I stumbled across a news footage video that had by chance caught the
murder (or attempted murder, I'm not completely sure) of a captured
child kidnapper and possible rapist by the child's father. Some police
officers were escorting the perpretrator in handcuffs, and the father
was disguised in some kind of public telephone booth, from which he
proceeded to shoot the perpeptrator with a gun. Clearly it was not
something that was done in the heat of the moment, but something planned
and premeditated.

I made the error of reading some of the youtube comments. In the first
several pages every single comment, every single one of them, praised
that father's actions. Most called it rightful justice, some called him
a hero. Not a single comment of disapproval.

This is just crazy in my opinion. I see two major problems with this:

1) His son had been through a horrible experience that would probably
haunt him the rest of his life. He was probably emotionally destroyed
and in severe need of support. What does his father do? He risks everything
and is ready to go to jail, possibly for life, away from his son. What
possible good would that have done to anybody? Not only was his son
experienced a really traumatic event, but now his father would put him
through another, namely his own father going to jail rather than be at
home supporting him?

That man is not a hero. He is an idiot. I don't care how distressed and
mad he was about what happened to his son, he is still an idiot. I have
no sympathy for him. Making things potentially so much worse for his son
after such an ordeal deserves no respect nor admiration.

2) People's basically unanimous approval of his actions are just
preposterous. This was not self-defence, nor was it an overreaction done
in the heat of the moment. It was premeditated, cold-blooded first-degree
murder. The man had clearly prepared for the situation and planned his
actions. Yet most people think that what he did was justified, and a good
thing.

I can't believe that in the modern society people are so eager to defend
murder, vigilantism and taking matters to your own hands. Screw fair trials,
screw basic human rights, screw law and order. Someone murdering someone
else in revenge is ok according to these people.

And no, I'm not exaggerating here. I commented on the video about this, and
several people defended their position, and in fact emphasized it. Some
even said that this kind of action should be legal.

What kind of world do these people envision? We have long ago left behind
the times when the people of a village stoned someone to death that they
didn't like, and rightfully so. Murdering people in revenge, especially
people who have already been captured by law enforcement, is barbaric.

Someone asked me "don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing in
his position". I answered along the lines of: No, I would have not. I do
not believe in the death penalty, and I especially do not believe in
vigilantism and taking matters into my own hands, especially when the
perpetrator has already been captured. If you support death penalty, that's
your pregorative, but if you want death penalty in your country, you should
impose it through the proper democratic channels, in other words, by voting
or by becoming a representative. You do not take matters into your own
hands, become a vigilante and start murdering people you don't like,
bypassing the law and authorities.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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