ugh

eric rudolph was sentenced today. "ugh" is about as far as i get when i think of him -- so arrogant and certain, so remorseless and sin-of-pride-ful. the real kicker is that, unless i am doing some tough mental work, he is barely an individual for me. most of the time eric rudolph is just another symbol of the ravages of fundamentalism, or (more broadly) of the widening gulf between left and right, whether that is expressed as pro- versus anti-choice squalling or as mutually incomprehensible claims of "silencing" in the universities. there has got to be a way for people to talk to one another that doesn't end in siege or surrender.

come to think of it, maybe eschewing the political-action-as-warfare metaphor is the place to start.