Psychobabble, McVeigh and Your Kids
This essay is neither pro nor con death penalty. Nor is it an argument that McVeigh, like so many caught in a criminal justice system out of control, may have been innocent.
The psychobabble surrounding the execution is another matter. Over and over, the media repeated the mantra that McVeigh's execution - actually watching it, rather than just reading about it the day afterwards - would bring "closure" - whatever that means - to survivors of the Oklahoma City carnage.
The media, needing to attract an audience, can't be blamed for the ghoulfeast preceding McVeigh's execution. Many of us want to know if he repented at the end or ate chocolate ice cream for his last meal. It's the kind of curiosity that makes us stare at road accidents - sure, it's in bad taste, but if we don't like this type of coverage, we don't have to read the newspaper articles, and we can turn our TV's to another channel.
Some of the survivors were canny enough to realize that watching someone die is itself traumatic - makes sense, right? and that in no way would this additional trauma diminish or shorten the pain of losing a loved person. After the execution, the dead loved one is still not there. In fact, now that years have passed since the bombing, the execution will probably renew the suffering of the survivors, at least temporarily.
Even the natural impulse towards vengeance is probably not satisfied by watching someone die a more peaceful and painless death than most of us are granted. In pursuit of "closure" should we then revive public torture and executions?
We live in an age of state-sponsored counseling. If something bad happens at your job, or in your children's school, you may find yourself or your children involved in Post Trauma Stress Management debriefing, a form of invasive psychotherapy, whether you want it or not.
It sounds kind, but there is absolutely no evidence that anyone has been helped by sending in the shrinks.
In fact, the only retrospective study done on PTSM shows that the kids who got it were worse off a year later than the kids who were left alone.
It's only one more example of how questionable concepts receive currency (and government funding). So far, PTSM is probably responsible only for a few more nightmares and flashbacks, relatively benign iatrogenic effects as these things go. To read how psychobabble destroys families and leads to the decades-long incarceration of innocent people, follow the links below.
Oh, yes - and use the brain the good Lord gave you to think for yourself. Question authority!
Links to More Psychobabble
Emotional Incest
Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse
The Whole Enchilada
Email: cavrqt@aol.com
