The Median Sib

Hot Air tell about how Zacarias Moussaoui had decided that he didn’t REALLY mean what he said earlier at his trial.  You know, that stuff about knowing about the 9/11 attacks and how he was supposed to be a part of the team that carried them out.  No, he didn’t mean any of that.  It’s just that he figured we’d believe he was guilty anyway.  He was sure he couldn’t get a fair trial.  So he just said he did it — even though, of course, he didn’t.

Reminds me of a second grade student – I’ll call him Billy - I had about ten years ago. We had a science exhibit, and another child came crying to me because Billy had broken her project. I asked Billy, and he readily admitted his guilt. I didn’t even have to say the usual “You’ll feel better if you tell the truth.” Since he had broken the project deliberately (he was angry with the girl), I called his mother who said she’d talk with Billy.

The next day the mom came in and said that she had talked to Billy and learned that he really hadn’t broken the project. 

“Oh?” I inquired, “Why did he tell me that he did?”

Her response was immediate and confident.  “He knew you’d believe he did it no matter what he said. So he said he did it even though he didn’t.”

I was dumbfounded. Did she really believe that? She knew me – I had taught Billy’s older brother, and the mother had gone to great lengths to be sure Billy was in my class that year.  I’m known for being soft-spoken and mild-mannered.  And furthermore, I knew Billy. He was not shy about standing up for himself.

But let’s look at his options: (1) Consequence of admitting his misdeed to me: I’d make him apologize to the girl and “walk the fence” for ten minutes during recess. He could handle that. However, I told his mom about it, and thus there was an additional consequence added to the equation; (2) Consequence of admitting his misdeed to mom: He’d almost certainly get a spanking, grounding, or both. Plus, he knew that if he denied doing it, she would believe him.  It wasn’t a difficult decision for Billy. 

Did Billy’s mom really believe that he didn’t do it? Yes, she did. I dropped the issue because I figured Billy’s punishment in having to deal with such stupidity in his mother was far worse than any consequence I could have given him. And sadly, the ensuing ten years have born that out. Billy has been in and out of trouble, and he recently was arrested for burglarizing some homes. I’d be willing to bet that his mom is blaming someone else for that, too.

And how does that relate to Moussaoui? He thought he could handle the consequences of admitting his wrongdoing. He was ready to “be a martyr” and die.  However, he didn’t get the consequence he expected. He didn’t want to be stuck in a prison cell with no way to draw attention to himself and glorify himself to his fellow terrorists. So now he’s recanting his confession. It’ll be interesting to see who buys his story…because some will.

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