Francis king
Well-Known Member
well, thinking is not a crime, neither is being a member of a dubious political party (after all, there's plenty of Conservatives about...lol...) and nor should owning specific literature. so far, that is all she is guilty of.
Of all the laws of the land, incitement has to be one of the most contentious.
If we follow the incitement line of reasoning, then williams burroughs, writing about sex with children and rape of women, incites paedophiles and rapists to commit such acts by upholding such themes and making them fit for our recreation...
the counterarguement usually runs- we all have free will, we can read and write about these things without it making us paedo's and rapists...
we can't have it both ways.
If I, here, on this site, proclaim a hatred of, snugglewuzzles, and exhort others to give them a good slapping should they chance upon them, and a snugglewuzzle gets hurt, should I be responsible for the slappers action?
Why? I am here, over 1000 miles away. I did not work on u, befriend u, ensnare u, reel u in, make u my "bff", I didn't cause u to despise snugglewuzzles, did I? And unless I do, I'm enciting nothing... I am simply owning my own opinions, which I am supposedly entitled to, in a free world.
I dislike the idea that I can be held accountable for anothers actions. If my brother kills a man, it would be wrong for me to be charged for it. But, if I give him a knife or help him dispose of the body- then I am guilty. Not before.
Unless I have deliberately coerced a person to behave in a certain way, unless I have willfully and considerately moulded them, why should I be responsible for their actions and activities, whether or not I support or don't support such practises personally? We are, technically, at least, entitled to hold whatever opinions we like about whatever we like. A person only becomes a criminal by his actions... not by his thoughts...
so, for me, yes, unless you have semtex residue on your fingers, in your bag, house, or car, unless you have a pipe bomb in your false leg, unless we find your workshop with a half made bomb on the counter, or unless we have actual hard evidence of you plotting to commit crimes, then you are, supposedly, innocent...
if you cannot prove someone is a criminal, then you can't send them to jail...
unfortunately, that happens more often than the state will admit...
i think of the Birmingham Six, the Guilford Four, etc... the state needed to be seen to do something about this manic panic sweeping the nation... it doesn't matter if ppl are actually guilty of anything at all...
a bad man commits a crime, they get punished, the story ends in the minds of the ppl, they move on to fresher news,, their ire spent... its a just world, after all... we can sleep easy in our beds, and dream away that we are safe, and life is good...
when instead, we should try to address the reasons why people feel alienated by their societies, why people feel that killing others is a good thing, why one man can kill but another can't... but we won't do that, because that means the arms industry and the military wankers and the politicians and directors and captains of industry won't get their big bonuses...
it might mean that we, society, is responsible for all this misery, mindless violence, school yard killings, and wars, simply because of the way our society is structured, and until society changes, these things will continue.
Thinking of evil is not a crime- it is a symptom of a greater sickness. Thoughts only become criminal acts when they result in criminal activity, however unpalatable that might seem, surely?
Of all the laws of the land, incitement has to be one of the most contentious.
If we follow the incitement line of reasoning, then williams burroughs, writing about sex with children and rape of women, incites paedophiles and rapists to commit such acts by upholding such themes and making them fit for our recreation...
the counterarguement usually runs- we all have free will, we can read and write about these things without it making us paedo's and rapists...
we can't have it both ways.
If I, here, on this site, proclaim a hatred of, snugglewuzzles, and exhort others to give them a good slapping should they chance upon them, and a snugglewuzzle gets hurt, should I be responsible for the slappers action?
Why? I am here, over 1000 miles away. I did not work on u, befriend u, ensnare u, reel u in, make u my "bff", I didn't cause u to despise snugglewuzzles, did I? And unless I do, I'm enciting nothing... I am simply owning my own opinions, which I am supposedly entitled to, in a free world.
I dislike the idea that I can be held accountable for anothers actions. If my brother kills a man, it would be wrong for me to be charged for it. But, if I give him a knife or help him dispose of the body- then I am guilty. Not before.
Unless I have deliberately coerced a person to behave in a certain way, unless I have willfully and considerately moulded them, why should I be responsible for their actions and activities, whether or not I support or don't support such practises personally? We are, technically, at least, entitled to hold whatever opinions we like about whatever we like. A person only becomes a criminal by his actions... not by his thoughts...
so, for me, yes, unless you have semtex residue on your fingers, in your bag, house, or car, unless you have a pipe bomb in your false leg, unless we find your workshop with a half made bomb on the counter, or unless we have actual hard evidence of you plotting to commit crimes, then you are, supposedly, innocent...
if you cannot prove someone is a criminal, then you can't send them to jail...
unfortunately, that happens more often than the state will admit...
i think of the Birmingham Six, the Guilford Four, etc... the state needed to be seen to do something about this manic panic sweeping the nation... it doesn't matter if ppl are actually guilty of anything at all...
a bad man commits a crime, they get punished, the story ends in the minds of the ppl, they move on to fresher news,, their ire spent... its a just world, after all... we can sleep easy in our beds, and dream away that we are safe, and life is good...
when instead, we should try to address the reasons why people feel alienated by their societies, why people feel that killing others is a good thing, why one man can kill but another can't... but we won't do that, because that means the arms industry and the military wankers and the politicians and directors and captains of industry won't get their big bonuses...
it might mean that we, society, is responsible for all this misery, mindless violence, school yard killings, and wars, simply because of the way our society is structured, and until society changes, these things will continue.
Thinking of evil is not a crime- it is a symptom of a greater sickness. Thoughts only become criminal acts when they result in criminal activity, however unpalatable that might seem, surely?
) and a rather unpleasant person I wouldn't invite to dinner but is not a criminal offence. When you then encourage me to go and slap them then you have committed a crime (okay it is a thin line and it does tend to move as often as the goalposts do) however if you know it is a crime and you commit it, then can you complain when action is taken against you? 
