I have watched and listened to the news regarding the lives of the two Tsarnaev brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar. The most tragic figure is their mother. She may have let her religion get in the way of her rational thinking processes, when she urged her oldest son to follow the rules and teachings of possibly radical Islam. How is any mother to know when they step over the edge into fundamentalist thinking or radicalism? It has happened in many incidents recorded by the Catholic religion.
I cannot even imagine how I would feel if my sons had done what her two boys may have done in Boston at the marathon. I have read what the conspiracy theorists are saying about it being a staged attack and how no one was really hurt, there was no blood only paint. Zubeidat’s escape into that reality may be the only way she can cope with the horror of what her sons did or may have done there. I have watched her rants when in front of American journalist and television cameras. Her hurt is beyond my ability to comprehend. She has lost her two boys and at some point may have to face her inner demons; and the fact that she was party to the religious transformation of her son Tamleran, which may have led him down a wrong path.
When I see the pictures being shown of Tamerlan and how much he wanted to be an Olympian boxer, I am overcome with grief by the way things turned out for him and his victims. I can understand his deep disappointment in not being able to become a boxer of this magnitude because he could not become a citizen due to his actions when he slapped a girl or girls. His pain must have been extremely deep to have it come out on innocent people in the way it did. What better way to exact revenge on the American people who ended his career with their rules and laws. It was a sporting event and the people running that marathon were athletes striving for perfection in their sport, in much the same way he once trained and executed his events.
Most parents want what is best for their children. I think Zubeidat wanted that for her sons too. Maybe she was doomed to lead them to this act, partially because of her religious views and partially because of where she lived and bore them. Only the God she believes in knows her heart and how things got to this point. One thing is certain, every mother who was involved in this incident, whether an on looker or a victim or the mother of victims, were united in this unholy act of terror. Unlike men, women understand the heart of a mother at a very deep level of understanding. They participate in creation in an intimate way.
I had three boys. Like I have said in earlier blogs, the middle one committed suicide, the oldest is still struggling and one has nothing to do with my family. I know one of my boys could have done something as terrible; because two of them got into drugs as teens. Drugs often bring out the worst in teenagers and young adults. Luckily nothing major ever happened…I was just lucky. One thing I do know is no matter what your children do, you will love them. You may not speak to them, you may banish them from the family for a period of time…but in the end, you will always love them. Also, you will live with the pain of their death for as long as you live. I pray that Dzhokhar doesn’t get the death penalty. I believe that will make him a hero. I hope this for his mother’s sake too, no matter how vilified she may become by the American public.
While I am opposed to the death penalty, I see that money decides fates. Would you rather have the state take the person’s life or as a taxpayer pay what it costs to keep someone in prison for life. If the state or federal govenment doesn’t have the funds to feed or care for older and younger adults or those with challenges, how does one justify using state or federal funds to keep someone in prison for all those years? In spite of complicated decisions like this one, I am hoping the authorities do not make a hero out of Dzhokhar by taking his life. On the other hand, I am concerned about his mother.
No matter what kind of person she is now, she is still a child of the God she believes in. I think it would be tragic for her to pay the penalty of losing both of her sons. But if that is the penalty that is set upon the family, may the God they believe in give them the comfort they need to get past this and live with it. Hopefully, this God will be merciful to all the people participating in this event in one way or another.
photo credit: jeff_golden via photopin cc
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