I try to steer clear of political writing, I detest most of it and want to spend my time on more productive things. However I am seeing reviews for Dead Man Walking, the opera, and I’ll simply say that after watching the film and learning some things about it, I felt it was a lot of drama over someone who murdered innocent people in cold blood. Until you have been the victim of such a crime, I have absolutely zero interest in your opinions on clemency for monstrous behavior.

I’m not even pro death penalty. I just want to spend my time and efforts on people who are worthy of it. That doesn’t include those who murder innocent people.

There are plenty of good arguments to be made against the death penalty, not least of which is that any society that punishes criminals with death seems uncivilized. I sympathize with these views.

Even so, I don’t care what happens to convicted murderers. Once again, come back and have a conversation about it after someone in your family–your spouse, say, or maybe your child–has been viciously murdered in cold blood. Until that time, I could not care less what your opinions are.

I write this not out of some petty vindictiveness but because I keep seeing reviews of this opera and various other articles in the New York Times and elsewhere about forgiveness for people who have committed atrocities, about criminals who now assure us they are very, very sorry about the murdering they did. I can guarantee you none of the people writing and advocating for clemency and speaking of rehabilitation have had a spouse or child murdered in cold blood. They have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and I think they don’t even realize how such pieces come across to victims of such crimes.

So, hard pass on Dead Man Walking. Save your sympathy for those deserving of it.