In Vanity Fair of all places we finally have someone asking the right question. This astounding event inaugurates the first Tammy Blog “Flying Pig Award” recognizing and lauding the right thing from quarters least expected. Below is a snippet. Please do read the whole thing, and the comments attached to the article are also worth a read. Some of the more thoughtful remarks about a young woman the left would prefer be forgotten. (HT Kruiser)
Where’s Mary Jo Kopechne’s Eulogy?
…I am very well known, a United States senator. My family is incredibly powerful. There are allegations that I had been drinking heavily hours up to the time I got into the vehicle with the passenger. I deny this for the rest of my life. That at no point did I make an attempt to call for rescue would probably be considered by many people to be outrageous and horrible, perhaps a crime that would carry a prison sentence. Can you imagine what the parents of the deceased would be going through when they found out that their 28-year-old daughter died alone in total darkness? I serve no time. Not inconvenienced by the burdensome obstacle of incarceration, I seek to maintain my elected position. I am successful and remain a senator for the next four decades. Would any deed I performed in that time, besides going to prison for the negligent homicide I committed all those years ago, be enough to wipe the slate clean? After my passing, would you fail to mention the incident and the death of this innocent person in reviewing the events of my long and lauded life? You wouldn’t forget about her, would you? That would be negligent.
I used to like Henry Rollins (for his pop culture opinions, not his music). Even went to one of his spoken word performances. Although I lost interest in him and his point of view, I’m glad to see he’s sticking up for Mary Jo.
My first thought when I heard that Mr. Kennedy had passed away was to pray for him that he had sought foregiveness for what he did to Ms. Koepechne. My next thought was what is wrong with this country that so quickly wants to make saints or even gods out of people like Mr. Kennedy and Michael Jackson.
I love this and I love that Henry Rollins wrote it! And yes, the responses were terrific.
I have been a fan of Rollins’ music since his days in Black Flag and some of his spoken word works. Not always a fan of what he has to say, but there have been moments in the past when he has spoken up and sounds a lot like many of us. I don’t think we’d disagree with this remark: “I think politicians get hamstrung by the nature of politics when the private sector can really do great things. ” – Henry Rollins
I do not believe in treating terrorists with compassion. When you are confronted with evil, the moral imperative is to destroy it by all means available (e.g., waterboard away). However, I do not believe Ted Kennedy is evil as in Bin Laden evil — flawed, yes — but not evil. I do not have the insight to know what best honors Mary Jo Kopechne at this moment other than, as Tammy has done, remembering Mary Jo and the tragic circumstances surrounding her death as well as using the opportunity to gain some moral clarity. Beyond that, a reverent state of mind feels right. I do not want to judge how others need to deal with this event, but calling Ted Kennedy an “evil fat pig bastard” isn’t working for me. I believe Ted Kennedy, although never incarcerated, did suffer greatly throughout his life. I also believe that ultimately his colossal transgression will be dealt with between him and God. What needs to be done to bring lasting peace to Mary Jo is way beyond my comprehension. I may be wrong, but I believe it will be much more awesome than God calling Kennedy a big blubber boy. I prefer to leave rectification to God and use my outrage to energize efforts at defeating the Obama thugocracy, defeating Islamo-fascist terrorism, and championing integrity, responsibility, and good government.
Yet another sad thing about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne is that her parents passed away before Teddy Kennedy although they both seem to have tried their best to outlive the sorry slug. Mr. Kopechne died in 2003 while Mrs. Kopechne passed away in 2007. Mary Jo was their only child. All the Kopechnes had for nearly 40 years was memories of their dead daughter and a constant reminder that the man responsible was still alive and unrepentant.
black flag was greg ginn’s band and much better without rollins- although now people only mention the band because of rollins being in it. that said it’s always good to see people associated with the -err – ‘counter culture’/ left making sense and being able to tell right from wrong. rollins has always been very supportive of american soldiers. and also very vocal and supportive of gay rights.
i believe a close friend of his was brutally murdered- it’s an unsolved crime to this day. so rollins has good, close cause to have empathy for victims denied both life and justice. the hard core and punk bands of my generation may have ranted about Reagan and ‘ the religious right’ but they also were known for pointing out the hypocrisy of the hippies and the far left kennedy liberals. i mean – the dead kennedys- people were genuinely outraged by the name. now people write books about the fascism of the left. the dead kennedys were writing songs about it in the early 80s .
I am so glad someone still has a heart for Mary Jo, she lost her life because of him and others have suffered in their life because of his actions in the senate. NEVER AGAIN!
What is most surprising about this entire incident is the complicity involved in the tragedy. Kennedy stayed in the senate for 4+ decades because people voted him into the office. He became a major political figure because people allowed him to be a major political figure. Mary Jo’s death has been whitewashed, because we allowed it to be whitewashed. We could have held Kennedy accountable, but decided not to. Why the outrage now that Kennedy has died?
The real tragedy is that we are all complicit through our own inaction… and oddly enough we place all the blame on him. We are responsible, not for the death of Mary Jo, but for sanctioning Kennedy by not holding him responsible.
It behooves all of us to do the best we can for our fellow man/woman. Abandoning Mary Jo Kopeckne was a consumat act of cowardliness for which Mr. Kennedy paid and will pay for in full measure. God is the final authority in our lives and it is He and He alone who has the final decision on who lives and who dies, not the government, nor doctor, or some “Death Panel”. These politicians who are so Hell bent on “Choice” should stop and consider Life is the ultimate choice. So, beware to those who would play God.
[…] not Joyce Carol Oates’s moronic question, “What is one to think?” Rather, it is Tammy Bruce who calls our attention to the question the liberal feminists don’t want to answer: Where’s […]
[…] come to this: Dems task Teddy’s grandson with leading funeral prayer for ObamaCare Tammy Bruce: Henry Rollins Asks “Where’s Mary Jo Kopechne’s Eulogy?” Jules Crittenden: Dems In Mourning Bookworm Room: Ted Kennedy — monster Gateway Pundit: […]