We go about our business in Detroit as if we are immune to the killing of our children … I believe we need the death penalty for anyone that kills a child in Michigan. Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, Detroit Free Press
Regardless of how much education I have (or get) I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll spend the rest of my natural working life in prison. It’s all there, spelled out in black and white, clear as today’s headlines. But I had my eureka moment last week when an older, heavily medicated, black gent sitting in the front of my classroom told me he shot a man for raping his daughter. “I got no use for pedophiles,” he said, “or for anyone who harms children. They need to be shot.” Because there were probably a half dozen students directly behind him who fit that description, I deflected his comments the best way I knew how.
They all have unique stories of what went wrong in their lives, what they’d do differently (if anything). The older, heavily medicated, black gent sits in the front row, expressionless, serving his time with honor. I treat him no differently than the others, the baby rapers, the car-jackers, the wanna-be-gangstas.
He approaches my desk. He says, “You know what saggin’ spells backward don’t you?” He’s referring to the low riding pants that most of my students wear. I’m indifferent. I shrug my shoulders. He writes it down on my desk calendar: Niggas. “The only good one is a dead one,” he adds.
“We were all young once.” It's the best I can do.
“Yeah, I know,” he responds.
I've tried to understand, but now it doesn’t seem to matter.
9 comments:
There is at the least one inmate, resident, an older, heavily medicated, black gent, that thinks similar to myself.
It is an odd slant when you live in a place that has not had the death penalty since 1837. I wonder what local history would have looked like had it not been so. I look at places like Texas where there has been a wrongful death and still flip flop on the death penalty. At the same time the older heavily medicated black gent should have been made sheriff not inm...resident.
Sounds like this guy's got a bit of wisdom. I'm with him on child predators. Kill 'em all and let Satan sort 'em out.
I'm with Charles. I sometimes think that our "justice" system's just too black & white, & overlooks the many shades of gray found in reality.
No easy answers, are there?
No place for predators of any kind, especially of children. Don't know what the answer really is as I don't understand the crime. So senseless. So meaningless. So cruel. Death is too easy of a way out it might seem. That is, unless there is a special place in hell for these offenders. D
While I agree in general, something like the creepy German movie M posits that child killers are mentally ill and need to be removed from society and treated. Ditto. Little Children.
All I know is, there are a lot of crazy and violent people in the world.
I have to agree with the older guy in your class. It would be hard not to want to murder someone who raped your daughter.
I'm from up north where people still take justice in their own hands. Guns and accidentally shooting your daughters rapist is not at all unusual. We call it "prison rules."
What a powerful post!
I am curious to how much time the gentleman who killed his daughter's rapist was given in comparison to "the baby rapers" for instance?
A few weeks ago my mind was concerned with similar issues in my post "What A Waste".
Something like this reminds me how close to the line we all are - I could step over it if I walked in similar footsteps to the gentleman you mention. I pray that I never have to.
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