A place where unintended thoughts bubble to the surface without supervision.
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| Unattended Musings A place where unintended thoughts bubble to the surface without supervision. |
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Thursday, May 04, 2006 I read and heard it today at least six different times: at his formal sentencing, Zacarias Moussaoui showed no remorse, made a bit of a political speech in which he referenced CIA assasins, and was told by the presiding judge that he would die "in a whimper." Let me be clear: I do not support these or any other terrorists. I do not believe that political views should manifest themselves in violence of any kind. Instead, I believe they should be discussed, debated, and used to inform decisions made in the context of a democratic or republican political system (the US is a republic, after all, not a pure democracy). And yet even the formal sentencing provided a small but clear demonstration of the types of behavior that encourage negative attitudes toward the United States. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, presiding over the sentencing, the symbol of justice, authority, fairness, and decency, actually said to Moussaoui, "You came here to be a martyr and die in a great big bang of glory, but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper." Yes, the judge probably hates Moussaoui, and with good reason. I'm sure that she was extremely frustrated and angry as she listened to Moussaoui's anti-American and proud statements. But in declaring that Moussaoui would "die with a whimper," she demonstrated the type of vengence and self-satisfied arrogance that form the basis for the stereotype that the terrorists use to foment anti-American hatred in the first place. Her comment was simply unnecessary. The sentencing was complete. To stop Moussaoui from using the moment to make political statements, all she needed to do was to tell him to stop or be removed from the courtroom. It was unnecessary to respond to him. Besides, responding to him suggests that his comments were worthy of response, which they were not. Although many with anti-American views hold opinions that merit our consideration, we shouldn't feel the need to argue with someone who suggests that killing thousands of innocent people is an appropriate response to anger or opposition, no matter what their views. We know this to be patently false - why engage in a debate, however truncated? Technorati Tags: Zacarias Moussaoui terrorism posted by josephine anne lin | 5:38 PM
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