I did, and it's plenty fair. I made the call at the time based on history and known evidence....damned glad to be wrong. Not the first time for me, won't be the last (I mean, I'm SURE all of y'all just KNEW Texas was gonna beat the Huskers in the first Big 12 championship, right?)
Very much agreed. Our social trend is so much towards separation, and villification. Seeing an outward example of kindness, forgiveness, and acknowledgment that we all live in community with each other -- including with the people who have wronged us -- is really big.
It reminds me of the aftermath of the Amish school shooting back in 2006. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14900930
The Amish family members of actual shooting victims not only forgave the shooter, but some of them even attended his funeral. They offered love and assistance to his widow and his family. They walked the fucking walk. It was one of the most powerful displays of Christ-like behavior I've ever seen, and it sticks with me to this day.
A lot of us are angry at law enforcement. And we have every right to be. But what do we really WANT? We want them to do their jobs. We want them to do it with kindness and human decency, with awareness and respect for the gravity of their power, and the decisions they may be called upon to make. We actually DO want them to "make it home safely." And we want them to deliberately balance the life and safety of others when they make life-changing decisions. We want them to be like Deputy Dahliwal...and we want him and the rest of them to go home to their family at the end of their shift. I don't hate cops. I hate what they've allowed themselves to become, and I hate that so many of them resist reform.
Do we want Amber Guyger to suffer now? Maybe. Maybe somewhat. Because it does send a powerful cautionary message. But what would we RATHER have had happen?
I think most of us would prefer to have seen her grow up to be a decent woman with compassion, not fear masked with callous bravado. We'd rather have seen her be capable of doing her job in a cool and professional manner. That way, even if she did goof in showing up at the wrong apartment, upon hearing movement inside, she would have backed up, and assessed the situation....looked at the doormat....looked at the apartment number....and realized it wasn't her own apartment. Maybe she even would have been a good neighbor, knocking on the door to tell her downstairs neighbor that "man, I am really tired, and found myself in front of the wrong door, but I saw that it was ajar, so I wanted to tell you so you could close it and be safe. Have a nice evening."
I'm sick of people being so fragile and hostile that they resort to violence and hurting others. I'm sick of people being hurt and killed because violence is such a common reaction among people we should be able to trust. I'm sick of society HAVING to call for justice, and strong sentences to serve as a warning. I'm sick of losing good people like Botham Jean. I'm sick of people like Amber Guyger never developing into a good person, for whatever reasons may have led her down the wrong path. I'd like a society where Botham got to enjoy his ice cream and go to bed, and a good cop named Amber got to have a laugh about how tired she was, and get a good night's sleep.
We can and should exact our punishment. But we must also figure out a way to heal who we are. Because who we are right now hurts a shitload of people, for no damned good reason at all.