Steve
Stephen Philion Lecturer/PhD Candidate Department of Sociology 2424 Maile Way Social Sciences Bldg. # 247 Honolulu, HI 96822
On Sun, 10 Oct 1999, Max Sawicky wrote:
> 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
>
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