The 48 Hours broadcast

“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—'Thou mayest'— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if 'Thou mayest'—it is also true that 'Thou mayest not.'“

This is from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden in a discussion that takes place about Cain and Abel. I’ve referenced this theme of good and evil. This concept means that individuals have the freedom and choice to overcome evil or to be ruled by it. Joe had a choice, he was obviously able to choose to control his behavior depending on which audience was in front of him. He chose to do the things he did. Brandon had a choice in whatever ultimately happened and evil overcame. The Shymanskis had a choice to do the things they chose to do. And 48 Hours had a choice in what they presented.

Thou mayest.

I think the most stunning thing of all is the belief that these people FEEL ENTITLED to treat me in the manner they have. That originated from Joe Shymanski. No one questioned it. No one knew the monster he described was actually himself.

You can see the waves of devastation.

He did tell me that he would always make this hard for me.

I am over people feeling entitled to treat me this way … whether they say they did not know or fully understand. Thou Mayest. They had and have a choice.

This wave almost took me out. That wouldn’t have been a headline CBS would have wanted.