Editor's Choice

Various Reactions to the Editorial "Execution is not the solution"

All names of the authors are withheld.

My compliments for using eurodressage for higher purposes! It was quite random to find this article about McVeigh on the site but I was very glad that someone else has the sensitivity it needs to see death penalty for what it is. An excuse for pure revenge, and an illusion of justice. [...] Wish they could open their eyes ans see how in this way they just transform a criminal in a casualty. I prayed for him yesterday and I'm agnostic.

I want to start by saying how much I love Eurodressage!! I check it every day and fill myself up with great information to keep myself inspired over here on the other side of the pond. I feel the need to respond to your article regarding the death penalty and Timothy McVeigh. First of all I respect your courage to say how you feel on your website. I respect your opinion, although I disagree with it. I feel that what that man did is absolutely unforgivable, and the right thing was done. If I were American I would not want my tax dollars going towards keeping a man like that alive and healthy in a prison. Perhaps I'm living in the dark ages, but I believe that McVeigh gave up all his rights to life when he killed all those innocent, unsuspecting people. I feel the same way about rapists and child abusers. They should get what they give ten times over. I don't think that what this man did can be compared to the atrocities that happen as a result of international war. Innocent deaths as a result of wars are just as unforgivable, but if we allow these types of actions to happen on the streets with no serious repercussions, how can we ever hope to stop it on a global level? My first thought was, "what does this have to do with dressage?!!!" and I was offended. But as I write this, I must say I'm thrilled that you had the nerve to speak your mind, and encourage your readers to react. The death penalty is a topic that each of us feels strongly about, and as in all things, we need to respect eachother's opinions.

Your commentary was totally out of place, out of line and actually over the line. Dragging the execution of this mass murderer on to a website for horses begs the question of propriety. Your pathetic brief paragraph that you do feel bad about the lost lives was nothing less than cruel. Ready slowly and intently the list of those who died - their names - their faces - the fact that three women who died were pregnant. It is inconceivable to me that anyone would defend McVeigh's rights to breath air when he knowingly slaughtered these people. Should we have not executed Eichman? If Hitler didn't kill himself - should we have kept him alive? We can NEVER know the terror the victims who died and the victims who survived suffered. We can NEVER know the ongoing torment the families and friends endure. We must pray for these people and for those who did not see the monster Tim McVeigh was becoming - or worse - those who saw it and did nothing. He chose this punishment. Your naivety with respect to the terror and horror in this incident is perhaps a fact of your youth. Your defense that capital punishment should be abolished is your right to take as a position - but defending monsters like Tim McVeigh - well look into the eyes of the photos of the children who died. Your focus may become a little more clear.

Please dont interject this garbage into this site.

With all due respect, a dressage forum is NOT the place for an editorial regarding America's policy on the death penalty. I find your plea to review Lockerby and Hiroshima to put the Oklahoma City bombing in perspective offensive. Put this in perspective, people lost their mothers, grandmothers, children, husbands, and wives in the Oklahoma City bombing. The man guilty of the offense freely admitted his guilt. There was no chance for a mistake on this one. The man was guilty, understood what the punishment was, and acted accordingly. End of discussion.

I love your website(s)...I have told you that before....but PLEASE no pictures of murderers on the website....whether I believe inthe death penalty or not is not the issue....that picture is just plain bad energy. Horses and Dressage are spiritually uplifting to me...one of your last editorials hit it perfectly...I even printed it...and if I could find it i'd probably pull a quote out of it....but alias...it's in a pile of papers somewhere....so oh well..... Just my 2cents worth..... Keep up the great work...you are appreciated!

I simply can not understand, how You can defend a man, who has killed 160 people... Of course that such man had to bee executed and I hope the americans will not remove the death penalty for this purposes.

I read Eurodressage partially for the wonderful information on the horseworld..and partially because I can count on your editorials to relate that same, insulated self-absorbed horseworld to the REAL world 'out there'. Very few of us are out there curing world hunger--or planning to demonstrate for a cause, right or wrong. I have no idea if McVeigh is an appropriate subject for ANY discussion--but it was a very refreshing and sobering editorial. I do not think the death penalty actually deters most violent deaths. The psychopaths who kill do so because they are outside our psychic and social boundaries. McVeigh killed because he felt he was at war and it was an appropriate gesture to bomb a building where small children and pregnant women died horrible deaths. I do not think the death penalty mattered to him one way or the other. I dont have any good answers. I hope this discussion makes people remember how simple--and good--life could be if everyone just used the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. thanks for trying to broaden all our minds and lives,