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Are killers bom or created?
Tomorrow is my birthday.
At midnight tonight, I will light a
candle. I will send out a prayer and
go to bed.
The candle will not be on a cake,
and the prayer will not be for lots of
presents.
In the morning, I will read the
paper to discover if, in my name, a
life has been taken by the state of
Nebraska.
Then, like most of the citizens of
our state, I will eat breakfast, get
dressed, put on my public face and
“do my day.” When people ask me
how I am, I will say that I am fine.
Will I feel any safer? Will I be
any safer?
When my child is late coming
home from school, a horror movie
begins in my mind. Its scenes come
from real life: A little girl raped and
murdered — lured into a neighbor’s
home by the promise of a puppy. A
young boy disappearing while
delivering papers, his naked and
mutilated body found days later.
Walking home alone from a night
class, unlocking my car in a deserted
parking lot, the movie continues —
and we all know too well how it
ends. We need look no further than
the morning newspaper to find a
plot.
As a society, dread has become a
large part of our daily diet. We
watch the news and fear enters our
pores like the air.
John Joubcrt. Roger Bjorklund.
Wili Olcy.
Danny Joe Eberle. Chris Walden.
Candice Harms. Jane McManus.
Revenge. How sweet it sounds.
“Fry Wili!” The battle cry is in
the air.
English philosopher and states
man Francis Bacon wrote: “Revenge
is a kind of wild justice, which the
English philosopher and statesman
Francis Bacon wrote: “Revenge is
a kind of wild justice, which the
more man's nature runs to, the
more ought law to weed it out. ”
more man’s nature runs to, the more
ought law to weed it out.”
Tomorrow this wild justice will
be unleashed. The state of Nebraska
will look past the existing evidence
on the death penalty.
We will ignore its racist imple
mentation. We will overlook the fact
that it falls disproportionately on the
poor and the mentally ill. We will
pass over studies that show the death
penalty does not deter crime.
We will play God.
For many, the punishment will fit
the deed: “Life for life, eve for eye.”
The McManuses will have, we
hope, a sense of closure. There will
be an end to the incessant media
attention that has invaded their
already fractured lives.
Their daughter’s killer will be
dead.
For Nebraska Attorney General
Don Stenberg, Gov. Ben Nelson and
others, justice will have been served.
They will have taken the expeditious
route to re-election in a get-tough
on-crime era.
Oliver Stone’s recent release,
“Natural Bom Killers,” ponders the
question: Are murderers bom or
made?
Where do killers come from? Are
they the products of genetics or
environment? Nature or nurture?
The jury is still out. But evidence
exists that points to a combination of
both; you take the right genetic
makeup and the right environment,
and you have an Otcy or a Joubert or
a Bjorklund in the making.
Because we can’t determine
heredity (yet), perhaps our govern
ment should look at environment.
Perhaps Nelson should go further
than just cracking down on crime
and look at the social conditions that
breed it.
And perhaps, just maybe, living
in a misogynist world spawns
misogynist behavior. Our prisons arc
filled with perpetrators socialized in
a system that glorifies violence and
degrades women. The subjects of ■
their fantasies too often become the
objects of their anger.
Killing Otey will not change the
way our society views women. As a
female, I know that any of us could
be — by the folly of fate — the next
Jane McManus or another Candice
Harms.
By the grace of God, I will wake
up tomorrow to celebrate my 34th
birthday.
By decree of the state, Harold
Otey will be dead.
Lange-Kubick is a senior news-editorial
and sociology major and a Daily Nebras
kan columnist.
Arc they ugly? Or arc they
ashamed? Or are they shy? Or are
they scared? Or did their husbands
tell them to do so? Or does their
religion say so? Or is this a cultural
thing?
These arc some questions which
strike a lot of people when they see
or hear about a “woman in veil.”
First, let me clarify why Muslim
women wear veils. It’s not because
they don’t feel good about them
selves or feel shy or ashamed. It’s
because of their religion — and to
some extent, their culture.
Let me go back in the history of
Islam. Before the birth of Islam.
Arabia was a country without a
government. Each tribe considered
itself to be an independent sover
eign. Whatever notions they had of
morals, culture and civilization were
primitive in the extreme.
Looting, gambling and adultery
were common practices. Women
had no place in society, and if a
daughter was bom, she was buried
alive.
These people needed a miracle to
guide them to civilization. So
Mohammad (May Peace Be Upon
Him — these words always are said
out of respect after naming the
Prophet) was chosen by Allah (God)
to be the savior of Arabia.
The teachings of Mohammad
(MPBUH) were the words of Allah
that were compiled in the form of
the Quraan (spelled “Koran” in
English). Mohammad’s teachings
led the people of that era to the
shore of civilization and flourished
in the whole world by the name of
Islam.
Islam brought with it a whole
new life. People were given their
rights, and peace and harmony
prevailed. Women—who had been
most deprived of their rights in the
dark era — were given extreme
importance and respect, and their
dignity was preserved.
In the Quraan (verse 53 of Sura
33). which was revealed in 627 _ .
/ think the veil is a very tough
order from Allah upon women, but .
it has its advantages, and wearing
it takes a lot of strength to practice
— especially in today's world.
A.D., the veil is referred to as •
“hijab,” which literally means
“curtain.” The veil, or the hijab,
serves as a tool for the protection of
women.
Protection means more than
protection from sins or from other
physical harm. It includes protection
of one’s privacy.
According to Islam, as interpreted
by most scholars, a woman has to
cover all her body parts and hair
when she is in front of her immedi
ate blood relatives. When she is
outside confronting other men, she
also is supposed to cover her face.
Of course, there is nothing hidden
from her husband, because with him
she shares the intimacies of life.
Women also are not supposed to
undress in front of other women.
They have to be covered at least
from their waists to their knees. This
keeps the soul and the body of a
woman protected from the worldly
sins, as explained by the Muslim
Scholars, and is Allah’s command.
Again we ask ourselves: Can’t
the woman be protected without the
veil? Does the veil make such a
difference?
The only place where the veil is
strictly practiced is in Saudi Arabia.
In that country, no rape, incest or
any other sort of sexual crime
occurs. The veil is not useless but a
source of protection.
In other countries, when men see
women in veils, they do not dare
talk to them, because it is obvious
the women do not want attention.
Thus, women are protected again.
Another question which comes to
mind is: Why do women have to be
covered up but not men? Well, men
also have orders from Allah in the
religion of Islam. They are not
allowed to look at women or make
conversation until necessary.
Allah knows men still will do
these things, however, and that is
why women are to be covered — so
there is no point of looking! Accord
ing to the Shariat (the Islamic Law),
men have to be covered from their
waists to their knees even when they
confront other men.
I think the veil is a very tough
order from Allah upon women, but it
has its advantages, and wearing it
takes a lot of strength to practice —
especially in todays* world. Unfortu
nately, a lot of people criticize and
look down on women who do so,
instead of appreciating and accept
ing them for what they are doing.
To me. these women should be
praised and encouraged. May we all
have that much strength and
commitment toward our beliefs. On
the other hand. I’m not saying that
Muslim women who dress in
Western attire and choose not to
wear veils arc lesser Muslims or
poor followers of the religion.
Don’t got me wrong. The main
things thai count arc your beliefs and
what is in your heart.
BatWr U a icalor tod adeacc aujor aad
■ Dally Nabraskaa calanakt
MACH1
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