Laura Blumenfeld Essay

Laura Blumenfeld met with Smitt outside of a methadone clinic. Smitt was a burglar who saw robbery as a job. He described how he would wear black gloves and Adidas sneakers as he went into people homes. He would tie up the owner of the house and go about his job. Smitt was also drug addict, and he came from a family of addicts. He was of Turkish descent and his real name was Smian-Tov. Although, because of his alcoholic father, that was also the same name as his brother (who overdosed from drugs). Smitt used burglary as a means of supporting his addiction. He told Laura that he lost count of how many times he had been to jail after ten.
When Laura talked to him, he told her that he believed “Revenge is the law of the outlaws.” He said that revenge and justice were synonyms. If he caught one of his partners stealing from him, he would not hesitate to “put him on trial”. Smitt viewed burglary as a profession, and he did not take feelings into account. After he had told Laura different …show more content…
Later in the book, she mentions that during the final weeks of her newlywed year, she would sit outside the methadone clinic talking with Smitt. He told her how he fantasized about burning his ex-wife’s house down for keeping their sons. Although, she knew that he would not do it because she recognized the difference between the desire for real, violent revenge and fantasizing about violence. While they talked, she asked him how she could get the shooter to acknowledge his crime. Smitt told her to get “Little Red Riding Hood revenge”. This kind of revenge is when you get close with the offender and be nice to him so that he realizes his mistake. Smitt said that by being nice, you are showing your strength and making the offender feel regret. This will restore family honor. Smitt summed up this tactic by saying, “He tried to spill your blood. Now you put honey in his blood. It’ll stick in his