Are you watching Manhunt: The Unabomber? I’m five episodes in and lessons learned from Ted Kaczynski.
1. Identify your ideals.
2. Have the courage to live by them.
{Preferably if they are not extreme.}
So amazingly brave of his family to turn him in. What would you do if you found out your loved one was the perpetrator of a heinous crime? Would you have the courage to turn them in? Or would your love blind you from performing the greater good.
How noble of his mother to understand that the people he killed, had mothers too. And as much as it hurt, she was on board with having him captured. His brother David went on to found New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (NYADP), which I was a member of until I left the state in ’05. Of course, the mission of the organization has changed slightly over the years but still a vibrant group seeking to do good in my home state.
Fitz, the profiler that brought TK down, learned an age old lesson the hard way. Don’t burn bridges on your way to the top. That lesson is nearly as old as time but people will continue to miss it.
Ted Kaczynski was a product of anger. In a letter to his brother he wrote: “I’ve been living on anger my whole life. Anyone I’ve ever loved, anyone I’ve ever admired, betrayed me. If nothing more, that one powerful line should encourage people to let anger go. His legacy is an extreme result of what can happen when you don’t.
I’m on episode 5 and am thoroughly enjoying this series. I strongly encourage you to add this to your watchlist if you haven’t already seen it. I love the “behind the scenes” look into the life and capture of this idealistic terrorist. This entire series has been eye opening and fascinating.