“Everybody’s got a choice,” Tom Boston said in the novel, The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, during the trial for Mark Stroman (Giridharadas 107). Tom had gone to the trial to support Mark as a friend, as he went through his trial and sentencing. Only days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Mark Stroman had sealed his fate and chose to avenge the sister that he lost in the fallen buildings. He named himself the ‘Arab Slayer’ and killed two of the three men that he shot during his quest for vengeance. Through all the choices in his life, Mark had always made his choice for others around him, whether it be to please someone or steal a gift for a loved one, and it was no different when he went on his hunt.
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The decisions and choices that we all make every day start with trying to meet our basic needs, for example, eating, drinking beverages, and finding warmth and shelter (“Making Choices: Can Too Many Choices Be Bad For Us, And How Much Can We Trust Our Own Decisions?”). It may not seem like it, but meeting our basic needs are choices that we unconsciously make to survive and care for others. Outside sources that influence the decisions that we make could be social media, social interaction, the community a person resides in, the culture around people, and possible drug or alcohol influences that Mark Stroman had fallen to quite frequently. According to the Doug Brunk, “Adults who as preteens had traumatic experiences . . . or who lived in substance-using or even regular smoking households are more likely to be diagnosed with an alcohol or other substance abuse disorder later on in life.” (20) If we apply this concept to Mark Stroman, it is easy to see that his decision was on impulse because he was under the influence of several different things at that time. With these factors put in the mix of feelings that Mark was experiencing, he felt a strong need to retaliate onto the Arabs what he felt and experienced just days prior to the shootings. In his mind this was an easy choice to make and a way to help others cope with what happened. If we reflect back on the quote, …show more content…
In another article that focused on more recent inmates’ life in Polunsky, some said that they didn’t feel human anymore because they were in isolation for so many years before their execution and, more often than not, many welcomed the injection as a way of escaping (Moore). Choices in Polunsky were no longer Mark’s to make, they were made for him. Who he saw, what he ate, was all made for him and no longer had the right to make choices for himself. His choices in life had gotten him to where he is now and his right to choose was no longer his. His life was now dedicated to a life of solitude with little to no human contact. The quote from the beginning, “Everybody’s got a choice,” had remained true for Mark from the beginning and up until he became the ‘Arab Slayer,’ then it became untrue for him and remained
The decisions and choices that we all make every day start with trying to meet our basic needs, for example, eating, drinking beverages, and finding warmth and shelter (“Making Choices: Can Too Many Choices Be Bad For Us, And How Much Can We Trust Our Own Decisions?”). It may not seem like it, but meeting our basic needs are choices that we unconsciously make to survive and care for others. Outside sources that influence the decisions that we make could be social media, social interaction, the community a person resides in, the culture around people, and possible drug or alcohol influences that Mark Stroman had fallen to quite frequently. According to the Doug Brunk, “Adults who as preteens had traumatic experiences . . . or who lived in substance-using or even regular smoking households are more likely to be diagnosed with an alcohol or other substance abuse disorder later on in life.” (20) If we apply this concept to Mark Stroman, it is easy to see that his decision was on impulse because he was under the influence of several different things at that time. With these factors put in the mix of feelings that Mark was experiencing, he felt a strong need to retaliate onto the Arabs what he felt and experienced just days prior to the shootings. In his mind this was an easy choice to make and a way to help others cope with what happened. If we reflect back on the quote, …show more content…
In another article that focused on more recent inmates’ life in Polunsky, some said that they didn’t feel human anymore because they were in isolation for so many years before their execution and, more often than not, many welcomed the injection as a way of escaping (Moore). Choices in Polunsky were no longer Mark’s to make, they were made for him. Who he saw, what he ate, was all made for him and no longer had the right to make choices for himself. His choices in life had gotten him to where he is now and his right to choose was no longer his. His life was now dedicated to a life of solitude with little to no human contact. The quote from the beginning, “Everybody’s got a choice,” had remained true for Mark from the beginning and up until he became the ‘Arab Slayer,’ then it became untrue for him and remained