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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (25038)	8/28/2001 12:13:51 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

From your statement ("but only punish the specific thoughts relevant to the particular victim and crime"), I take it we have no disagreement over the fact that motive (thinking) does always inform the discretion of the judge. You're making a leap over a chasm without having the bridge in place. We have no disagreement of the fact that certain thinking does sometimes (no, not always) inform the discretion of the judge in certain areas only. We disagree totally on which those areas are, or should be. You apparently want people punished because of generic thinking not related to the identity of the victim. I don't. If you had had this mindset in the 50s, you would have been right up there with McCarthy -- if people have thoughts that communism is good, they should be punished. Certain thoughts, certain philosophies, should be obliterated from society or punished where they attempt to take root. You and he clearly disagree on what thinking should be punished. He thought communism, you think hate. But you both want to look into the general thinking of the individual, look at his past statements and writings that have nothing to do with the specific crime at issue (at least, I assume you would seek to prove that this person was a hate filled person by looking at their pre-crime beliefs, writings, associations, organizational affiliations, etc.). Vastly different opponent ideas. Same underlying philosophy.