Dylan Klebold and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev [View all]

[Nine]

I'll be honest. Even if the bombing had never happened, Tamerlan Tsarnaev doesn't seem like the kind of guy I would had liked. His appearance alone puts me off. He looks like someone who wears too much cologne if you know what I mean. Throw in the domestic abuse charge and I really get the picture of a swaggering... well, douchebag. Dzhokhar on the other hand seems like someone I might have regarded as a sweet kid. He looks almost angelic in the photos I've seen, with those big brown eyes, moppish hair, and baby face (I realize some photos circulating are from high school). The description of his laid-back personality also appeals to me. Even knowing what he did, I can't help feeling a twinge of pity for him. However, in the end both brothers are adults who are equally responsible for their evil actions. It may be true that Tamerlan was the leader, the mastermind, the dominant personality. But Dzhokhar wasn't being forced at gunpoint.

Comparisons have been made to the Colombine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. It seems to be commonly accepted now that Harris was the psychopath who engineered the whole massacre and Klebold was just some confused kid who went along for the ride. Yet Dylan killed multiple victims by himself. He went along with a plan to massacre innocent people, most of them kids too. I've always thought it unfair that Eric Harris' parents get to have their some remembered as a pure psychopath while Dylan Klebold's parents probably receive a bit more sympathy.

It doesn't matter how sweet and likable a person you are; when you do monstrous things, you've made yourself into a monster. It doesn't matter that it wasn't your idea or that a stronger personality talked you into it. People have free will and are supposed to resist others who would lead them toward evil. Dzhokar has no moral high ground above Tamerlan. His actions were equally evil. And if we feel any pity toward Dzhokar, then I don't think Tamerlan is less deserving of that if we analyze things rationally. One could argue that Dzhokar was the stronger one in a sense. He was better assimilated, with lots of American friends, unlike his brother. He was a naturalized citizen. He might have been able to pull his brother back from the brink of madness instead joining him there. No matter how much more likable Dzhokar seems than Tamerlan, I reject the idea that he was just a pawn in all this. He made his own choices.