Re: Heinious crimes (was Re: Faith, Power and the Internet)


"Yowie" <yowie@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Dennis" <dennybop@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Yowie" <yowie9644.DIESPAMDIE@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"William Ehrich" <abc@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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snip...

The idea of mutilation as punishment makes a lot of people
uncomfortable.
"Oops, sorry, wrong guy." And should he really have lost his hand for
stealing a loaf of bread to feed his children?

Being forced to steal as the only way to feed onself and one's
dependants to
my mind isn't a crime of the individual but rather as a crime of society
that *forces* the individual to stoop to such extremes, IMHO.

How would you explain that to the victim of the theft? And should
society make the victim whole since it is responsible?

If a person is stealing out of a real sense of need, then i would explain
it to the victim as such. This may or may not placate the victim, but it
would help the victim understand the motive and would - I guess - make it
feel far less personal.

I don't know how more or less personal I would take it if the last few
crumbs of bread I had to feed myself and my family were stolen. I don't
think understanding the motive would makemy belly feel any less empty.

If someone stole a loaf of bread from me because they needed it to feed
their family, i would not seek punitive measures. A loaf of bread for me
is not much, and it was *needed*. I would heovwer, hope that the theif
would *ask* next time, and I would gladly *give* them a loaf of bread.

Why should they *ask* next time? What if they don't want to? What if
they'd rather steal? What if their stealing were to perpetuate a nasty drug
habit?

I guess its a matter of degree. The impact of having one's loaf of bread
pilfered is far far less than being molested, IMHO.

That's true.


I don't disagree that we create a social compact and have a certain degree
of commitment to one another, but I suggest that blithely allowing one to
steal from another and then ignore personal responsibility is just as
detrimental as letting people go unfed. I understand the point you are
tryiing to make and in may ways sympathize. But allowing one to victimize
another is not a good way (IMO) to further our ideals of justice and
brotherhood.

Dennis


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Relevant Pages

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