Thoughts. . .

Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Timothy McVeigh: A Messenger Of The United States' Instability
by John Khuu
June 9, 2001
Before I leave this place for awhile, I was just reading an article about Timothy McVeigh. Nowadays, if you mention "McVeigh" everyone seems to know who he is. Literally, he's become a "household" name along with Lysol and Johnson & Johnson. Just in case, for those who do not know whom Timothy McVeigh: he is the convicted bomber of a federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.
On that day, I was in middle school and specifically in French class. It just seems to always happen that whenever I was in French class the television would be tuned into the current "hot news", both the Oklahoma City bombing and the O.J. Simpson trial were watched.
Anyway, I wonder how many Americans see him not as a "bad person". Personally, I do not see him as a "bad person", but that does not necessarily mean he is a "good person" to me. But then again, maybe he is. Who knows?
That's quite a good question: Is anyone good or bad? Of course, typically we think about what we did bad or good in our life. Then we weigh which is heavier and factor in the belief that no one is perfectly good. And if we have a positive self-esteem, we will answer, "Yes, I'm a good person." And with a negative self-esteem, likely we'll reply, "I'm a terrible person." I could go into non-secular personas but I assume they would take offense (if not begin a lecture), so I'll keep that undisclosed.
With this week's recent court appearances of Timothy McVeigh's lawyers trying to rush for an extension on his death which was extended a month. The appeals on McVeigh's behalf, however, were denied of an extension for the set date of death on June 11, 2001. Following the denial, Timothy McVeigh through his lawyers ceased any more attempts for extension of the death penalty. This comes about his acceptance of his death--not within these few weeks but years now.
June 20, 2001
Nine days have passed since McVeigh was put to death by lethal injection. The hundreds of newscasts about him are now cremated with his body. But I still feel empathy for this convicted bomber of a Federal building. Not because he literally bombed a building and killing 168 people, but because he sent a powerful message to the United States government. A terrorist act within our nations by a fellow citizen was bound to happen. "When?" was a mere speculation turned reality. The bombing by McVeigh was a message to the Federal government that this nation cannot continue to live in far from perfect harmony if changes are not brought about by the citizens of the United States of America to further society's life.
McVeigh's "terrorist act" is a form of realization that the stability is no longer prevalent. When an earthquake hits a city, stability is lost while chaos and destruction come about--naturally. The United States is seeing its stability shaken, although stability has not been lost yet. Acts of violence were magnified by media and society after the fateful bombing of Oklahoma. Typical patriotic Anglo-Saxon Americans view these acts as threatening to society. The media portrays the typical view of an Anglo-Saxon American that our nation is pristine and infallible, but that is not reality. Our nationalism has blinded Americans in believing that the United States is infallible.
As a result, the bombing that killed 168 people is labelled horrendous. The death of 168 people, however, is not horrendous. As different witnesses of the Oklahoma City blast recalled, "This is total devasation", "It's absolutely horrific", "We will not understand this. There's so much chaos." "It's hard to fathom that something like this could happen to us in the heartland of America." Other acts of violence throughout the world, especially wars, have tolled multiple times more than that number. We cannot keep seeing the United States as infallible because the truth is we are not at all. Channel surfing the television during the newscasts hours reveal that our nation is violent: school shootings and killings, murders, rapes, strikes, acts of road rage, and the list continues.
Despite all these violent acts, Timothy McVeigh is labelled a "criminal" in the figurative perspective (literally he is). In other words, he is seen as a "bad person", but he is not. Because his act of terrorism killed more than five persons, we feel threatened as a nation and we question ourselves how could we let this happen. Then we try to take "measures" in prevention. That is not the solution, however, at least not the whole solution. We must realize that we are an instable society and that even terrorism can occur. Terrorism is not restricted from occuring in a "democratic" society but in any society that is instable.
The Oklahoma bombing is a wake-up call for a nation facing instability. This nation faces violence and instability each day. The official Presidential statement that day in 1995 called the bombing "an act of cowardice". Terrorism, however, is not cowardice nor the cause of instability but the result of instability. Terrorism is a violent and destructive (naturally) method to bring about changes and chances of new stability. The world faces an era where political movements are monitored with each step, critical relationships are assessed, and other actions that can lead to a "domino effect" of catastrophe in other aspects of life (economics, politics, environment, society).
The world as a society has created its own death bomb by sophisticating the way we live our lives, the way we interweave our lives with national alliances and ideological foundations. Just like the creation of "time", we now live by the dictations of ideologies and societal sophistications. We are no longer "free" wherever we go. Time dictates when we sleep, eat, work, vote, run for office, enforce legislative acts, punish the "bad", launch war-tactic embargos, etc. Time, however, is no longer the soul dictator in life. Ideologies of politics and religion have been assimilated deeply into our daily lives that to step out of line would be "bad". Instability is brought about through these intricate and heavily-dependent pilars in our lives.
Society is not "advancing" as we are led to believe. Science and technology are, so is instability.
(What happened to the simplicities of life? What happened to the simple red, yellow, and blue crayons that could be used to form new colors? What happened to the "regular" colors of M&Ms? What happened to living life without so plentiful sophistication and complication?)
Perhaps realizing that society is heading for a brick wall at full catapult speed will enforce into our minds that the United States of America needs to find yin-yang, a balance, a stability for our over-complicated lives. Then, just maybe, we can see for a brief glimpse that Timothy McVeigh is not completely a "bad person". Nor is McVeigh alone, many American terrorists exist under different ideologies. However, we do not need to resort to terrorism to revolutionize changes in society. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, peaceful demonstrations, Gandhi, Tiannemen Square rallies, comparable compromises have allowed different government to become aware of the instabilities in society. We need to find stability before the glass tips over, breaks, and spills its contents.
For those who may believe me to be a future terrorist, well the truth is I am. I am a terrorist and my "weapon" are my thoughts that form words. Other than that, I do not believe violence is necessary to fully bring about changes. I do not support fully McVeigh's bombing tactic nor his ideology at all. I do feel, however, that McVeigh's actions require more than the superficial glance, name calling, and a deeper study into our shaky society.
composed on June 9, 2001, s1:31AM/p2:37AM & June 20, 2001, c9:18PM/e10:36 PM
Peace to our lives,
John - 10:46AM, sullenly at home
© 2001 All rights reserved to John Khuu for all thoughts, writings, and intellectual properties on this Website.
posted by John Khuu 10:36:01 PM

Saturday, June 09, 2001

"I wanted so badly somebody other than me
Staring back at me but you were gone
I wanted to see you walking backwards
And get the sensation of you coming home
I wanted to see you walking away from me
Without the sensation of you leaving me alone"
--Counting Crows ("Time And Time Again")
About the "IT" pictures: forget them. . . too freaky and dang right scary for myself. If you want "IT", then goto http://www.toptown.com/dorms/creedstonegate/movie/movie11.htm by yourself.
::sigh::
If I could write I would,
If you could visit you should
But knock, knock on wood
And hope for things good
But how am I gonna forget you
When all I do is just miss you?
I wrap myself around you, you. . .
I layer my thoughts over you
But I'm cold inside and alone
I honestly need no one
Because this life's home sweet home
Where it's best to live as one
If I could stop this apathy
I would be in a state of sanity
But who wants someone so crazy
Sigh maybe I thought you'd want me.
"Over me" by John Khuu - 06/09/2001
s12:05AM/e12:20AM @ Computer desk, Listening to Counting Crows' August And Everything After album (shuffled)
I think apathy is sinking into me. . . such a long ago feeling I lost awhile back. I need to clam up after all I think I opened myself too long and I'm drying up beneath all these radiant rays of life. I wonder about things sometimes if that isn't obvious, but as I was saying. . . I wonder about things sometimes, am I gonna make it here in this world; seems like nowadays most people have it made for them. . . damn I'm sinking. I'll shut-up. Don't expect much from me now here--I'm sick of this crap.
Damn everything falling back into (pieces) back its habitual spots. I don't shine like I used to.
"Well man, when everybody loves you,
Sometimes that's about as fucked up as you can be
Well can't you hear me cause I'm screamin'?
But I did not go outside yesterday
Oh don't wake me, cause I was dreamin',
And I might just stay inside again today"
--Counting Crows ("Mr. Jones" - Storytellers 1997)
12:35AM: Home Desk with Counting Crows deepening my wavering gash
posted by John Khuu 12:11:58 AM

Saturday, March 3, 2000

"Things are changing
But nothing changes
And still there are changes
Le roi est mort, vive le roi! [The king is dead, long live the king!]

There is no teacher
Who can teach anything new
He can just help us to remember
The things we always knew"
--Enigma (Odyessy Of The Mind)

Here on this page, I will lay upon to you, the reader, my thoughts that are not intended to teach but to remind us all of our past, mistakes, lessons, and all things that shape our lives.
posted by John Khuu 10:30PM

-={ To read previous 'Thoughts' on this page, visit the Archive of Past 'Thoughts' Postings }=-

Woohoo, you are the ^th person to visit this page. I appreciate your visit to my poetry caf?