Hello Al,
I tried to post this a little while ago to the forum, but it bounced back, so
I'm piggy-backing on your post.
A deep bow,
Sodaiho
With palms together,
A week or so ago, a Vietnam vet was executed. I think he was the
1000Th person killed by the state since the Supreme Court lifted the ban
on capitol punishment. Tonight another vet will be killed, though he is
a different sort of vet. He is a veteran of the streets. A killer,
gangster, no doubt. Perhaps reformed, I don't know.
War does funny things to people. Hell, life does funny things to
people. We pride ourselves in our ability to understand our world, learn
from our mistakes, grow as a culture, and yet, here we are, living out
vengeance.
These executions should cause us to at least take a breath and pause
for a moment.
What are we doing?
Retaliation, it seems to me is a mark of a primitive mind. It is
criminal behavior. It is what we expect of gangs and barbarians.
An eye for an eye, people say. Really? When was the last time the
state blinded a person or knocked out his tooth. Jews made it nearly
impossible to execute someone when convicted. But this "Judeo-Christian"
society? Gosh, we have had a thousand opportunities to show mercy and
in each case turned away.
We need to keep society safe. Right. And killing people does that?
Are we really keeping society safe? Who does the death penalty punish?
The one executed or the executioner? Is there a difference? Who really
could cast the proverbial first stone? What is the moral foundation of
this ethic?
My sense is that we diminish ourselves greatly through state
sanctioned killing. But then we are not really a civilized society, are we? We
pretend. We talk the talk, but abhor the walk. We like to look
civilized. But appearances are truly deceiving.
Civilized societies take care of their ill, their elderly, and their
poor. Civilized societies do not execute children. Civilized
societies do not poison the atmosphere for the sake of a few dollars more to
add to the already excessive profits of oil companies. Civilized
societies do not sanction the possession of handguns, nor do they need them.
Civilized societies provide funding for research to cure lethal
illnesses, regardless of who is ill or how they became ill. Civilized
societies
teach their children and each other how to love. Civilized societies
cherish peace, life, and liberty.
We can do better than this. We must.
As we are all one, including the executioner and the executed, I ask
we each recite the prayer of atonement for ourselves this evening.
Be well,
Al <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Tonight if all goes well, the founder of the
Crips Gang, which is credited
with murdering hundreds of people; will be executed for four murders that he
committed around 1979.
Tookie Williams in the past twenty years has written Children's books (Learn
How To Pimp With Tookie), anti-Gangsta books (Put A Cap In His Ass) and
Gospel Rap songs (Hallellujah Mofo Jesus, and Jesus Ain't No Homie).
What do you think? Should a possibly re-habilitated serial killer be
forgiven? Have you bought any of his children's books for your kids? Have
you ever been a member of the Crips or Bloods?
Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi
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Sodaiho Roshi
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