[fla-left] Bloody execution photos draw gamut of responses(fwd)

[Max Sawicky]

YF:
> There is no doubt a feeling of compensatory consolation involved, which is
> expressed in the statement made by the mother of two children quoted in
the
> article: "To my surprise I felt nothing but relief that this scum is now
> long gone!"  Isn't this exactly the feeling that the ruling class want you
> to have?  You are supposed to feel a momentary relief at the destruction
of
> minor criminals (a kind of poetic justice that is not otherwise available
> under capitalism, which justly and unjustly exploits you), and your desire
> to feel such relief gives more power to the state, which is not only full
> of major evils but safeguards the evil system of private ownership of the
> means of production with all its attendant evils, major and minor, one of
> which is the production of more criminals than otherwise possible.

That the State does something people want does not
mean whatever is done should be rejected on principle.
By your logic, the State provides Food Stamps for the
same evil reasons.  But you wouldn't say that FS should
be rejected.  At least, I hope not.


> Through the war on crimes, we've lost and had curtailed many civil
> liberties already.  Why?  Because enough people have felt that we must
give
> more power to the state in order to punish criminals.  Thus, a desire to
> punish or destroy minor criminals ends up punishing the entire masses of
> people.  Remember that Biblical metaphor?  Selling our birthright for a
> mess of pottage.

More or fewer civil liberties is a different matter.
Civil liberties are not inconsistent with law enforcement,
though conservative thinking would argue otherwise.

Executions are not going to make the world much of
a better place.  Some things are just right and have
little or no instrumental importance.  I don't believe
the existence of CP plays any important role in
social control of the masses w/respect to other
issues.

What offends me is that anti-capital punishment
appeals like the one that started this thread typically
focus on the suffering of those who deserve no sympathy
and block out the suffering of those who do.  The latter
become non-persons.  To me this is emotionally
incoherent.  I don't mind a reasoned argument
against CP.  Chances are I would buy a lot of it.
But hand-wringing over the condemned is one of
my buttons.  Push it, and the board will light up.

In re:/Philion, there is no glee in an execution,
since it is a reminder of something that really
is tragic.

mbs