Are we as a society so vengeful and misandric it’s more important for us to see bad men behind bars or executed, and then “put the horror behind us” than it is to examine these incidents objectively to determine why they happened, and perhaps save the lives of some innocent people in the future?
Right now, I just don't know.
Take this for what it is worth. I personally don't give a 3 ringed coon shit about some murderer, and as far as being misandric and wanting to hang murderers for their crimes, that seems laughable to me as far as meting out punishment. Far more emend commit murders than women.
More race car drivers are men and die in crashes.
Society doesn't hate men because of that statistic.
And it makes pansies out of men to let them escape the consequences of their own behavior on some theoretical assumption that they are oppressed.
However as far as your point goes about preventing such crimes, then I'm all with you.
The only real Justice is prevention.
And I've seen all kinds of people do all kinds of things on drugs and alcohol, things they wouldn't have had either the balls or inclination to do otherwise, so I'm the last one from experience to say that if drugs aren't a motivation (and they never are a real motivation) then they can at least modify behavior enough to cause real harm. (That's no excuse, it's just a fact.)
And drugs in our society, like every form of quick fix or escape or entertainment, tends to be rampant in infiltration and plentiful in supply, from the illegal to the overprescribed.
So if you can get someone to investigate then I'm all for that because if it prevents murders in the future then that's good and that's Just, and if it proves out there is nothing to it, then at least you know that had nothing to do with it, and then you can move on to something else.
But just because you're not degreed in something, or not an "expert" don't let that discourage you at all form taking action in some way.
Your qualifications to make an important discovery are not limited by your expertise and more often than not, experts don't make discoveries, they just write about them. The modern preoccupation with expertise is ridiculous in many respects, and should never stand in the way of attempting smoothing worthwhile. (Within reason of course - if you're not well versed in handling high explosives you probably shouldn't be experimenting til you get some expertise.)
But if you're right then you're right no matter who you are, and if you're wrong then you're wrong, no matter who you are.
But you can't know either way til you try and there is no shame at all at being an outsider who is right, or in being an insider who is wrong, long as you learn from what you find and don't let it blind you to the truth.
God gave you a brain and the capabilities to use it and to have insights, some of them wrong, and some of them right, but in either case you have to investigate to really know.
Men just give out degrees and in many cases nowadays those are just a dime a dozen and not very impressive to boot.
So as long as your degrees are hovering right about normal body temperature then you got the right to find out anything you wanna know.
And maybe even the obliagtion to if you feel it is important enough.
It's not really clear to me that men commit more murders than women do, or if they do it's not clear that it's anywhere near as big a disparity, because women are far more likely to get away with it. Cops are less likely to arrest, prosecutors less likely to prosecute and more likely to cut a deal, and juries more likely to acquit.
It appears that both "liberals" and "conservatives" fall into it, too.
It's not really clear to me that men commit more murders than women do, or if they do it's not clear that it's anywhere near as big a disparity, because women are far more likely to get away with it. Cops are less likely to arrest, prosecutors less likely to prosecute and more likely to cut a deal, and juries more likely to acquit.
It appears that both "liberals" and "conservatives" fall into it, too.
Check the FBI statistics, or even your local ones, for solved murders, not prosecutions. Then check how many of those murders were committed by men.
Or check the VICAP files about how many convicted and wanted murder suspects are men versus women.
There was a murder in KC last week by a convicted first degree murderer who was in jail about 10 years; story on news last night re trying to locate him.
I got in a rather philosophical disucssion yesterday with a grad student about capital punishment where he suggested that execution is BAD because innocent people might (will probably) be killed. I told him if the State releases a convicted murderer who kills again, the State is just as complicit as carrying out a good-faith sentence based on a jury of peers where the executed person is eventually discovered to have been innocent.
Until we are capable of providing justice for "proven" murders, not sure that we could project enough faith to take a real, active role in preventing murder that impacts someones life when they haven't actually done anything.
One of the more interesting arguments for capital punishment I've heard is that murderers who are given life without parole as a sentence are far more likely to kill fellow inmates and/or prison guards and/or visitors.
I'm not necessarily defending that argument, but it's one thing that people seldom think of.
2.15.2008 11:29am
Commenting on Dean's World is a privilege, not a right. Dean is your host, you are his guest, and you should behave in that fashion. Dean is not your babysitter, nor is he your punching bag. Please remember this. In general, you are free to disagree with anyone on any subject you wish, but abusive behavior will not be tolerated.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.
Take this for what it is worth. I personally don't give a 3 ringed coon shit about some murderer, and as far as being misandric and wanting to hang murderers for their crimes, that seems laughable to me as far as meting out punishment. Far more emend commit murders than women.
More race car drivers are men and die in crashes.
Society doesn't hate men because of that statistic.
And it makes pansies out of men to let them escape the consequences of their own behavior on some theoretical assumption that they are oppressed.
However as far as your point goes about preventing such crimes, then I'm all with you.
The only real Justice is prevention.
And I've seen all kinds of people do all kinds of things on drugs and alcohol, things they wouldn't have had either the balls or inclination to do otherwise, so I'm the last one from experience to say that if drugs aren't a motivation (and they never are a real motivation) then they can at least modify behavior enough to cause real harm. (That's no excuse, it's just a fact.)
And drugs in our society, like every form of quick fix or escape or entertainment, tends to be rampant in infiltration and plentiful in supply, from the illegal to the overprescribed.
So if you can get someone to investigate then I'm all for that because if it prevents murders in the future then that's good and that's Just, and if it proves out there is nothing to it, then at least you know that had nothing to do with it, and then you can move on to something else.
But just because you're not degreed in something, or not an "expert" don't let that discourage you at all form taking action in some way.
Your qualifications to make an important discovery are not limited by your expertise and more often than not, experts don't make discoveries, they just write about them. The modern preoccupation with expertise is ridiculous in many respects, and should never stand in the way of attempting smoothing worthwhile. (Within reason of course - if you're not well versed in handling high explosives you probably shouldn't be experimenting til you get some expertise.)
But if you're right then you're right no matter who you are, and if you're wrong then you're wrong, no matter who you are.
But you can't know either way til you try and there is no shame at all at being an outsider who is right, or in being an insider who is wrong, long as you learn from what you find and don't let it blind you to the truth.
God gave you a brain and the capabilities to use it and to have insights, some of them wrong, and some of them right, but in either case you have to investigate to really know.
Men just give out degrees and in many cases nowadays those are just a dime a dozen and not very impressive to boot.
So as long as your degrees are hovering right about normal body temperature then you got the right to find out anything you wanna know.
And maybe even the obliagtion to if you feel it is important enough.
It appears that both "liberals" and "conservatives" fall into it, too.
Check the FBI statistics, or even your local ones, for solved murders, not prosecutions. Then check how many of those murders were committed by men.
Or check the VICAP files about how many convicted and wanted murder suspects are men versus women.
It won't leave a lot of doubt.
I got in a rather philosophical disucssion yesterday with a grad student about capital punishment where he suggested that execution is BAD because innocent people might (will probably) be killed. I told him if the State releases a convicted murderer who kills again, the State is just as complicit as carrying out a good-faith sentence based on a jury of peers where the executed person is eventually discovered to have been innocent.
Until we are capable of providing justice for "proven" murders, not sure that we could project enough faith to take a real, active role in preventing murder that impacts someones life when they haven't actually done anything.
I'm not necessarily defending that argument, but it's one thing that people seldom think of.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.