Re George's comment below:
"One of the decisions Spenser makes is to allow others,
including Hawk, to abide by their own codes without
interference from him. [In one novel] Spenser makes a
decision to allow a bad guy to live, and he accepts the
consequences of that decision. Hawk, on the other hand, is
unwilling to live with those consequences, and shoots the
unarmed guy. This isn't Spenser avoiding a decision - he's
made a decision. Hawk then makes another one."
Far from being an argument against my point, this incident
illustrates it beautifully.
Spenser (and presumably Parker) decides that it's immoral for
him to kill an unarmed man. Hawk decides to murder him. But
Hawk (and, again, presumably Parker) decides that it's
tactically unwise to let an enemy live.
Spenser stands by and lets the murder occur without
interference. This isn't allowing Hawk to "live by his code."
This is allowing a murder to occur, when he's already decided
that this murder is unacceptable morally or ethically, and,
further, when he has the means at hand to prevent it. By
deciding not to prevent it he, in effect, becomes an
accomplice to the very murder he's already decided is
immoral.
This is not Spenser making a decision than allowing his
friend to make a different one. This is Spenser PRETENDING to
make a decision, than not following through and facing the
consequences of his decision, one of which is that if he's
morally obligated not to murder the bad guy, then it follows
that he's morally obligated to prevent anyone else from
murdering the bad guy.
He doesn't have the courage of his convictions, but because
he lacks the courage of his convictions, and lets Hawk have
his head, he won't be plagued by any actions the bad guy
might've taken at a later time. Spenser thus appears moral,
when he's not, and Hawk becomes the deus ex machina who
eliminates an annoying loose end while Spenser appears to
keep his hands clean.
JIM DOHERTY
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