gee, I dont know if you'd call his justice or what, but...it sure is messed up...

http://www.eveningtimes.c...3540.shtml

Somehow, in spite of how gruesome it was, I don't feel sorry him. One less child molester off the street.

Gruesome story. While I shed no tears for this man, I'm a bit concerned about whoever committed this crime. The shear brutality of it indicates a very mentally unstable individual. I'm sure police will be looking closely at his victims. God knows this man gave all of them a strong motive.

JediMaster said:

yeah. I would imagine that whoever did it was related or a friend of the sex molestation victim.

Anyone that molests or rapes in my opinion should be tortured a slow death.. Make them feel the same way you made your victims feel... I have not one ounce of pity on people that do this crap!

What is really sad is that not ENOUGH is done to stop these perverts, and people have to take it into their own hands, cos the system just stinks.

I hope his bits rot in hell.

Sadly, the person who did this...friend of the victim or sicko is gonna have to pay.

Maybe he got what he deserved. Pretty gruesome.

Was he an undead, demon-possessed zombie? Ive cut up a few of those myself!!!

Didn't someone also set fire to a house with a paedophile trapped inside the other night?

One bad deed doesn't justify another one. I'm sorry. We're entitled to our rage, but we're also obligated to rise above it. The only thing that makes us "better" than the "perverts" and "sickos" of the world is our ability to restrain ourselves from actions that put us on the same level as them. I can't celebrate news like this. Just wasn't how I was raised. Again, sorry...

Anxiety said:

I respect what you're saying. I'm certainly not "celebrating" it myself. I'm quite concerned about the person who did this. The fact that they mutilated him is troublesome. Its possible that the perpetrator wasn't even aware of who this person was, or what his crimes were, which means that someone just as sick may be walking the streets. I guess the good of it is that there is one less pedophile to worry about, but we may have just added one more psycho to the world's troubles.

If this person was a family member/friend of a victim, or a victim themselves, then I'm also concerned. To commit so brutal a crime indicates that this person has gone over the edge (I'd be far less concerned if the perpetrator had just shot him. The intensity of the act is what makes me think this person has lost it).

But to say "one less pedophile to worry about" implies some form of ethical complicity with the murderer, doesn't it?

There are a lot of dangerous and heinous people who I "worry" about on a daily basis - not all of them pedophiles - but I don't wish death on them. I just want them to KNOCK IT OFF, whatever that takes. When it gets to a point where I read about someone's murder and think "well, that's a relief", I have to think about my own morality, and how far away I am from the darker element in the world.

Again, that's just how I was brought up to think - we all have our own ways of coping.

Anxiety said:

don't apologize, your post is absolutely on point!

Anxiety said:

Damn right. There can never be any justice at the hands of the mob.

Here in the UK, to cash in on a tragic case, one of tabloids started naming convicted sex offenders by publishing their photographs and addresses.

Innocent people were hurt when the wrong address was published in one case. In other cases, the mobs sometimes attacked neighbours by mistake and in other cases harmed offenders families too.

A pediatrician even got attacked once by someone who didn't know the difference.

These offenders have commited appaling deeds and have forfitted their right to a place in our society. I do believe we need to be more severe in removing them (no release until complete rehabilitation).

This lynch mobs are just another unintelligent way of lashing out blindly. Justice needs thought and care.

I speak as someone who not only knows victims of such people, but who has also been a victim himself.

Rage & anger never solved a damned thing.

daned said:

have i told you lately that i adore yo ass?
[This message was edited Wed Feb 11 11:20:36 PST 2004 by IAmTheTouch]

daned said:

well said daned.

IAmTheTouch said:

Ohh! I'm blushing!

Thanks!

I really appreciated your comments too, Daned. When I read comments like "they've forfeited their place in society", I am reminded of how torn I am about situations like this...

I do believe in responsibility for one's actions, and culpability and fairness and justice - on the other hand, I also believe, from a really deep, unmoveable place in my heart, in compassion, grace and mercy.

"Where was the mercy when so-and-so abused a child?" people say. Well, what does that have to do with my wanting to live a life reflective of a higher standard than that of a condemnable person? I never got the "eye for an eye" mentality - it just seems to spread more pain around. Taking the higher road and dispensing justice dispassionately and with grace and fairness, that seems like steps toward a bigger solution.

But at the same time, I understand the righteous rage of those who have been victimized, sadly moreso than I would like to. It's easy to get sucked into the emotionalism. It's easy to cheer for movie-style mob justice. It's easy to go to that place. But it's cheap gratification - it doesn't really heal or mend, it just gives us a lurid money shot.

Anxiety said:

Completely agree. When I say "they've forfeited their place in society" I don't necessarily mean that they should be thrown into a tiny stone room for enterntiy. I'm thinking more an isolated, high-security community with an emphasis on treatment.

I understand people's rage, I can be short tempered myself and if someone tried to abduct a child in front of me, I'd probably do a lot of damage to them. I understand too that justice has to satisfy the victims and their families in a way that allows them to put their sorrows behind them and make them feel like society understands and cares.

It's for a good reason that the symbol of justice is a pair of scales.

Anxiety said:

very well put, anx.

the mob mentality is a form of diversion, too. a way of separating oneself from the act, from the person who committed the act, and from the social responsibility we all have to prevent these things.

a child who is nurtured and loved does not go on to kill another being. a teenager who has an opportunity to participate in meaningful activities does not rob a store. a person perceived as "different" who experiences ongoing acceptance and compassion does not have to lash out against society.

whether we like to admit it or not, we are ALL part of the deal. we can all step up to the plate and do a better job at being a constructive part of our respective community, especially when doing so is out of our comfort zone.

I believe in God and I believe God is our judge and no one else. Whoever did this is not justified for their actions regardless of what this man did in his life. Taking a life is wrong for any reason. Who are we to say who is worthy of living and who is not. His chances of turning his life around and becoming a decent citizen were taken from him. He may have done horrible things to people, but two wrongs don't make a right and it doesn't make what he did to those he did it to any better now that he's dead

Anxiety said:

Anxiety, Daned and all the folks that agreed
with them on this issue, thanks a lot for
restoring a little bit my diminished faith in
humanity

Don't forget, too, a fact that is forgotten all too often: that these undesirables that we look down upon as being so disposable for their unsavory acts - they have families who not only have to live with what their loved one has done, but they have to continue to find a way to love and accept this person, and they are victimized on top of everything else when something like this "vigilante" murder occurs.

This may seem like an insignificant "side effect" of "cold, hard justice", but at what point do innocent people's feelings cease to be significant?