Tag Archives: peace

Troy Davis: The Lex Talionis

22 Thursday Sep 2011

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The Supreme Court could have saved Troy Davis’s life.  There was reasonable   doubt.  So now two mothers are grieving or, in the case of Mrs MacPhail, attempting to grieve, the death of a son.  The lex talionis (loi du talion) prevailed.  An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…  except that, in the current case, it was a son for a son, whether or not the son who was executed was guilty of the crime he allegedly committed:  killing Mrs MacPhail’s son.

I watched Anderson Cooper’s interview with Marc MacPhail’s mother.  Mr Cooper wanted to know whether Mrs MacPhail would feel “peace,” after the execution of Troy Davis.

Mrs MacPhail answered that she hoped to feel peace, but will she?  Officer MacPhail, her son, is still dead.  Nothing can bring him back to his family.  And now, compounding  matters, doubt concerning Mr Davis’s guilt lingers and will continue to linger, thus hindering peace.  Therefore, executing Troy Davis is still a tragedy, but a larger one.

Troy Davis’s mother will mourn her son, but it seems unlikely Mrs MacPhail will feel peace.  I hope, for her sake, that she does, but may I repeat that there was reasonable doubt as to Mr Davis’s guilt.

The lex talionis seems little more than sanctioned revenge.  Moreover, what the world may have witnessed is a classic case of scapegoating.  It appears that Troy Davis was the archetypal sacrificial lamb.

What is now on the stand is justice itself.

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September 22, 2011

Scapegoating: Troy Davis

21 Wednesday Sep 2011

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There is reasonable doubt as to whether or not Troy Davis is guilty of murdering Marc MacPhail.

His being executed will bring “peace” to his grieving mother.  But can anyone feel peace if an innocent man is put to death?

Troy Davis is a human being and he has already spent twenty years in prison.  It seems that the courts have found a scapegoat.

Indeed, what I am hearing is:  “Someone has been killed, so let us kill someone, anyone…  It may as well be Troy Davis.”  That’s scapegoating.

But please do not excecute a person if there is “reasonable doubt” as to his guilt.  In fact, do away with the death penalty altogether.

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September 21, 2011

“Que sais-je ?”

21 Wednesday Sep 2011

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Yesterday, I saw a video that led me to think that there just may be greater acceptance of other cultures and, especially, of the Middle East.

The video showed President Obama speaking with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.  I saw two men who were speaking calmly and with civility.  Could this be the work of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?  Perhaps, but there just may be more.

Many soldiers died in Afghanistan during the last few years, some of whom were Canadian soldiers.  There are unhappy memories and I feel genuine sorrow for those who have lost a loved one.

Moreover, as a woman, I rather enjoy being able to show my face.  But it could be that women whose faces are hidden and whose husbands have many wives are nevertheless happy.  “Que sais-je ?” (What do I know?)  These are the words of Michel de Montaigne  (1533-1592).

Unfortunately, one cannot roll back history, but one can make today the first day of the rest of one’s life.  We have that option.

In other words, I felt a sense of relief viewing these two Presidents speaking humbly with one another and then shake hands.

Let us hope for greater brotherhood among human beings.  Cultures may differ, but we are all human beings.  There is therefore a profound level of commonality between all of us.

It is my most sincere wish that humans will now work with one another and avoid conflicts.

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September 21, 2011