Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Death by State
So Zacarias Moussaoui is considered eligible for the death penalty. I'm an opponent of the death penalty (I don't want to give the state power of life-and-death over its citizens), but given that there *is* a death penalty in the state in which he was tried, it seems he, more than any other, would deserve it. He's admitted to being responsible for over 3,000 deaths.
My interest is a bit more than academic. I didn't lose anyone on September 11th, 2001, but that was pure luck. No relatives were in the Pentagon. My Battery Park, New York, relatives were smart enough to run instead of gawk. There was a kind police officer who gave my aunt his jacket to cover her infant from the choking ash. Remember the pictures of the ash-colored people? My family was among them. They walked to New Jersey, where I have relatives who took them in.
I didn't find this out for hours. I was watching the smoke rise from the Pentagon and crying because my cell phone wasn't working and I didn't know where any of my family was. Finally, I found a land-line and called my mom. She had my dad on the other line, switching from one phone to the other, and we established the safety of everyone except one uncle who we later learned was stuck in traffic leaving a building near the Pentagon - a 6 hour drive that normally took half an hour.
So this man conspired to kill my family. And while I would prefer a few hours alone with him and a sword in my hand, I won't compain if the state does the job for me.
I can be a vindictive bitch sometimes.
My interest is a bit more than academic. I didn't lose anyone on September 11th, 2001, but that was pure luck. No relatives were in the Pentagon. My Battery Park, New York, relatives were smart enough to run instead of gawk. There was a kind police officer who gave my aunt his jacket to cover her infant from the choking ash. Remember the pictures of the ash-colored people? My family was among them. They walked to New Jersey, where I have relatives who took them in.
I didn't find this out for hours. I was watching the smoke rise from the Pentagon and crying because my cell phone wasn't working and I didn't know where any of my family was. Finally, I found a land-line and called my mom. She had my dad on the other line, switching from one phone to the other, and we established the safety of everyone except one uncle who we later learned was stuck in traffic leaving a building near the Pentagon - a 6 hour drive that normally took half an hour.
So this man conspired to kill my family. And while I would prefer a few hours alone with him and a sword in my hand, I won't compain if the state does the job for me.
I can be a vindictive bitch sometimes.
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