Otto was 22.
“Otto was 22.”
Otto made a conscious decision, as an adult, to visit a country ruled by a brutal dictator. That country is known as being repressive and cruel to its own citizens. Any intelligent 22 year old should have known there were risks to entering a country where western standards of law did not apply. If he read any of the US State Department materials about going abroad he would also have been aware that US legal protections do not apply in foreign countries and the State department is essentially helpless if the US citizen violates a law in the foreign nation.
Otto also chose to steal a banner. Stealing is a crime in the United States, a fact he should have been aware of. If he was taught any values and morals by his parents and teachers he should have known stealing was wrong. Yet he chose to commit what was a crime in his own country and he should have presumed was a crime in the foreign nation.
Otto got caught committing a crime. The North Korean state took action to imprison and punish him. During his imprisonment something happened to him which resulted in his death. Prisoners also die in US jails at the hands of guards and fellow prisoners so there is also risk to being arrested and sent to jail in the United States. Whether or not the situation resulting in Ottos death was ordered by Kim is not known. Neither Trump nor Otto’s parents have any direct or conclusive knowledge.
Otto’s parens are complicit in thwarting efforts to understand if Otto’s death was at the hands of the North Korean government or if he died from natural causes. They refused to allow an autopsy of the body. They want the President of the US to condemn the President of North Korea but they refuse to take action that would help determine if their suspicions about the Korean government are true.
The treatment of Otto may have been cruel, immoral and wrong by US standards or international standards. It matters not. Otto chose to take a risk in going to North Korea. He chose to poke the snake by stealing. He reaped the consequences of his actions.
I traveled extensively in dangerous third world countries for one of my employers. I knew there was a risk I could be kidnapped and killed. I also knew my company had a policy of not paying ransom . If I was kidnapped and held for ransom when the company refused to pay ransom I would likely be killed. I was knew I could be falsely accused of a crime by corrupt officials in one of the countries I visited and convicted in a court resulting in a long prison term or even death at the hands of the government. Fully understanding the risk and the consequences I chose to pursue my career with the company for two decades. Had I been kidnapped and killed, or falsely charged and imprisoned by corrupt officials, I would not have expected my company or the US government to be responsible for my situation. I accept accountability for choices I make.
The Otto controversy is another public example of people being unwilling to accept the consequences of an individual’s decision when those consequences are ugly. The great America of the past was a country where adults accepted personal responsibility and accountability for their actions. Today’s American is a land where people avoid accountability and blame others the consequences of decisions they made. Until our values change, we will continue to decline as a nation.