Comments on: He can’t even

By: sumac

sumac — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 20:24:26 +0000

In reply to Thoughtful Camel. Thank you. That's useful information.

By: Thoughtful Camel

Thoughtful Camel — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 20:17:37 +0000

Just a note – pretty much all of what he said is boilerplate Q’uranic quotations. The idea of goodness not existing apart from Allah, the soul not being burdened beyond what it can bear, the repeated references to Allah as merciful. There seems to be little of what he said that goes beyond this really basic religious language taken almost verbatim from the Q’uran. I don’t know what that indicates, really. I don’t agree with the death penalty in any case. I guess I just wanted to point out that you were right when you said that you thought it was a reference to the Q’uran.

By: sumac

sumac — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 02:16:48 +0000

In reply to Jason van leeuwen. Good point -- I do agree about civilian courts.

By: Jason van leeuwen

Jason van leeuwen — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:37:13 +0000

How often do you hear a terrorist apologize? Irrespective of its quality, it drives home the truth that terrorists should be tried in a civilian court – not only due to the vertiginous conviction rate, but also the opportunity for the accused to face one’s accusers and thereby witness their humanity.

By: tanita

tanita — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 21:53:44 +0000

Wow. “Can’t even” is a good way to describe this. I can’t even, either. If you kill a bunch of people, does anything you say matter anymore at all?? Religious babble in the midst of an apology is like the “I have a Deity in my back pocket” apologies that Evangelicals get up to — My Deity told me to tell you all about the affair I had with that young man, so here I am, weeping attractively on national television, thank you, and Amen.

I rarely feel compelled to listen to people justifying their actions… I find myself incensed when they apply Divinity as their “get out of this free” card. His words have the meaning of a brass cowbell – mere noise.

By: Frances

Frances — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 21:46:29 +0000

I am inclined to see his words in a more positive light, although I agree that it is not overall a “good apology.” The main problem with it is that he never renounces the actual bombing, never says that he regrets doing it or that he was wrong to do it. So in that sense it is not an apology at all. What it does have going for it is that it is very sincere. He does not say anything that he does not truly believe. If he were simply saying what he thought would get him a lighter sentence he would have said a lot more about regretting his actions.

As to the specific points, I do believe that his statement that “Any act that does not begin in the name of God is separate from goodness” is both boilerplate piety and also an avowal that the act that he is about to perform, the “apology,” starts with Allah. He is not referring to the bombing, although the implication is that he believes that act was in the name of God as well.

I do believe that his reference to “Allah and his creation” means people, so he is saying now is the time to ask forgiveness and express gratitude to people (and indeed he follows that by thanking people.)

I appreciate actually that he followed the part about Allah not giving you more than you can bear by acknowledging that the pain he caused was “unbearable” and the damage was “irreparable.” I think that is as close as he comes to an apology in the whole statement. He also says that he is sorry for the lives he took and the suffering he caused, but he doesn’t renounce the bombing itself. It is almost as if he still believes that the bombing was the right thing to do, but he just wishes it hadn’t caused so much suffering. I do think that he feels bad about it, but he doesn’t necessarily think it was wrong to do it. As I said, it is not a good apology, but at least it is a sincere statement of empathy toward the victims and survivors, he listened to them, he heard them, he does not argue with them, he acknowledges the pain and suffering he caused, he does not dispute it or minimize it or justify it. And he wishes them well. I can tell you, I’ve received worse “apologies” than this (albeit for far less heinous actions!)