I've said it before and I'll say it again: Why do we give mass murderers an international platform and celebrity status?
The monster who killed 77 people in Norway is now on trial and boy oh boy, does he have a starring role in this televised mayhem. Seated in a little dais in the courtroom, this creep is allowed to provide minute details of the bloodbath, including how he perfected his sharpshooter skills by playing violent video games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare while living in his mommy's house and taking steroids to build the physical strength needed to slaughter a large number of human beings.
Despite these confessions, he claims no guilt, swearing that he massacred the masses to keep his country from "Islamic colonization." Since he has already pled guilty, the point of the trial is to determine if he is criminally insane. I thought it would be terrific to save the Norwegians a ton of money and angst by sending them a unanimous global message: YES, HE IS DEFINITELY WACKADO - LOCK THAT SUCKER UP IMMEDIATELY SO WE DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIS BLATHER ANYMORE.
Then last week in Norway, his countrymen did it for themselves. But instead of just ranting about the defendant's illogical beliefs, the Norwegians decided to fight fire with unity, peace and power: Despite a heavy rain, they simultaneously gathered in public squares across the country to sing "Children of the Rainbow," a version of a song by folk singer Pete Seegar. The deranged right-wing gunman claims that this very song made immigration acceptable in Norway and generally weakened the moral fiber of the entire nation. (He must have watched tapes of Adolf Hitler speeches for inspiration.)
Yes, the trial is maddening because it provides a madman with a pulpit to spout his venom. We have seen this public airing of maniacal views with other killers and we will no doubt witness it again, even though it is positively infuriating.
But this time, the descendents of the Vikings responded admirably and uniquely to such outrage. I like their style and hope it inspires people around the world. They sang together for tolerance, a method of thoughtful and intelligent protest that the miniscule-minded defendant could never possibly grasp.
Although he probably considers himself a Big Man with an international spotlight on him now, soon he will be wasting away in a dank jail cell with no one to hear him. Perhaps then he will finally realize that ambushing innocent people is no video game and terrorizing a nation of peace keepers is certainly no one's call of duty.
Ha det ("goodbye" in Norwegian) and good riddance.