Guthrie to Maggie and Max

Max Sawicky sawicky at epinet.org
Fri Mar 5 07:54:48 PST 1999



> Did you ever see a hangman tie a hang knot . . .

I would require executions to be public and televised, so the public could see what they were doing, rather than it being hidden away. Also, I don't go for this lame injection stuff; hanging or electrocution would be better. (My understanding is that firing squad and guillotine are actually pretty humane since death is so sudden.)

The key thing about this song and all the other stuff like it is that the victims of whatever crime was committed do not exist. Even the question of a crime is not broached. Much like abortion, where the fetus (whatever its state of development) does not exist, hence has no question of rights, which allows us -- by definition, rather than by argument -- to define the rights of the woman as exclusive.


> Tell me who makes the laws for that hang knot

One can hold up for criticism the way the death penalty is employed, or more comprehensively the system that uses it. But this, much like Yoshie's argument, concedes the moral question. Which is it? Is it wrong as matter of principle, or merely a bad political influence or inefficiently and/or unfairly exercised?

I'm at a loss for a counter-allusion; only have one Merle Haggard CD.

mbs



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list