Watching the Anger

In his famous Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd, Woody Guthrie wrote “some will rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen.” He concludes his song with the observation that “you’ll never see an outlaw drive a family from their home.” I don’t actually believe that’s true.

But there is something strange in how we treat white collar crime.

I hear the horrors that are following in the wake of Bernie Madoff’s crime wave, and I experience a rare wave of feeling that there might be times when capital punishment might truly be appropriate.

Instead, as I write this, Mr Madoff isn’t even in jail, but rather under “house arrest” (the scare quotes are because its hard to think of where he lives as a mere house…) and I gather now concluding negotiations that will likely leave his wife in possession of some of the money he acquired bankrupting thousands and destroying a number of charities. And I won’t be surprised if he ends up at Club Fed. Actually I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t…

All when real justice probably would actually involve a length of rope.

Sigh…

The anger rises.

I watch it.

At this time in my life, often such is enough. After all anger isn’t my abiding demon. (My friends can tell you which is…)

But this time…

It keeps coming back…

I guess that’s why I’ll never be more than a bad Buddhist…

Blew it once again…

Oops…

Watching again…