I don't know what to think of either of these posted videos. Frankly, the one about chickenhawks was obviously uncomfortable to watch - I hit the stop button after about three minutes. None of these men were talking about the victims of their crime, only what their indulgences brought to themselves - an ugly, upside-down nightmarish justification of selfish, sick adults taking from children who will pay the ledger for those indulgences for the rest of their lives. The victims are ultimately forgotten - not only by the perpetrators but by the moldy medium of social complacency that allows those perpetrators to thrive.
And the clip of the shooting was just brutal to watch in terms of its absolute value. What Gary Plauche did was justice perhaps for him and his child, but it was ultimately a very personal act motivated by deep emotion. For me, it was a perspective from the sidelines of a desperate measure to right the wrong of a family tragedy that I could not pretend to fully know - the squaring of a personal debt that can never truly be repaid. And so I witnessed a life being snuffed out and find no joy in that, however wretched and undeserving that life may have been.
Did the shooting victim ever get his day in court? Did killing him bring the father peace and balance? Did it make things right for his son? The judge gave Gary Plauche five years probation and he served no time for killing an untried and unconvicted man. I find it hard to accept such a short-circuit of the full process of justice, however imperfect and slow and perhaps dispassionate our court system is. But then, I never got my day in court to confront my molester. The community felt it knew better, and I paid dearly for that. So when I hear those mobs cheer "heroes" like Gary and
Ellie Nesler, I don't trust them. Where were they for us? It's easy to join the throng and scream at the "bad guy" once he is tarred and feathered, but quite another to do the real vigilance for our kids - a vigilance so egregiously absent even at institutional dimensions. And we all have read
those headlines. How many people pretended not to see what was happening at Penn State and the Second Mile over ten years of systematic abuse by a man who was literally caught in the act and yet released to continue his crimes? They'll hoot and holler on the courthouse steps in Happy Valley at the conviction as if they own it, but where were they for the victims? Are they reaching out to them now? And when people watch the video above and see a perp die, do they think that did something to fix the problem? The world has many more where that one came from. Opening the eyes of those around them does far more, but such social inoculation fails to meet the same emotional bar.
Fortunately, there is a better ending to this particular story than vengeance. The victim of the original crime has grown up to be a fine man, an advocate for others.
Jody Plauche has built an impressive resume of constructive work for victims. His father reacted by tearing down a life. Jody is reacting by rebuilding the lives of others. If I was able to turn my own scars to such good use - to help others - I would be far prouder of myself than gunning down my assailant.