I probably lean more on the "pro" side of capital punishment, but, like the
abortion issue, the "squeamish" side of these things causes me to distance
myself from a position of conviction. I'm not sure if I fully comprehend
Pirsig's anti-capital punishment stance, and the pending execution of Tim
McVeigh is an example. As I recall Pirsig doesn't use serial killers, mass
murderers, etc., as examples of the criminal element. There is the brujo who
is a peeping tom, and the "hip" criminals of the 60s, Black Panther-types and
other activists. Are we to explain McVeigh's actions as a "dynamic" event?
And is it out of the realm of reality that 150 years from now we are living
in a convoluted society that remembers McViegh the way that John Brown (whom
Pirsig alludes to) is remembered? Marco mentioned that a few years ago all
Italy was praying for a "miracle" that the US would not execute an Italian
living in this country. It seems to me that the only thing worthy of miracle
status in this instance would have been the resurrection of the murder
victim. Like Marco, I'm not interested in a pro vs. con discussion - I'm just
not totally clear about Pirsig's message. If I had to guess, he is a firm
believer in the sanctity of life, regardless of any immoral actions, and this
sanctity extends to the womb. But could one not make the case that the
"social" level is absolutely moral in extinguishing the "biological" in these
cases of courts decreeing the execution of murderers?
Clarke
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