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December 15, 2005
taking a break to search for redemption
sitting in my office, reading and responding to student presentations. and i just decided that i needed a break so here i am, blogging. although, i'll have to admit that i've had plenty of mini-breaks in the almost 4 hours that i've been here...feels like i won't ever get done.
so much has happened since my last post. stanley "tookie" williams lost his plea for clemency, and richard pryor lost to a heart attack. at some point, i'll get myself together enough to blog about richard's passing. i'm still sorting stuff out...
however, i've been thinking a lot about redemption...
my sister called me the nite that tookie was executed, and we had a long conversation about redemption--how does it happen? or perhaps the better question is does it ever happen? these two questions have particular relevance when we talk about tookie. he is credited with being a founding member of the crips and was found guilty of first-degree murder--he killed four people although he never admitted guilt and maintained his innocence until the moment they injected him with enough chemicals to make his heart stop. during his imprisonment, he denounced gang violence, wrote children's books about the ills of gang involvement, and was nominated for the nobel peace prize. but all of those good deeds weren't enough for the governator...and i would imagine that those good deeds did not bring any comfort to the families who lost their loved ones--albert owens, yen-i yang, tsai-shai chen yang, yu-chin yang lin.
had tookie been redeemed? did his redemption erase his crimes of the past? can we be redeemed if we sanction state-sponsored murder?
i do believe that redemption is possible. i believe in our power to forgive and to be forgiven. to believe otherwise would mean that things aren't going to get any better.
lyrics for the day
"Redemption Song"
Bob Marley
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look
Some say it's just a part of it
We've got to fulfill the book
Won't you help to sing, these songs of freedom
Cause all I ever had, redemption songs, redemption songs, redemption songs
Posted by emnorris at December 15, 2005 04:18 AM