Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sniper

John Allen Muhammad was executed last night. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old, but it seems like his sentence was carried out rather swiftly, comparatively. In 2002, during his killing spree, I worked in a newsroom and had some exposure to the story daily. A coworker attended a wedding in the DC area during this time and I remember him joking that he was going to wear a shirt with a target on it. Ah! Newsroom humor! This is the same guy that once said that he was considering cancelling his planned tour of Israeli sidewalk cafes. Humor can really get you through the daily death and destruction you are exposed to in a newsroom.

I remember once, a coworker and I were watching some aerials of a found body feed in. The chopper was over a parking lot and there, right in the handicapped space was the body and we both erupted into a fit of giggles. It's not that we don't care. Really. We care. It's just that we have to somehow cope and often, that's through humor.

I don't believe in the death penalty. I don't think the government has any business killing it's citizens, but it's not a cause I'm all up in arms about. I mean, there are people out there that are more deserving of my compassion. Even animals are more deserving of my compassion. I'd rather see a killer like Muhammad be executed than an innocent stray.

I don't know where I'm going with this. His death just feels like a bow on a tidy little package. That story is over now. The affects of September 11 are still with me daily. The wars continue. Daniel Pearl's beheading still replays in my mind. But the DC sniper is a done deal. I'm sure the families of his victims don't feel the same way.

Coat Sale!

In case you haven't heard, Old Navy is having a half-off outerwear sale this week only. Which is perfect for me, since I'm cold. I'm thinking something plaid, although I don't know when plaid came back in style or when I started liking it, but I've been kind of drawn to it lately. I guess my inner alternative-seattle-flannel-90s lumberjack is coming out.