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I don't normally get a kick from the suffering of other human beings...

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I must with regret be pedantic over this.

I did not say all criminals. I said the ones bad enough to go to jail.

You can have a criminal record without being a convict.

Are we starting to understand??

 

So you'd reserve an equal degree of contempt for someone who hasn't paid a fine as you would for a child killer?

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I must with regret be pedantic over this.

I must be pedantic too. You can be a petty criminal and be in jail, and its also possible to be a violent criminal and be on the streets.

I know where the underline button is too. On that note i shall leave it at that. Good day to you. :)

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So you'd reserve an equal degree of contempt for someone who hasn't paid a fine as you would for a child killer?

Yes, believe it or not I hold deep contempt for criminals, thieves, muggers, burglars, sex offenders, murderers et al.

 

You may choose to spend much of your (probably dull) life defending the wickedness of the people who ruin our society, while I choose to state my opinion that a society cleansed of criminals will be a nicer place for law-abiding people to live in. I don't think that's such a crazy aspiration or claim.

 

I'm happy to go to hell for wanting little old ladies to be safe in their homes from being robbed or assaulted, and parents not to have to worry about their kids being abducted or abused.

 

I hope you can sleep at night for the part that you and your bleeding heart kind play in this world for letting killers and rapists free to re-offend. You must be very proud of standing up for their rights - good for you.

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The story of a paediatrician being attacked by a mob who mistook her for a paedophile has been exposed as an urban legend at least twice on this forum.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised that it is still doing the rounds, as it has considerable appeal as a moral homily (except that it is untrue).

 

This 'Urban mith' was reported as fact in the (South Wales) Echo, the Western Mail, and the Gardian, as well as being reported on BBC news.

As far as I can see, it is true!

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This 'Urban mith' was reported as fact in the (South Wales) Echo, the Western Mail, and the Gardian, as well as being reported on BBC news.

As far as I can see, it is true!

 

Well, this just goes to show Lindos that you should not believe everything you read in the papers. This story has now been thoroughly investigated (see the url below for example) and is at last taking its rightful place on websites devoted to urban legends (which is not preventing it still be quoted as established fact, not least by your good self in your post above and by at at least two previous posters on other threads).

 

Indeed, this story has been repeated so many times that the details vary from teller to teller. In some versions a ‘lynch mob’ chased a paediatrician down the street; in other versions the victim was savagely beaten by a mob; in other versions he/she was hounded from his/her home; and in other versions the paediatrician’s house was stoned or firebombed and razed to the ground. The tellers also appear to disagree on the minor detail as to where incident is supposed to have happened (as several locations have been cited), or indeed if the victim (deceased or not) was male or female.

 

In fact, there was no lynch mob (or mob of any kind) involved in the minor incident which gave rise to this story. As with many urban legends, an exuberantly fanciful tale has been woven from a incident to which bears little or no resemblance (indeed, the actual incident contradicts the mass hysteria/lynch mob syndrome which the tale is supposed to illustrate). I have no doubt however that the story will continue to be embellished with retelling, as its propagators probably view it as too good a story not to be true.

 

The incident which gave rise to these fanciful stories actually happened in Newport in Gwent, when a paediatrician returned to find the word 'paedo’ written on her front door in spray paint. That was it. Police never found the culprit, but suggested that it could have been done by a youngster or youngsters (possibly as young as twelve years of age). There was no lynch mob or hostile crowd involved, or indeed a crowd of any kind. The woman was not physically attacked or even threatened. Indeed, far from behaving like an irrational mob, her neighbours were supportive of her. The Chief inspector of Gwent police said at the time that it was a minor incident and (after it began to be magnified and distorted in the press) also commented ‘why let the truth get in the way of a good story?’ Why indeed – as I said in my previous post, it has every advantage as a moral homily except for the fact that it is untrue.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4719364.stm

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I think the important thing to emerge from many of the previous posts is this :-

 

That if it seen or judged by the general public that criminals are getting more violent and increasing in number, and at the same that the Law is not dealing with the criminals in an effective way, then certain groups in the community [prison community or in general society] will tend to take the law into their own hands.

 

This is exactly the case in the U.K. at the moment. No responsible person wants lynch law or gangs of vigilantes roaming the streets with guns and baseball bats. In fact, in the case under discussion, in an ideal world prisoners in general would be very tightly controlled anyway.

 

If prisoners were dealt with [as someone has already suggested] in the style of the old military prisons, only for much longer, the lynch mob might think that was enough and couldn't get at them anyway !

 

As it is, a hell of a lot of low-key thugs and dead-heads don't even get sent to prison. They're apparently given endless warnings, Asbos, communityservice.......etc.......Then, when they do end up in the nick, they have T.V., gyms., easy work, contact with family and peers and quite good food. [ That's why it all costs us a fortune !].

 

An extremely tough regime would not cost as much as might be feared. As the word trickled down about how tough life inside really was, it might easily deter the ' sheep ' who always follow the leader. In the meantime of course the streets and houses would be a lot safer as the really bad ones would be locked away for a very long time.

 

No, we don't want vigilantes who might punish the innocent by mistake, we want an efficient, tough, implacable justice system. Can it be done ? Well, Singapore seems to be successful in that respect but perhaps the U.K. has gone beyond saving now--------sad, but probably true.

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but in this case I will make an exception:

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1844503.htm

 

That is a terrible crime that was commited and in turn maybe jail justice was served. But would you have posted if not pakistani/kashmiri/Indian

Why not post about rape statistics or women who do not report rape?

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That is a terrible crime that was commited and in turn maybe jail justice was served. But would you have posted if not pakistani/kashmiri/Indian

Why not post about rape statistics or women who do not report rape?

 

That would make for very interesting reading ... I don't want to steal your idea for a thread, so I'll leave it to you to initiate the topic.

 

I'm looking forward to some very uncomfortable viewing over the next three nights - The Verdict.

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That would make for very interesting reading ... I don't want to steal your idea for a thread, so I'll leave it to you to initiate the topic.

 

I'm looking forward to some very uncomfortable viewing over the next three nights - The Verdict.

 

No problem, copyright given!! :) I only reply if I feel strongly about something!Yes, give it a couple of days!!

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As it is, a hell of a lot of low-key thugs and dead-heads don't even get sent to prison. They're apparently given endless warnings, Asbos, communityservice.......etc.......Then, when they do end up in the nick, they have T.V., gyms., easy work, contact with family and peers and quite good food. [ That's why it all costs us a fortune !].

 

Were you aware that maintaining contact with family is one of the most important factors in recidivism? i.e. Prisoners who retain strong family ties and maintain contact are less likely to reoffend than those who don't?

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Were you aware that maintaining contact with family is one of the most important factors in recidivism? i.e. Prisoners who retain strong family ties and maintain contact are less likely to reoffend than those who don't?

Perhaps, but as a keen Googler and quoter of internet-sourced facts, you can probably tell us the proportion of offenders who re-offend.

It's huge, isn't it? 75%, maybe 80%, or is it more?

 

I'd rather we keep those 80% banged up at the expense of the 20% that might go straight than let them all out and see the 80% get straight back into their ways.

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Were you aware that maintaining contact with family is one of the most important factors in recidivism? i.e. Prisoners who retain strong family ties and maintain contact are less likely to reoffend than those who don't?

 

Doesn't that depend on what their family are like?

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