(April 29, 2015 at 12:16 am)Aractus Wrote: America is backwards because they still practise the death penalty even though it's been abolished in virtually all other democratic first-world countries.

Back just 50 years ago, the death penalty was supported by the vast majority of people living in first world democracies, there's been a shift in values away from it.

Fuck off Aractus. I'm tired of your ignorant reflexive anti-American attitude, particularly in this case since I went out of my way in another thread to demonstrate how stupid your American=death penalty canard is. To summarize again, the death penalty is not ubiquitous in the U.S. There are no statutes that warrant the death penalty for drug related offenses; limited to aggravated murder where still on the books. Even where it is legal I recall giving you specific information where only a few states make up the vast majority of executions.

While I'm at it, perhaps you should embrace a larger view of things and extend a bit of gratitude; unless of course you fancy the Japanese language which you probably would have learned if it weren't for American industrial power and fortitude leading to the victory in the the Battle of the Coral Sea. We also harbor the intellectual fugitive Ken Ham which I think deserves merit.

I have an idea. I'm constantly hearing that a vast majority of Australia is inhospitable. The same thing was said of Utah before the Mormons got there. I propose we send all Mormons to Australia; we'll call it terratheoforming. They'll double your arable land in no time. Of course there is a side effect. Mormons are such prodigious multipliers that your fucking rodent problem will become a minor nuisance.

Oh right I'm "ignorant"?

I didn't say that all US states practise it, that's irrelevant.

I didn't say that it's used for drug-related offences either.

EVERY country in the world that practises the death penalty - including the USA, China, Singapore and Indonesia is backwards.

(April 28, 2015 at 7:11 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: The death penalty is barbaric and uncivilized - regardless of the crime. It is a legitimate thing to kill in order to prevent someone from committing an evil act but if they have already done so, what's the point? Better to make them do restitution and/or rehabilitate them.

I think the point is the ideal of ultimate justice. There are certain crimes that humanity views so grave that the punishment demands the highest penalty possible --- forfeiting one's own life. And perhaps the foreknowledge of such a severe consequence does sometimes serve as a prevention of the act.

(April 29, 2015 at 1:05 am)Aractus Wrote: Oh right I'm "ignorant"?

I didn't say that all US states practise it, that's irrelevant.

I didn't say that it's used for drug-related offences either.

EVERY country in the world that practises the death penalty - including the USA, China, Singapore and Indonesia is backwards.

You're not just ignorant, you're willfully ignorant because I've spoon fed you relevant information and you've not changed your 'backward' opinion.

You ignoring U.S. state statistics regarding the death penalty which were again spoon fed to you, yet deciding anyway to repeatedly denigrate an entire nation and all her peoples for the injustice is also 'backward'.

You not being able to distinguish between killing people for drug trafficking and aggravated murder and yet unreasonably making a moral equivocation between nations despite the spoon fed information provided previously is 'backwards'.

This denigrating generalization compared to the the lack of general gratitude given to Americans that are responsible for your very existence is 'backwards'. Your silence on this matter in response to my previous post is very conspicuous.

The death penalty is the death penalty whether it's handed down for being homosexual, for murder, or for drug trafficking. Every country that practises it is backwards, and your country is no different.

(April 29, 2015 at 1:46 am)Aractus Wrote: The death penalty is the death penalty whether it's handed down for being homosexual, for murder, or for drug trafficking. Every country that practises it is backwards, and your country is no different.

Is this a true representation of your view on morality? Or are you simply trying to save face?

Let's see if this interpretation of what you just said makes a difference:

Killing is killing whether done on a whim, for vengeance, or it was the only way to stop someone from continuing to rape your wife. Anyone that kills is backwards. I oppose the death penalty, my only point here is demonstrating that your superficial equivocation is without merit.

Australia last put a person to death in 1967, New York State in 1963. Which is more backward in this regard?

It's my belief. Any society that practises the death penalty is backwards. The last execution in the whole of Australia was in 1967, and there was public outrage and rightly so. Where I live - the ACT - the death penalty has never been used.

I'm not talking about defending yourself against a violent act - that's entirely different. Someone who kills in self defence has a legal defence for their action. Nor am I saying that I think capital punishment is murder - I don't, it's a form of "justice".

(April 29, 2015 at 12:16 am)Aractus Wrote: America is backwards because they still practise the death penalty ...

This sentence would suggest a blanket pronouncement what what is done in all of America, not just certain states. "America is..." is a statement about the whole country, not just certain states and "they still practice" further reinforces that this sentence is about what "they", the Americans as a whole, still do. Anyone familiar with my posts knows I'm not hesitant to criticize the rednecks and knuckle-draggers of my own country but Cato has a point. At the very least, you were careless with your choice of words. It happens to everyone. 

(April 29, 2015 at 6:07 am)Aractus Wrote: It's my belief. Any society that practises the death penalty is backwards. The last execution in the whole of Australia was in 1967, and there was public outrage and rightly so. Where I live - the ACT - the death penalty has never been used.

Extolling the history of ACT in this regard without acknowledging the history of NSW is disingenuous.

Quote: "We are so happy, so happy. I thought I had lost my daughter already but God is so good. Thank you to everyone who helped us," her mother Celia Veloso told CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/asia/indon...xecutions/

If God is so good for sparing your daughter, he must be so very naughty for watching the other eight be cruelly executed, right? I never understood how theistic "logic" works.