making an example of you

i think it is a betrayal of the dead to turn them instantly into an example of something, immediately to put them to use in your endless prosecution of your case. 'it's all about guns': no it is a real human situation: it's about emilie parker, 6, and her people. maybe her death can lead to change etc; well, maybe, and that might be good; but this moment just can't be primarily about how to put her death to use. i saw a woman on tv saying 'it all is because of one thing: we need laws to make it easier to commit people involuntarily. but emilie has to have somewhere the status of a particular person and not a case, an example, a projectile to hurl at your opponents. i think in a way the immediate resolution to put her to use as a debating point is narcissistic; it makes emilie an apparition or a symbol or an illustration, something that exists primarily inside your consciousness instead of out there in the world where she did live and die..