that rainy day feeling
May. 14th, 2011 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
obliviettoI love rainy days, and we've got one. There is nothing so soothing as the soft, steady sound of the rain. The small, but insistent, press of the rain will lull even the most vigilant thinker to reverie. Even more than rainy days, I love rainy nights. Even though my natural tendency is to be a night owl, I make a beeline for bedtime when it's rainy. Add some gentle thunder and I'm deeply content. Mmmmmm.
And now for a thoroughly jarring change of subject...
Today was the day that Majid Movahedi was due to face his sentence and lose his eyesight. In 2004 in Iran, Mr. Movahedi attacked Ameneh Bahrami, a woman who had repeatedly turned down his proposals of marriage. It was a horrifically common attack; he fell on her and threw acid in her face, blinding her in both eyes. In 2008 Mr. Movahedi was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to have ten drops of sulfuric acid dripped into each of his eyes in retribution. Ms. Bahrami will be invited to physically carry out the sentence. If she refuses, officials will do the job. In 2009 the Iranian Supreme Court approved this punishment. By the time I'm writing this, the sentence will have already been carried out. I could go check, but I haven't got the heart. This case raises very interesting issues about crime and punishment, violence and retribution. Acid attacks upon women (particularly those who turn down a suitor) are becoming more and more frequent, and I find that absolutely abhorrent. These women are guilty of nothing, yet their lives are destroyed. Shouldn't the attacker pay for his crime? Well, maybe. My blood says yes, but my spirit says no. We must be better than this. Even if I were the victim in this case, I could not pour sulfuric acid into his eyes. Or maybe I could. What if it was my daughter? I definitely could. But doesn't that make me just like him? We can say, "Well, no, because he is guilty of something terrible, while the victim was guilty of nothing." But we are not to judge one another. To many people ("WRONG people!", my angry heart says), she was guilty. Of course we know better. But aren't we supposed to be good enough to know better in his case as well? *sighs* It's so hard to be good. I want to be like Justice herself, and inflict all kinds of agony upon evil-doers. But then, of course, I'd be an evil-doer myself; I'm only human and can't judge anyone's actions or motives with perfect clarity - not even when it seems obvious. Yes, it is hard to be good. I hope and pray that some blessing comes from the pain that both of these human beings have suffered and will suffer, and I pray that they may both learn to forgive.
peace and endless peace,
~O~
ETA: The sentence of blindness, due to be carried out at noon today, has been postponed. It has not been cancelled or commuted, simply delayed. I'd like to think that it's because they can't find anyone willing to perform the actual act, nor any physicians (to test the results, apparently) willing to take part in the sentence at all. Sometimes this world hurts me.
This world can't stand too long
Be ready don't wait too late
You should know it can't stand long
For it is too full of hate...
written by Jim Anglin, performed by Bob Dylan
And now for a thoroughly jarring change of subject...
Today was the day that Majid Movahedi was due to face his sentence and lose his eyesight. In 2004 in Iran, Mr. Movahedi attacked Ameneh Bahrami, a woman who had repeatedly turned down his proposals of marriage. It was a horrifically common attack; he fell on her and threw acid in her face, blinding her in both eyes. In 2008 Mr. Movahedi was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to have ten drops of sulfuric acid dripped into each of his eyes in retribution. Ms. Bahrami will be invited to physically carry out the sentence. If she refuses, officials will do the job. In 2009 the Iranian Supreme Court approved this punishment. By the time I'm writing this, the sentence will have already been carried out. I could go check, but I haven't got the heart. This case raises very interesting issues about crime and punishment, violence and retribution. Acid attacks upon women (particularly those who turn down a suitor) are becoming more and more frequent, and I find that absolutely abhorrent. These women are guilty of nothing, yet their lives are destroyed. Shouldn't the attacker pay for his crime? Well, maybe. My blood says yes, but my spirit says no. We must be better than this. Even if I were the victim in this case, I could not pour sulfuric acid into his eyes. Or maybe I could. What if it was my daughter? I definitely could. But doesn't that make me just like him? We can say, "Well, no, because he is guilty of something terrible, while the victim was guilty of nothing." But we are not to judge one another. To many people ("WRONG people!", my angry heart says), she was guilty. Of course we know better. But aren't we supposed to be good enough to know better in his case as well? *sighs* It's so hard to be good. I want to be like Justice herself, and inflict all kinds of agony upon evil-doers. But then, of course, I'd be an evil-doer myself; I'm only human and can't judge anyone's actions or motives with perfect clarity - not even when it seems obvious. Yes, it is hard to be good. I hope and pray that some blessing comes from the pain that both of these human beings have suffered and will suffer, and I pray that they may both learn to forgive.
peace and endless peace,
~O~
ETA: The sentence of blindness, due to be carried out at noon today, has been postponed. It has not been cancelled or commuted, simply delayed. I'd like to think that it's because they can't find anyone willing to perform the actual act, nor any physicians (to test the results, apparently) willing to take part in the sentence at all. Sometimes this world hurts me.
This world can't stand too long
Be ready don't wait too late
You should know it can't stand long
For it is too full of hate...
written by Jim Anglin, performed by Bob Dylan
