should michael pearl be held accountable

[xxxtobymac]

i'm sure we all know about michael pearl the child abuser pastor in Tennessee. Since his book has sparked idiot parents to beat the hell out of their kids. and there have been a few that has died because of this, should he be held accountable?

[KichigaiNeko]

Yes and his "book" used on him

[Shell B]

I don't know. Being hateful is not illegal. I think people should be responsible for their own actions. There should never be a "he told me to do it" excuse for anyone apart from soldiers who must follow orders and even then, it should not be used for any old dickhead who wants to get away with something.

I've always been weird about Charles Manson being in prison for as long as he has been. He is a total prick, but convincing people to murder people isn't quite the same as murdering them. Every person is responsible for what they do and who they listen to. If you can't tell that a book telling you to hurt your kids is wrong, it is your fault, not the book's author, no matter how stupid he is.

[Rev. Rye]

Well, being hateful isn't illegal, but due to the fact that their book was influential, and people have died as a direct result of following their instructions, but if William Luther Pierce can die a free man after Timothy McVeigh makes a bomb based on instructions in his book, I don't see much hope for the Pearls being held accountable.

[Shell B]

Morally-speaking, I think they're twats and partly responsible for spreading that kind of nonsense. However, I think people should be responsible for their own actions, in all cases. Of course, the situation should always be taken into account, but adults can be assumed to know better than to hurt children physically.

[Joe Bloe]

* hate speech
* incitement to commit a crime
* accessory before the fact
* accessory after the fact
* encouraging or assisting in an offence

Different countries have different laws which could be used to convict child abusers, but the authorities will always tread softly when the abusers are religious.

I think Pearl is fairly safe.

[frankiej]

I think Pearl is fairly safe.

Not when I kick in his door with my shotgun in hand...

[Aegrus]

Unfortunately,no. He can write what he wants. However, I do think that the parents who beat/ killed their children should be horribly punished.

[xxxtobymac]

I think that both the pastor and parents should be held mutually accountable since yes the parents read the book. But if the book was not out there to read and influencing actions that can cause murder. I think he should be held just as accountable. And with the reference with manson, I feel that he is in there because of how easy it was for him to get people to do horrific things in his name there are still manson followers to this day. But having him out and about brain washing more people. Not worth the risk

[thesummerqueen]

I'll say the same thing I said about the Bible and Atlas Shrugged: "It's long been my observation that it's not the book that causes the problems, but the readers who fuck everything up for the rest of us."