Stanley Tookie Williams To Be Struck Down By Lesser Gods
I am troubled that I possess the knowledge that two hours from now, a man who is now alive will be dead. After all, the man is in good health, is surrounded by security guards, and I am not God. Yet I still know for certain, with no real doubt, that this man will be dead in a few hours.
If I am not God, then how could I possibly know that a man who is now alive will be dead in a few hours? Because the State of California, and it's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, have announced that they will kill Stanley "Tookie" Williams just after midnight tonight. And it has been my observation that, with very rare exceptions, when our government says it is going to kill someone, it does so--and with a vengeance.
Stanley Tookie Williams is an enigma to everyone but himself. To the State of California, he is a ruthless killer, who founded the brutal Crips street gang, senselessly murdered four people in 1979, and never repented. To the State of California, Williams is the epitome of human failure in civilized society.
However, to a large group of supporters, some of whom have have gone so far as to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, Williams represents the epitome of our penal system's potential for success--a truly reformed man who used his time in prison wisely, and through introspection and education, has become an inspiration to other underprivileged children to avoid the mistakes he made, possibly saving thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives in the process.
I'm afraid that I do not have enough personal knowledge of this story to offer an informed opinion on whether or not Williams has sincerely reformed. I cannot say for certain that he has, and I cannot say for certain that he hasn't.
The key point is that neither can you. Even if your name is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yet Gov. Schwarzenegger has refused clemency in this case, because he believes he is certain that Williams never reformed. That kind of God-like knowledge of what lies in other people's hearts is quite an accomplishment for an Austrian immigrant who fled the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany only to ascend the capitol steps in Sacramento by stepping over countless mutilated bodies that his own characters violently slaughtered in his films. Unlike the Terminator, however, Williams won't be back. In real life, death is final. Perhaps it is time that Gov. Schwarzenegger realized that real life is a little more complicated than works of fiction, and that it requires a little more thought before taking action. For example, if Hitler had put a little more thought into his actions, perhaps Schwarzenegger would never have had to flee the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany.
The American Debtors Prison exhibits a medieval brutality not because those who routinely "execute" inmates are necessarily evil and vicious themselves, but because they are intellectually lazy, and refuse to do exactly what his supporters say that Williams has done: devote oneself to a lifetime of introspection, education, and growth with enough courage to completely change your fundamental beliefs, if necessary. Instead, they merely rely on the same lazy intellectual shortcuts--heuristics that don't require any deep or rational thought at all. Examples in this case include:
Authority figures say Williams has not reformed. Therefore he has not reformed.
Popular social activists say Williams has reformed. Therefore he has reformed.
The victims' families want Williams to be executed. Therefore he should be executed.
William's family does not want him to be executed. Therefore Williams should not be executed.
I believe in capitol punishment. Therefore Williams should be executed.
I do not believe in capitol punishment. Therefore Williams should not be executed.
I'm a good Christian, and I believe in "an eye for an eye", as God did. Therefore Williams should be executed.
I'm a good Christian, and I believe in showing mercy, as Jesus did. Therefore Williams should not be executed.
And here is the heuristic that Gov. Schwarzenegger appears to be using:
I don't see any evidence that Williams feels remorse for his crimes. Therefore Williams doesn't feel any remorse for his crimes, and I should not grant clemency.
The fallacy of this intellectual shortcut, of course, is that Gov. Schwarzenegger is not Stanley Tookie Williams, and therefore he has no earthly business claiming to know how another unique, individual human being like Stanley Tookie Williams would exhibit remorse even if he did feel it--unless, of course, Gov. Schwarzenegger is God, and therefore does know how Williams would exhibit remorse. But in reality, for all Schwarzenegger's accomplishments, he was never an impoverished black youth moving from the utter poverty of New Orleans to the utter poverty of Los Angeles in the early 1970's. He never had the code of the LA ghetto literally burned into his mind as a young man, and never spent 25 years in prison trying to remove that branding influence from his mind, all by himself.
To my knowledge, no one was requesting that Williams be released from prison. They were merely requesting that he not be murdered (euphemism: "executed") by the State of California simply because the State of California has determined that murder is evil, and that murder must therefore must be stopped by every means possible (including murder). That is not an unreasonable request, when you bother to actually think about it. It is merely an appeal against hypocrisy--a form of evil that has been fundamentally responsible for more atrocities and human suffering (including the American Debtors Prison) than even the abhorrent crime of murder has been responsible for.
It is quite possible that Williams committed those crimes and was proud of them at the time, but over the years has transformed into a man who feels deep shame for what he did, and simply doesn't know how to express the monumental degree of shame and regret he feels. How would YOU feel, and how would YOU behave 25 years after senselessly taking four people away from their loved ones forever? The correct answer is, you have no idea how you would feel or behave, because you haven't experienced that.
So we are all left making our own assessment (translation: best guess) of whether Williams was innocent or guilty of the original crimes for which he is about to be executed, and whether or not he has truly reformed since then. And precisely because everyone feels and behaves differently under the same circumstances--because we are all unique individuals--we are witnessing a bitter feud between William's supporters and his critics as the moment of his death draws near.
This phenomenon, which results from sheer intellectual laziness among nearly everyone in society--not just Gov. Schwarzenegger--is one of the primary reasons that Western Civilization is rightfully regarded as hypocritical to the point of utter damnation. It is the reason that Americans tolerate losing more than 2100 American lives (so far) in pointless response to a terrorist act that already killed 3000 Americans. It is the reason that Americans sit back and watch a democratic government that was founded in response to tyranny itself become an even worse tyranny. It is the reason that "proud" Americans say and do nothing at all as their jobs are eliminated and shipped overseas. The list is endless.
And this is also the reason why American citizens, ultimately, are the ones responsible for a resurgence of the medieval brutality that is known as the American Debtors Prison.
Yes, I am certain that Stanley Tookie Williams will die tonight. Not because I am God, but because Gov. Schwarzenegger--and Americans citizens in general--have the audacity to play God even as they "submit" to that same God in church every Sunday, rather than exercising the intellectual stamina necessary to evolve into human beings that think rationally, exhibit real moral courage, and stand up against tyranny of every kind in the great tradition of our American Founders.
Williams will die tonight, just as surely as the American Debtors Prison will continue to fill with formerly free human beings. And both will occur, ultimately, for the exact same reason.
All the best,
Paul
If I am not God, then how could I possibly know that a man who is now alive will be dead in a few hours? Because the State of California, and it's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, have announced that they will kill Stanley "Tookie" Williams just after midnight tonight. And it has been my observation that, with very rare exceptions, when our government says it is going to kill someone, it does so--and with a vengeance.
Stanley Tookie Williams is an enigma to everyone but himself. To the State of California, he is a ruthless killer, who founded the brutal Crips street gang, senselessly murdered four people in 1979, and never repented. To the State of California, Williams is the epitome of human failure in civilized society.
However, to a large group of supporters, some of whom have have gone so far as to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, Williams represents the epitome of our penal system's potential for success--a truly reformed man who used his time in prison wisely, and through introspection and education, has become an inspiration to other underprivileged children to avoid the mistakes he made, possibly saving thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives in the process.
I'm afraid that I do not have enough personal knowledge of this story to offer an informed opinion on whether or not Williams has sincerely reformed. I cannot say for certain that he has, and I cannot say for certain that he hasn't.
The key point is that neither can you. Even if your name is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Yet Gov. Schwarzenegger has refused clemency in this case, because he believes he is certain that Williams never reformed. That kind of God-like knowledge of what lies in other people's hearts is quite an accomplishment for an Austrian immigrant who fled the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany only to ascend the capitol steps in Sacramento by stepping over countless mutilated bodies that his own characters violently slaughtered in his films. Unlike the Terminator, however, Williams won't be back. In real life, death is final. Perhaps it is time that Gov. Schwarzenegger realized that real life is a little more complicated than works of fiction, and that it requires a little more thought before taking action. For example, if Hitler had put a little more thought into his actions, perhaps Schwarzenegger would never have had to flee the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany.
The American Debtors Prison exhibits a medieval brutality not because those who routinely "execute" inmates are necessarily evil and vicious themselves, but because they are intellectually lazy, and refuse to do exactly what his supporters say that Williams has done: devote oneself to a lifetime of introspection, education, and growth with enough courage to completely change your fundamental beliefs, if necessary. Instead, they merely rely on the same lazy intellectual shortcuts--heuristics that don't require any deep or rational thought at all. Examples in this case include:
And here is the heuristic that Gov. Schwarzenegger appears to be using:
The fallacy of this intellectual shortcut, of course, is that Gov. Schwarzenegger is not Stanley Tookie Williams, and therefore he has no earthly business claiming to know how another unique, individual human being like Stanley Tookie Williams would exhibit remorse even if he did feel it--unless, of course, Gov. Schwarzenegger is God, and therefore does know how Williams would exhibit remorse. But in reality, for all Schwarzenegger's accomplishments, he was never an impoverished black youth moving from the utter poverty of New Orleans to the utter poverty of Los Angeles in the early 1970's. He never had the code of the LA ghetto literally burned into his mind as a young man, and never spent 25 years in prison trying to remove that branding influence from his mind, all by himself.
To my knowledge, no one was requesting that Williams be released from prison. They were merely requesting that he not be murdered (euphemism: "executed") by the State of California simply because the State of California has determined that murder is evil, and that murder must therefore must be stopped by every means possible (including murder). That is not an unreasonable request, when you bother to actually think about it. It is merely an appeal against hypocrisy--a form of evil that has been fundamentally responsible for more atrocities and human suffering (including the American Debtors Prison) than even the abhorrent crime of murder has been responsible for.
It is quite possible that Williams committed those crimes and was proud of them at the time, but over the years has transformed into a man who feels deep shame for what he did, and simply doesn't know how to express the monumental degree of shame and regret he feels. How would YOU feel, and how would YOU behave 25 years after senselessly taking four people away from their loved ones forever? The correct answer is, you have no idea how you would feel or behave, because you haven't experienced that.
So we are all left making our own assessment (translation: best guess) of whether Williams was innocent or guilty of the original crimes for which he is about to be executed, and whether or not he has truly reformed since then. And precisely because everyone feels and behaves differently under the same circumstances--because we are all unique individuals--we are witnessing a bitter feud between William's supporters and his critics as the moment of his death draws near.
This phenomenon, which results from sheer intellectual laziness among nearly everyone in society--not just Gov. Schwarzenegger--is one of the primary reasons that Western Civilization is rightfully regarded as hypocritical to the point of utter damnation. It is the reason that Americans tolerate losing more than 2100 American lives (so far) in pointless response to a terrorist act that already killed 3000 Americans. It is the reason that Americans sit back and watch a democratic government that was founded in response to tyranny itself become an even worse tyranny. It is the reason that "proud" Americans say and do nothing at all as their jobs are eliminated and shipped overseas. The list is endless.
And this is also the reason why American citizens, ultimately, are the ones responsible for a resurgence of the medieval brutality that is known as the American Debtors Prison.
Yes, I am certain that Stanley Tookie Williams will die tonight. Not because I am God, but because Gov. Schwarzenegger--and Americans citizens in general--have the audacity to play God even as they "submit" to that same God in church every Sunday, rather than exercising the intellectual stamina necessary to evolve into human beings that think rationally, exhibit real moral courage, and stand up against tyranny of every kind in the great tradition of our American Founders.
Williams will die tonight, just as surely as the American Debtors Prison will continue to fill with formerly free human beings. And both will occur, ultimately, for the exact same reason.
All the best,
Paul
posted by Paul at 9:26 PM
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