still hate on him. What has Bellamy done to earn redemtption? Oh, I know! He gave a 5-minute apology to Clarke (who had nothing to do with the massacre and did not suffer the loss of a loved one after it happened) right after killing somebody else. Yeah, he killed Dax in self-defense, however, Dax would not have had to die in the first place if it was not for Bellamy attempting to kill the Chancellor.