this guy is Greg Ousley. he was sentenced to 60 years in prison when he was 14 years old for the murder of his parents. recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that we can no longer impose life sentences and death penalties on juveniles. this is more humane and brings us somewhat more in line with other democratic societies. the story is a complex one and no easy answers are to be found. the disappointing thing for me comes in the reading of the comments section. i am amazed at folks who can diagnose sociopathy from an article focused on the apparent rehabilitation of Mr. Ousley. i am also amazed.....not in a good way.....at how bloodthirsty some commentators are......patricide is a horror. Miroslav Volf has warned us that naming evil is necessary but we must exercise extreme caution because naming evil is all too often done for the feeling of moral and spiritual superiority that naming can bring. we all would prefer that our monsters were more easily identifiable.....horns and tails? maybe. anything that made them not so much like us. .just thinking........
I see the problem, right...there. Extreme caution is not something that one sees on a day-to-day basis in the Interwebs. David Rakoff wrote an essay about the budding Internet with its horde of data entry peeps (what's the right word for that?) who don't have to fact check anything cause it is so so easy to fix it the next day.
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i'm struck with the self-aggrandizing and piosity of many of the commentators. Octavia Butler gave a speech about racism and all kinds of -isms and noted that we'll never be free of it because "it feels good to feel superior." the self-righteousness and self-annointing "authority" they assume for themselves i think could be more dangerous than what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace." there is self-justification in claiming "it's a natural reaction to the horror of the situation!" to which i can only say, "really? you think so......?" i think no one wants to tackle the fact that the line that separates us safely on the side of the angels is a vague and diffuse one. still thinking 'bout it......
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