Discovery Channel Hostages and the Environment: It Could have been Worse

The good news is that apparently nobody else was hurt.

The bad news is that James Lee is dead.

Sure, he took hostages and made threats: but it would have been nice if he could have been restrained without killing him.

It Could have been Worse

Still, like I said in the title: it could have been worse. This way, Mr. Lee's hostages are (again, apparently - it's early days yet) alive, the kids who were in the Discovery building's day care are unhurt, and Mr. Lee won't be taking crazy chances with other people's lives again.

I wrote about today's incident a few hours ago, while Mr. Lee was still trying to save the planet by keeping human beings from having babies. That post included a verbatim copy of his strongly-worded plea to wipe out humanity and civilization. (September 1, 2010)

I'm sure that he was quite sincere, and may have thought that he was doing the right thing. Folks I've talked with who had similar views were convinced that the world needed to be made safe for squirrels and sparrows.

There is a Catholic approach to managing the environment, by the way: I really ought to write about that sometime. It doesn't involve killing the human race.

I'm sure that we'll hear a little more about Mr. Lee, but this excerpt seems to cover the main points:

"Environmental Militant Killed by Police at Discovery Channel Headquarters"
ABC News (September 1, 2010)

"A radical enviornmentalist[!] who took three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters while wearing what police may be explosives was shot and killed by officers, police said.

"The gunman, identified as James Lee, was killed by police following four hours of negotiations but the hostages are all safe, said Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger...

"...Lee operates the Web site savetheplanetprotest.com and was arrested in 2008 following a demonstration held at Discovery's headquarters. Lee was found guilty of disorderly conduct.

"According to a post on his Web site, Lee said he was thrown 'in the nut house' for four days following his arrest...."

Prayer is Still a Good Idea

One of the reasons I'm sincerely glad that I'm not called on to pass judgment on others is that I would not want to try sorting out a decision in a case where someone died while committing an objectively evil act - but was convinced that the act was fully justified. Add the possibility of bad wiring in the brain - and I'll gladly leave that sort of thing up to God.

Just as the Church seems to have rules for everything, we've got prayers for just about everything, too. Including a prayer for the dead:

• "A Prayer for the Dead"
  (June 25, 2009)

If you're not sure that it's appropriate in a case like this - well, that's your decision. I'd suggest asking a priest who knows a little about Catholic teachings, if you're in doubt.

Or just go ahead, pray, and let God sort it out. I think He can handle it.

Does Sincerity Make Things Right?

Mr. Lee, as I wrote, seems to have been quite sincere in his views. I'm fairly sure that he 'really believed' what he wrote about "programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility" and that "Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed."

But I don't think that 'really believing' something makes it true. Which is another topic.

Related posts:

• "Saving the Planet, Saving Haitians"
  (September 1, 2010)
• "Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and Warm Fuzzies"
  (August 8, 2010)
• "Prayer, Medicine and Trusting God"
  (March 4, 2010)
• "A Prayer for the Dead"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "Set PHASERs on Stun: Koloc's Kugelblitz Research is For Real"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 20, 2009)
  • Would effective non-lethal weapons be useful law enforcement tools?
    • I think so
      • But most of them are in the R & D stage now
• "Capital Punishment: Killing Those Who Deserve to Die"
  (October 2, 2008)

In the news:

• "Police Kill Gunman, Ending Hostage Situation"
  The New York Times (September 1, 2010)
• "Environmental Militant Killed by Police at Discovery Channel Headquarters"
  ABC News (September 1, 2010)