(Photo taken from ninemsn.com.au/news)
I'm not someone who believes in taking somebody else's life to achieve justice.
I've never ardently supported or opposed the death penalty.
To be frank I never wish death upon anybody.
The current Victorian bushfire death toll has reached 76. Last night they warned the death toll could reach 40 - that was disturbing enough. This evening the media is reporting that the death toll may slide well into the hundreds.
I am so devastated and confused by the events that have occurred in the past 24 hours. Last night I turned the TV on, just to fill in time before I went to a friend's going away party. The latest report was that one of the fires had jumped containment lines and that fire brigades were scrambling to evacuate the nearest towns. This morning I wake the find the fires have completely demolished entire towns, leaving both death and destruction in their wake.
What upsets me the most is not seeing the obliterated houses on the news. Nor hearing the survivor's accounts, of how they could hear victims screaming or how they were forced to leave their beloved pets in the path of the fire's destruction. What upsets me most is knowing that these fires were deliberately lit, and that firebugs are continuing to relight fires throughout the state.
Is it wrong for me to want these terrible people to suffer? To hurt the same way innocent townspeople did when they attempted to outrun the sudden uproar? I would never wish death upon anyone. I can only hope that their conscience gets the better of them and they show remorse for the devastation they have caused.
