tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post7262029012449685559..comments2024-03-24T09:13:28.758+00:00Comments on The Plashing Vole: Justice for Ian HuntleyThe Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-64429737314470672452010-08-03T21:10:46.786+01:002010-08-03T21:10:46.786+01:00"The degree of civilization in a society can ..."The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." A quote attributed to Dostoevsky, but I've been trying to track it down for years and have never found it or even a close approximation of it in translations of his work. Good quote though.Zoot Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09943863429085186012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-6782432803013424822010-08-03T16:05:29.342+01:002010-08-03T16:05:29.342+01:00Blossom, that's a top-quality piece of writing...Blossom, that's a top-quality piece of writing. The last sentence encapsulates the situation perfectly. Wish I'd thought of it.<br /><br />It's perfectly natural to feel violent towards Huntley. What marks us out as civilised is that we don't act on our impulses, but think about them. How we treat the worst people in society is the mark of how civilised we are - according to Churchill.The Plashing Volehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-52844171196503851912010-08-03T15:54:01.536+01:002010-08-03T15:54:01.536+01:00I've read both your and Ewar's piece and I...I've read both your and Ewar's piece and I agree totally. As a parent, I would gladly wish to harm anybody who had subjected my child to a violent death. Afterwards, would I feel better? I suspect no. There is most likely the possibility I would feel revulsion for myself for behaving no better then the scum who had killed my child. <br /><br />The desire to harm another human being is not rooted in justice. The Facebook pages baying for Huntley's demise are reminiscent of centuries' old witch hunts. Has society really not progressed, become more enlightened? Huntley should of course be protected. As a human he has rights, irrespective of his own actions. More importantly however, he should be protected because if he is not, if society truly believes that, once condemned, an individual can be thrown to the wolves, then we live in a society which, behind the veneer of civility, is brutish and savage. I am sure there are certain wardens in secure hospitals/ prisons who believe they can meter out their own justice, turn a blind eye to an inmate's violence toward another. This effectively means the prisons are run by the inmates. (Yes, I know, I'm naive to have believed otherwise!)<br /><br />And, as law abiding citizens, are we not being totally hypocritical to praise a convicted prisoner's crime committed against another, just because he harmed a controversial figure? If Ian Huntley tomorrow was in a position to glass Peter Sutcliffe, would he suddenly become a folk hero too?Conniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275520760565119121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-38974435457417965522010-08-03T14:40:29.040+01:002010-08-03T14:40:29.040+01:00I enjoyed your piece.
I intend to air this opinio...I enjoyed your piece. <br />I intend to air this opinion loudly. Except in the pub.The Plashing Volehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-88666047035424916262010-08-03T14:37:29.151+01:002010-08-03T14:37:29.151+01:00I agree with every word - sadly though this is one...I agree with every word - sadly though this is one of those opinions that you cant say out loud for fear of being branded as a fan of Huntley or some other such nonsense.<br /><br />Thanks for the blog plug!Ewarwoowarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01188994060142858403noreply@blogger.com