How Fragile We Are:
Tim's Last Days
Time is running out for Tim. Just a few days to try and work something out with his lawyers. The much-maligned F.B.I. has made many people angry. After all, it pushed the date with the executioner. As I've said in a letter to Tim that I sent today, what can anyone expect from an organization whose founder, the venerable J. Edgar Hoover, secretly dressed himself in women's clothes, complete with heavy make-up and fancy wigs. I'm not kidding---the guy was definitely somewhat, well, overly colourfully flambouyant.
I would imagine that most of you are shaking your heads at the reality that, despite his terrible crime, I am able to see some flickering signs that he doesn't care whether or not he gets executed. Now it's been disclosed that McVeigh wants a stay of execution and I hope he gets it. Ashcroft is a hard nut to crack, so I just have to have faith that Tim get a reprieve.
That is so wrong---every single one of us on this green earth fears death. Death is an unkown and frightening prospect. I've read that Tim would rather die than live out the rest of his life in prison, and, yes, maybe for a day or two, he just wanted everything to be all over. It's been discovered by psychologists that the instinct for survival prevents any of us from wanting to die---even when we're sure that would fill our dark lives----we all want to carry on and make something of our lives.
It was music to my ears when it was disclosed that McVeigh expressed remorse and kind feelings toward the survivors and relatives of the dead people. It was the very first time. There was no sense of the disgust and indifference that he'd been saying for the past six years. Tim made a giant leap with this revellation of compassion of his former description of these broken people. He's been quoted as describing them as "the woe-is-me crowd." I was angry about that callous verbal abuse and was certainly among the majority on that particular point. Now, many of you may say that, "McVeigh's only saying those things to get another stay of execution. Even if it was, the fact remains is that he said it.
Please try to keep an open mind. It is not up to anyone to put someone to death. In Canada, we reject the death penalty and are chastised for being too "soft on crime." No, we are abiding the law, both the laws of the land and the words of God. Many think that, since a murderer has killed, then the same should be vested upon the killer. It's just not that black and white. It is not up to anyone to decide to execute a criminal. We have to look into our own dark hearts and realize that killing is wrong, wrong, wrong. Revenge does not give people just cause to take a life. Even Tim's. You hate him because he seems to taunt survivors and says he's not remorseful. That's what Tim's all about: He's got such a high and impenetrable wall built up in front of him that nobody knows what he truly feels. There's a saying that "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic." There is some validity to that. I've heard from my sources who run the "Death Row Speaks" site that Tim has been more receptive of discussing religion. If he would just beg Jesus to forgive him, he'd be saved. He may be sent to Purgatory first, but God won't wreak vengeance on him. That's another reason we should never kill. We aren't all powerful and all-knowing. Just try to see things from the perspective of one who feels a very bizarre attraction to a man who's universally hated and reviled. If that makes me a twisted lunatic, well, believe me, I've heard worse.
