Every mainstream article on the Arkansas execution frames it as “the first in 12 years” – as if officials deserve an award and standing ovation for some type of accomplishment. This is not an aberration from an otherwise non-violent status quo, folks. Remember: one black person is killed by the police, a security guard, or vigilante every 28 hours.
Keep in mind that black people are only 13% of the general population, but over 41% of death row inmates are black. Unless we are willing to make the racist argument that blacks are criminals by nature, we must concede that the criminal justice system is anti-black.
There is no such thing as a humane execution. No amount of glitter and lullabies can change the reality that a life is being taken. Whether inmates are decapitated, electrocuted, or given lethal injection is a difference of degree – not a difference of kind. State violence is still the common denominator. The fact that executions are now hidden, swift, sterilized, and painless makes it more barbaric than ever – because it attempts to conceal the monstrous deed. A neat and tidy death penalty demonstrates that the government has mastered the ability to take lives without sparking massive public outcry. This is the epitome of a desensitized culture and barrier to revolution.
April 22, 2017 at 4:33 am
The first time I knew about an execution was when I was in the 6th grade. I remember sitting in class watching the clock. It happened at 10:00 that morning. I knew even then that it was a monstrous thing to do. In 2003 I got on the Dean’s list of a city college because of a paper I wrote against the death penalty. The government murders people supposedly as a way to deter violent crimes and their efforts to desensitize the public has indeed worked also because there exists in our population people who are happy to see their fellows “get what’s coming to them.” In my own family one of my nieces clapped on FB when she heard about a criminal who jumped to his death in a prison. Your posts help me have a clearer view of my own opinions. I think that we (the people) are the people that make up our government. “The Government” is not a separate group of people who sit on high. They are people like you and me and my niece. I have written to a sitting President about our governments ability to murder people. I have not become desensitized. Hopefully, if more people write about these “monstrous deeds”, more people will begin to have second thoughts about what is the best way to execute someone.
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April 22, 2017 at 6:48 am
Hello Ms. Elva!
I would love to hear more about the paper you wrote against the death penalty. You are right to highlight that the stated objective of the death penalty is to deter crime. But studies have shown that the states who use the death penalty do not have higher drops in crime than states who do not use it. So it is counterproductive to crime fighting policies, and a barbaric implementation of “justice” (eye for an eye) in the last analysis.
There is a difference between what is the case (reality) and what should be the case (goal). Whenever folks discuss government, I find that these outlooks are thoroughly confused. For instance, the Declaration of Independence includes a lot of pretty language about “freedom, justice, and equality” – but that does not exist in practice. Those are goals. We cannot judge America by what it is trying to do, but what it is doing.
I say that to say this: we are not part of the government. The two-party system is owned and controlled by the ruling class which dominates us. We have no voice, only the illusion of choice. If the government were truly by the people, for the people, there would be socialized healthcare (which the majority wants). Just think of the fact that 50% of the adult population didnt even vote, and Trump lost the popular vote and is still president right now. WE are not the government, and never have been. That is our goal. The only way we can become the government is if we seize the land and resources that we need to guarantee our survival (i.e. overthrow capitalism).
I also do not think making phone calls or writing letters will make a difference. I live in RI – where Senator Whitehouse supported Mike Pompeo for CIA Director: a guy who approves of torture. If we need to make a phone call to remind Senator Whitehouse that torture is illegal, immoral, and unethical … he is already beyond salvation, and that proves my point that the government exists for people in power, not us.
Have you ever written to your representatives? I have. I always receive a response either from an intern or a computer. Politicians are not sitting by their office phones and mailboxes all day responding to people. They have better things to do: like accepting bribes, cutting social programs, etc. They are only interested in what we believe around re-election time.
I notice you typed: “the best way to execute someone”. My question is … why execute at all? I don’t think its about establishing a better way to kill, its about questioning the ethics of killing prisoners (typically black men) in the first place.
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April 23, 2017 at 9:43 pm
Yea, I worded that last thought wrong, I meant that maybe people would have second thoughts about executing people, period. I knew you would question my “we are the government”. And I understand where you are coming from. So you are right, We the people are not the government, what I am trying to say is that the people who are the government were, at one time, members of the “we the people” group, who saw an opportunity to get into a position of power. And now they are “the government”. For me the phone call or letter is to voice my opinion, maybe it’ll go in one ear and out the other, maybe it won’t. I have to believe that a glimmer of decency remains in some of those people in power. The only response I have ever received was from Mr. Obama (email) and though it was computer-generated I like to believe some of the words in that response were his personal thoughts not his writer’s.
My ideas may be totally confusing (huh?? What did she say?) but I totally love exercising my brain like this, don’t u?
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April 26, 2017 at 6:23 am
I completely understand. It is absolutely wonderful having these conversations! It keeps me sharp. It keeps me alive. The more we read, the more we write. And vice versa. I feel depressed when I do not write and engage for a long time
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