I*. IIK.IIIS SHANKS
Death penalty focus wrong
I called last week “Death Week.”
It was the aftermath of the recent
execution of Harold Lamont Otey.
Otey was dead and Roger Bjorklund
was sentenced to death. In the
press, I noticed a local preoccupa
tion with death.
It was not by accident that
people wound up at the State
Penitentiary having a tailgate party
honoring Otey’s execution. I
suspect it is not by accident that the
focus remains on news about
Bjorklund’s conviction and which i
current death row inmate will be i
executed next. i
One area newspaper even
printed a story about Bjorklund’s i
“First night on death row.” I
couldn’t put my finger on it, but (
something seemed kind of screwy. I '
wondered what people were doing. i
What were people thinking about? I
hear more talk about who will die
next, yet little talk about how to
stop it. I
State Sen. Ernie Chambers
announced his intention to run as a i
write-in candidate for governor as a <
response to public “dissatisfaction i
with and condemnation of what the i
governor did,” Chambers was <
quoted as saying in the Lincoln
Journal last Thursday. Chambers’
announcement is the first real move i
I’ve seen to end the killing. Where i
is everybody else? Are any other
leaders as dedicated to stopping <
capital punishment?
I was very critical of the protest- i
ers at the penitentiary who
screamed for Otey’s “barbecue.” I
also was very angry with Nebras- i
kans Against the Death Penalty for
calling my private phone number. A
representative called my home and
asked me to participate in a rally on
Otey’s behalf. I felt he was being
made into an object by both sides.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m against
the death penalty. But, somehow,
things got all mixed up. The focus
seemed to have been on the wrong
While Otey became a folk hero to
some, Attorney General Don
Stenberg became a hero to others. I
didn’t like either one. It seemed the
whole business was hateful and
mean-spirited.
i
hings: death and martyrdom. The ,
eal martyrs are Jane McManus and !
Candice Harms. I
While Otey became a folk hero <
o some, Attorney General Don (
Stenberg became a hero to others. I
iidn’t like either one. It seemed the '
vhole business was hateful and <
nean-spirited. i
I wanted to lash out. But I didn't
vant my hate to get the best of me. <
So, before I judge others, (no matter !
low obviously wrong they are) I <
should judge myself first. What is it l
hat I don’t like about me? What
:an I change about me so I will like '
nyself more? The more I like i
nyself, the less hate I feel for I
others. j
Hate doesn’t happen by accident, i
If that’s the case, then there’s an
excuse for Otey and Bjorklund’s
despicable crimes. I think it takes a i
ot of hate to want to see someone |
die. I could easily end up on the :
same level as those damn fools at |
he penitentiary screaming, “fry the i
ligger!” It takes work to avoid
lating others, and I’m just as I
:apable of hating as the next I
person. I
How much ill will do I have? I
How long is the list of people I i
night like to see harmed or dead? i
How much of my time do I spend
lating others? i
How much hate will I act upon
in the future? Now, that’s what
scares me, not Roger Bjorklund. I
don’t feel any safer with him in jail. I
\ctually, I feel less secure knowing
;o many people are so willing to
)ublicly state their desire to see
)thers die the way they did when
Dtey was executed.
How long is the list of people
vho the Plainsmen think should
lie? Is their list only as long as the
lumber of murderers they know?
Where does it stop? Do proponents
>f the death penalty only want to
lee murderers, rapists and drug
lealers dead? Where does the desire
o see others die stop?
I see it sort of like ethnic jokes,
vhich are often presented as
nnocent jokes. Once you hear a
Jolish joke, the “dumb blonde”
okes are soon to follow. After those
;ome the Arab jokes and on and on.
-latred starts small.
These aren’t “innocent” jokes. It
til has to do with how we treat
>eople and how we think they
ihould be treated. We don’t mistreat
>eople by accident. Nor do we
nistreat people a little bit.
Jane McManus and Candice
-larms aren’t dead by accident,
loger Bjorklund isn’t on death row
)y accident. But they all have one
hing in common: What we
emember most about them is the
esult of what hate did to them.
I don’t want to see others die,
ind I’m proud of that.
Shanks is a graduate student and a Daily
Sebraakan columnist.
KIM ST()< k
Family roles not set in stone
Every now and then I see the
real him. It’s not often that this
happens, but sometimes he lets
down his guard and shows me a
glimpse of the real Arthur.
Otherwise I always just see him
as “Dad.”
But when the mood is right and I
happen to be at the right place, he
shows me something that I’ve never
seen before. I can leam from a
simple expression on his face.
Perhaps I catch him in the middle
of a thought, and he chooses to
share his mind with me.
Several years ago — I couldn’t
tell you when this occurred — my
father and I were outside. It was the
kind of day that despite what
misery you fought, you couldn't.
help but be happy. The sun was
shining in full, the breeze gently
wrestled its way through your hair,
and the sky seemed to entrap you in
its brilliant blue color where the
clouds were allowed to puff and re-,
puff themselves into different
objects and animals.
My father looked up at the sky,
paused, and told me without taking
his eyes off the clouds, “Look at
that sky. How could anyone look at
a sky so beautiful and not believe
there’s a God?”
This is one of the rare times my
dad has let down his “fatherly
guard” with me. Usually when my
dad speaks to me, it’s only to tell
me what I need to do.
People often say, “I know my
mother well. I tell her everything. I
could talk to her about anything.”
They misinterpret being able to talk
to their parents as knowing them
well. I’m going to bet that none of
us really know our parents.
Think about the times you are
able to talk to Mom. Who does all
of the talking? You probably tell
her your problems while she listens.
She probably gives you advice —
We can’t accept that our parents
are often weak. We want to think
of them as unreal figures who are g
only loving and strong. In a sense, ag
we can’t allow our parents to show j
their true feelings. 1
all mothers feel compelled to give
advice.
Do the two of you ever switch
places? Can you recall a time that
she told you one of her problems
and you did the listening and
advice giving? This may occur
occasionally. However, I doubt that
she calls you up at college to tell
you what's new in HER life, like
you do every week.
The truth is, we don’t want to
know our parents in any way other
than as “Mom” and “Dad.” It
embarrasses us when parents use
certain lingo in their speech. We
roll our eyes when Dad says the car
in the magazine was “cool.” We are
appalled at the thought of mom
wearing a tight, leather, mini-skirt.
If parents did act out in this
manner, we’d gently tell Mom and
Dad “to act their age.”
In a friendship, it’s OK to
occasionally have someone be more
assertive in the relationship. What’s
normal in friendship is thought to
be unacceptable in parent/child
relationships. Daughters and sons
resent having to “parent” their
parents.
I have a friend who must often
worry about her parents. She
lectures her father when he stays
out too late. She often plays
counselor to her mother. I can see
the frustration and stress she feels
because of her reversal of roles.
We can't accept that our parents
often are weak. We want to think of
them as unreal figures who are only
loving and strong. In a sense, we
can’t allow our parents to show
their true feelings.
Also, parents don’t want us to
know the person they really are.
Parents, even in speech, never step
outside the role of who they are.
Parents use formalities when
referring to the other parent. If
mom tells you to “ask dad,” she
never tells you to “ask Gordon."
If parents were your friends
could they be effective parents? You
could tell a friend what you really
did at that party last Friday? Could
you tell your father and not expect
at least a lecture? Could you tell
your father and not at least want a
lecture? Sometimes being a parent
means remaining a parent.
We don’t really know the people
inside our parents’ bodies, and we
can never expect to know them. But
we’re all adults now, and if we try
harder, and they let us, we might
just see a faint picture of who our
parents are.
Occasionally, we may trip upon
something unexpected and for the
first time, meet “Sue” and “David.”
Stock is a juaior secondary education
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