A Man

by Keiichirō Hirano

All alone in the squarish space, he launched punch after punch at the person meant to be there. As if to dodge this person’s incoming jabs, the man moved his feet constantly, his upper body swaying left to right. The fruit of his efforts would be revealed in the flesh of an as-yet-unseen opponent; the young man was isolated from that future by the cage of the present.

“If we are ever going to wipe away the evil of murder, then as a fundamental baseline condition, we need to reject the idea that it is acceptable to kill in extreme cases. It may not be easy, but I believe that that is what we should be aiming for. Offenders will surely never be forgiven, but the state should bear the blame for the social conditions underlying their crimes and take responsibility by providing substantial support to the victims, instead of feigning innocence and pandering to punitive sentiments. Whatever policy is chosen, my view is that the state must never descend to the same ethical lows as the evil of murder.”

Fuck yeah, abolish the death sentence YESTERDAY

There is a certain kind of loneliness that can only be soothed by finding yourself within the tale of another’s trauma.”

“Once the truth came out, they’d have to renew their love,” she said. “I mean, it’s not as if you love someone once and that’s it. You renew your love again and again over the long haul, through everything that happens along the way.”