The thing that gets me in stories like this or any other story where someone unexpectedly shot someone, beat someone, cut someone, burned down a building, raped someone, molested a child, or any other number of tragic events that occur all too frequently is the response of those who know/knew the person who committed the act. Is it just the case where I live or is it a universal thing that the accused in these sorts of situations are always lauded as good people before the crime? I find it almost always to be the case that the ones being interviewed on the news or in the newspaper have nothing but positive things to say about the one being charged....how they were well-known and liked in the community; how they came from a good family; how they always attended PTA meetings and other school activities; how they were in church every week; how they always were upbeat and happy; how they never seemed violent or distempered; how it's so unbelievable that they'd commit such an act. And so on and so forth.
This always baffles my mind. It's not to say that these people couldn't have been all these things. Considering that I don't know any more about them than what I hear or read, I have no authority to say they were not and can only take the word of those who knew them. And I'm not likely to say that those who knew/know them are lying. In fact, I'm more inclined to believe them, especially since I know people don't always outwardly portray there inner selves, feeling, or thoughts.
It's just always been very curious to me.
What breakdown occurs to make someone who was apparently such an asset to society snap and commit an act that takes the life of someone else (or violate someone else) and lands them in an unfavorable legal position that'll dictate their lived from here on out (in most cases)? Now if, for instance, in the case of the woman mentioned above, someone got on the news and said, "Well, I saw it coming. She was always abusing the child," then it'd be more balanced..like this:
She always abused the child.
And
One day she really snapped and killed him.
But:
She was such a good mother and did everything right.
And
One day she snapped and killed him
Doesn't balance out for me where the dialogue about these sorts of matter is concerned.
And I'm not saying anything about whether or not she was justified in her actions, since I'm not in the position to do so (though it does break my heart). I just wonder about the inconsistency between the way some of the people are described and the actions they take that negate those descriptions.
peace
No comments:
Post a Comment