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That's pretty harsh man. He's a kid and doesn't deserve 15 years for tearing down a poster. Look at the humanity in it regardless of how factual NK behaves. Th

That's pretty harsh man. He's a kid and doesn't deserve 15 years for tearing down a poster. Look at the humanity in it regardless of how factual NK behaves. The kid simply doesn't deserve it and it's the _right thing to do_ to help him.

ams6110 11y ago
Sure, by our standards. He's not in a place that operates by our standards. And he knew that going in. Some people seem to have this illusion that the rest of the world is what they want it to be, rather than what it is.
knorker 11y ago
You're replying to the comment that quite accurately makes the case "deserve's got NOTHING to do with it", and your only argument is that he doesn't deserve it. O…k?
MaulingMonkey 11y ago
> The kid simply doesn't deserve it Nobody is saying he does. > and it's the _right thing to do_ to help him. Sure, but that's not the question. The question is: Is it the right thing to do to help him, at the expense of helping someone else? They don't deserve it either. But life is unfair, and we can only do so much at once - this is basic opportunity cost. It's simply impossible for us to do everything at once - we're merely human. Even when your goal is to eventually save everyone, you have to prioritize. Even when the stakes are as high as helping people survive North Korea. Perhaps especially then - when it matters most to do as much good as possible.
- crispyambulance 11y ago
  Who, exactly, are the others that will not be helped when the student gets bailed out? There have been batch releases in the past, these releases can be "bundled."
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
vacri 11y ago
> He's a kid He's twenty-one years old. He can drive a heavy vehicle, vote for politicians that affect all of society, and die in a uniform for his country. > doesn't deserve 15 years for tearing down a poster I don't think he deserves it either. I also don't think people deserve years of jailtime for simple possession of drugs, yet american jails are full of such people. The same kind of "kids" who make the same kind of decisions ("this will be fun!"). The right thing to do there is not imprison those people - even if you think possession should be illegal, years of jailtime is too excessive a punishment. The only thing that makes this newsworthy is that it happened in NK, and he's 'lucky' about that - because newsworthy = publicly visible, and that means the government is more likely to get involved. If this had happened in a place like Eritrea, it'd be lucky to make the news, because as I said above, this kind of stuff happens to hundreds of people every year.

ams6110 11y ago

Sure, by our standards. He's not in a place that operates by our standards. And he knew that going in. Some people seem to have this illusion that the rest of the world is what they want it to be, rather than what it is.

knorker 11y ago

You're replying to the comment that quite accurately makes the case "deserve's got NOTHING to do with it", and your only argument is that he doesn't deserve it. O…k?

MaulingMonkey 11y ago

> The kid simply doesn't deserve it Nobody is saying he does. > and it's the _right thing to do_ to help him. Sure, but that's not the question. The question is: Is it the right thing to do to help him, at the expense of helping someone else? They don't deserve it either. But life is unfair, and we can only do so much at once - this is basic opportunity cost. It's simply impossible for us to do everything at once - we're merely human. Even when your goal is to eventually save everyone, you have to prioritize. Even when the stakes are as high as helping people survive North Korea. Perhaps especially then - when it matters most to do as much good as possible.

crispyambulance 11y ago
Who, exactly, are the others that will not be helped when the student gets bailed out? There have been batch releases in the past, these releases can be "bundled."
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

vacri 11y ago

> He's a kid He's twenty-one years old. He can drive a heavy vehicle, vote for politicians that affect all of society, and die in a uniform for his country. > doesn't deserve 15 years for tearing down a poster I don't think he deserves it either. I also don't think people deserve years of jailtime for simple possession of drugs, yet american jails are full of such people. The same kind of "kids" who make the same kind of decisions ("this will be fun!"). The right thing to do there is not imprison those people - even if you think possession should be illegal, years of jailtime is too excessive a punishment. The only thing that makes this newsworthy is that it happened in NK, and he's 'lucky' about that - because newsworthy = publicly visible, and that means the government is more likely to get involved. If this had happened in a place like Eritrea, it'd be lucky to make the news, because as I said above, this kind of stuff happens to hundreds of people every year.