Martini Republic Reflects

We wanted to pass on a message from Joseph Mailander for those of you wondering why Martini Republic went drak last night:

It's a very small gesture; it will likely be over by the time you read this. Tonight through part of tomorrow, Martini Republic's home page will go black, completely black.

martinirepublic.com

Readers there will find a black window and the birth and death dates of Stanley Tookie Williams in their window title.

We're not trying to say anything in particular about this particular murderer, about the the State, nor even about justice. For tonight and part of tomorrow, we simply hope our readers will reflect for a few moments on the finality of death.

Certainly one loses all of one's own humanity when one kills another capriciously. Whether or not the State similarly loses its humanity when given the authority to execute classes of criminals on behalf of the people is a more difficult question. Only two things are completely certain this morning, and both involve taking a life: a man has been convicted of killing others; the State of California has executed this man.

Now back to the grind...