Remembering Terror
Tonight, if all goes according to plan, the elder DC Sniper will be executed. As much as I support the death penalty, I don't want it applied willy-nilly. This time, however, it completely fits the crime. Though it was applied to just one of the murders, he's really being held responsible for all of them, and the general terror he inflicted upon the region for those weeks. It's hard to explain for those who were not living in the area, but I still remember how much it changed our lives for a while. I lived in Arlington, VA from '99-'04, and I was terrified.
It was October of 2002, just a year after the 9/11 events that still impacted daily life. We were still putting ourselves back together, I think. The metro was still full of armed policeman. The fighter jets could still be heard overhead. And now, there was this complete random violence. Some unknown person was killing people all over the area, without any real witnesses or any method to the madness. Of course, it didn't get much better when they tried to find a pattern. Were we safe getting gas? Were we safe walking around outside? The Home Depot shooting? That's the one I used to shop at in Arlington. I'd been there the previous evening.
I went on a trip during those weeks. It had been scheduled for months, but I really hoped it would get my mind off of it, and that maybe it would be resolved while I was away. That, of course, did not happen. It was on the news in the Carribean just as much as it was in DC. And it was still going on when I returned home. I stopped taking the bus then. My neighbor worked with me and we thought driving to work together sounded like a great idea. When I filled my car with gas, I would slump down against the side of my car. I went to the grocery store that had underground parking. Evening walks did not happen. We didn't know what to expect next.
Even now I don't think I can convey the worry, the fear, the anxiety that ran through me then. Just know that tonight's execution is the final exhalation of that held breath. I think this is a well deserved execution.
It was October of 2002, just a year after the 9/11 events that still impacted daily life. We were still putting ourselves back together, I think. The metro was still full of armed policeman. The fighter jets could still be heard overhead. And now, there was this complete random violence. Some unknown person was killing people all over the area, without any real witnesses or any method to the madness. Of course, it didn't get much better when they tried to find a pattern. Were we safe getting gas? Were we safe walking around outside? The Home Depot shooting? That's the one I used to shop at in Arlington. I'd been there the previous evening.
I went on a trip during those weeks. It had been scheduled for months, but I really hoped it would get my mind off of it, and that maybe it would be resolved while I was away. That, of course, did not happen. It was on the news in the Carribean just as much as it was in DC. And it was still going on when I returned home. I stopped taking the bus then. My neighbor worked with me and we thought driving to work together sounded like a great idea. When I filled my car with gas, I would slump down against the side of my car. I went to the grocery store that had underground parking. Evening walks did not happen. We didn't know what to expect next.
Even now I don't think I can convey the worry, the fear, the anxiety that ran through me then. Just know that tonight's execution is the final exhalation of that held breath. I think this is a well deserved execution.
Labels: DC
posted by Summer @ 9:44 AM
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