Today is the big day.
Today is the day the tributes are reaped.
During a District Reaping, the Headpeacekeeper should be standing on the platform. No matter how busy a Headpeacekeeper is, he can still take a few hours out of his day to be present during this event. It is especially vital that a Headpeacekeeper over a Career District be present to give his blessing to the volunteers.
Last night, the special twist to the quarter quells was announced. This year, the tributes will be reaped from the existing Victors. I would be absolutely lying if I said that I was upset at the prospect of a certain District 12 Victor getting killed in the arena by the mentors of people she killed last year.
First the female tributes are reaped and to the surprise of absolutely nobody Katniss Everdeen, the only female victor District 12 has ever had, is reaped.
Her alcoholic mentor is reaped, but her fiancé volunteered as tribute. I hate him too, so I am happy he signed his own death warrant.
With that, they are shipped off to the Capitol where they will spend their last months on Earth.
As I said before, I am glad they are going to die. It is not simply because they killed my niece (though I would be lying if I said it was not a factor); it is because they are criminals. Criminals are a classification of people the world is better off without.
From the moment of birth, people by nature are either law abiding or law breaking. While it is possible for a law abiding person to become corrupted, it is impossible for a law breaking person to become obedient without the fear of punishment. Once a criminal, always a criminal.
While they are going to their deaths, I am going to the mess hall for lunch.
While I sit eating in the mess hall, I watch the television to see who was reaped in the other Districts.
Victors deserve a measure of respect. If the Victor is a Career Victor, than the Victor deserves more respect because he trained relentlessly for his victory. If the Victor uses his winnings to help people, than he deserves admiration.
In District 1, Cashmere and Gloss both volunteer as tribute. They are both respectable Career Victors who have trained their whole lives to win the games. Once they won, they used large amounts of their winnings to fund philanthropic projects. I actually had the good fortune of meeting them once, and I can tell they are nice people (even if their views on humanity are a tab bit idealistic).
In District 2, Brutus and Enobaria volunteer as tribute. They are also Career Victors, and they also trained their whole lives for the games. They followed Cashmere and Gloss's examples, using their money for philanthropy.
In District 3, Beetee and Wiress are reaped. While they are not Careers or even Volunteers, they still used their intellect to advance the technological and scientific power of Panem and the Capitol.
In District 4, Finnick was reaped and Mags volunteered to take the place of Annie. All three of them are Career Victors who trained their whole lives to win the Hunger Games. Mags won a very early Hunger Games (not the first Hunger Games, as those were won by a District 2 Tribute), and afterwords she had a family. The old widow probably volunteered in the games because the Victor originally reaped did not stand a good chance or winning. Annie won her hunger games but unfortunately went nuts afterwords as a result of what Capitol Doctors called a preexisting mental condition. Those two are respectable victors. Finnick ... not so much.
Finnick spends a good chunk of his time in the Capitol sleeping with multiple women there. He does not use his money for charitable or philanthropic purposes, and quite frankly is setting a poor example for young Careers hoping to volunteer.
After that the rest of the Production Districts do not produce Victor Tributes with any chance of living past the bloodbath, the sole exception being Johanna of District 7. Despite her family being tragically murdered by a serial killer (a serial killer who is still at large), she still stands a chance of winning.
Only one thing matters, and it is that Katniss and Peeta stand no chance of winning.