Before we knew what monster was at work in Norway, I was looking at the first pictures to come out of the blast zone. And I saw the same thing as I saw in the first pictures that came from the blast zone at the Murrah Building. 15 years apart. Half a world away. Dust, blood, debris, panic, pain, fear, anguish. And that same look of trying to assemble the terror of a moment into something that can be comprehended in aftermath. How can you understand?
And again, it seems to have all been instigated by a man who is so sure of his, I don’t know, do we call it a world view? So sure that he knows what is right and what is true, so sure of his will that he is able to detonate a bomb with no apparent concern of who he may harm, just that he will do harm. So sure that he will aim a gun at children, fire, and keep firing. How do you do that once? How do you do that for an hour and a half?
You and I will probably never understand. Not really. We may find out all the reasons, all the whys. But we’ll never understand the how. Are we looking at the face of evil in Norway? Quite possibly. Insanity? Is there any clearer way to define it than an action like this? For the family and countrymen of the victims, I’m sure there is not even cold comfort in that idea.
Maybe, in the end, it really is just pure selfishness. The idea that one man is the measure of all things and his rights take precedence over all others. Even another’s life. My truth and there is no room for any other. Maybe that is the true root of evil.
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4 comments:
Timothy McVey always had a look of hate on his face; this guy looks so innocent and calm.
The longest sentence Norway imposes is 21 years. Bet they change that in case there are other horrible crimes there in the future.
Maybe I'm projecting, but the guy in Norway looks smug to me. Not the flat out bonkers of the guy in Tucson. Just cold, calculating and smug.
It must be a shock to a country that can only think of crimes that would warrant 21 years in prison to come smack up against this. What are they different that up until now, nothing more was needed? And what could have gone so horribly wrong?
Yes, smug, after arrest. I meant the calm look was from older photos of him. (should have been more clear).
When I heard the 21 years I thought ah, that would be the place to commit murder. What a wake-up call for them.
And the media reports are making their prisons sound like the "country clubs" that some people fantasize American minimum-security penitentiaries are (not so, BTW, at least not any more). Wi-Fi, private cells with television, high tech gym equipment. They believe in rehabilitation. Half of me says "yeah, good luck with that." And the other says, this guy appears to be a complete aberration in their society. By not legislating to the worst case scenario, are they getting a better overall result? Of course in Texas we'd fry him like a piece of bacon then leave his carcass for the buzzards to pick.
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