So William Calley is sorry for the My Lai massacre.
He says "I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.'' Note the passivity in his description. He doesn't say "I apologise for the fact that I am a mass murderer," he is just expressing regret for the fact that something bad happened. Well anyone can do that. He is sorry for the American soldiers involved; you know, the ones who took evident delight in killing hundreds of old people and children.
This is not good enough. The man's punishment was 3 and a half years of house arrest. That was not good enough. The absolute least he could possibly do is go back to Vietnam, meet the relatives of those he murdered, douse himself in petrol and go from house to house asking for someone to strike a match. Even then he wouldn't have paid his debt.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Ah bloodthirsty Sam. What happened to the Sam that wisely said to me that "life is too short to hate"? Maybe if William Calley had big boobs you would be more forgiving :p
However you are right about the apology. It does not take enough person responsibility and would probably be insulting to the families of the victims.
Excellent response Sam. Suddenly I see no inconsistency in your position and I agree that we should be dousing people in petrol and setting them alight.
http://www.theonion.com/content/amvo/calley_apologizes_for_my_lai
I certainly don't want to be accused of hypocrisy or inconsistency sir, so let me be perfectly clear. I believe that life is too short to hate an ex-girlfriend after a bad break-up, but not to hate a mass murderer after a bad war-crime. No, life is quite long enough for that. This is because the latter is much worse than the former.
I don't personally believe the state should burn people to death retributively. If I had my way the man would be merely shot as a traitor (to the human species, not to any one country). I would happily watch if he performed the act of self immolation out of atonement however.
Okay :)
Curiously I watched the movie 'Seven Pounds' the other day, starring Will Smith. His character's intentions are slowly revealed throughout the movie. He caused a car crash which killed seven people including his wife and decides to atone by killing himself and donating his organs to seven worthy recipients. You may not have seen the movie but I would be interested in what you thought of such an act.
Post a Comment