Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the Boston Marathon
bombings made his first court appearance recently. At the first hearing out of
what I imagine will be many more in the future, he pleaded not guilty to the
charges of acts of terrorism.
What I had not known before was that Tsarnaev is only 19.
That really put things into perspective for me. What sorts of reasons or
motivation could drive a 19-year-old to conspire such a huge crime? I mean,
even apart from the allegedly terrorism-related implications, what leads a
19-year-old to become caught up in such detrimental actions?
Many of the victims of the family members also chose to
participate in the hearing. Of course, it is expected and understandable that
they would express their “raw emotion and anger” after the hearing outside. Seeing
the person responsible for their suffering in person would obviously elicit
such emotions. I appreciated the journalists’ decision to include quotes of the
victims’ families’ words. In such a situation, the appeal to pathos is
absolutely appropriate and gives the reader an opportunity to relate to the
hurts of the families.
At the same time, the journalists also mention Tsarnaev’s
supporters, who might be family members, whom he “smiled at” and “made a
kissing motion toward” during and after the hearing. A fellow wrestling-team
member from Tsarnaev’s high school was also interviewed, of which its
intentions I am unsure. I have to wonder whether they mention the “bad guy’s”
personal facts on purpose, or are just writing conventions in journalism.
Either way, with these new facts taken into account, the dilemma
just becomes more complicated. Pointing fingers is no longer an option, at
least for me, and I just feel empathetic about the whole case- toward both
sides.
What you mentioned in the second paragraph really shocked me. I also began wondering what reasons motivated him to injure and kill innocent people when he's only 19 years old. What shocked me more is that despite he is aware that his ruthless, cruel decision to throw a bomb at national event stole people's lives away, no guilt was suspected in his speech. Tsarnaev's behaviors can not be tolerated despite what circumstances he was under, for it killed people who were totally irrelevant to him. Good commentary overall (:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I support your questioning of his motives for the bombing, what did he achieve harming so many people? I am absolutely astonished that some were supporting his stance as not guilty, and the quotes from victims truly help bring out the reader's emotions. Going back to your blog in specific, you did a good job questioning but maybe also add a bit more analysis reflecting the effect of this trial. What would the outcome of his trial mean and its effect? Overall I appreciated this topic and enjoyed reading your comment on it.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your commentary that you had on this article. However, I disagree on some of your statements.This is a terrible thing to go through at such a young age, but I had to ask myself if age has any meaning in this situation. He is an adult that knew what he was doing and the fact that he pleaded not guilty makes me absolutely upset. He had every intention of committing the crime, and he also knew the consequences of his actions. In conclusion, I have to disagree about your empathy towards both sides of the case. I feel like that all fingers should be pointed to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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