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>A crime is a crime This is most certainly false. A crime is a violation of a law. Laws are passed by groups of people, not handed down by some infinitely wi

>A crime is a crime This is most certainly false. A crime is a violation of a law. Laws are passed by groups of people, not handed down by some infinitely wise and just being. For example, in many African nations, it is illegal to be gay. Would someone imprisoned for the "crime" of being gay be justified in escaping? Would Julian Assange be justified in escaping his dungeon for exposing the crimes of the US government?

yomkippur 4y ago
I can't believe you would actually try this dead end argument. Let me guess, if somebody robs you tonight, they didn't commit a crime, they just violated a law that were passed by a group of people that punishes the impoverished who justified their actions.
- StanislavPetrov 4y ago
  >I can't believe you would actually try this dead end argument. I cannot believe the stunning inability for people to understand that laws are not based on some sort of immutable, objective moral code but are invented by human beings. Do you think Harriet Tubman was a bad person because she helped those who violated the law? Would you have contacted the authorities immediately when you saw an escaped slave, due to their violation of the law?
  - yomkippur 4y ago
    What are you trying to get out of these debates you engage with yourself online? Find something better to do with your time and maybe you will be happier.
deleted 4y ago
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throwaway654329 4y ago
This is one reason why political crimes are treated with different considerations under international treaties and in the day to day norms of states. The right to asylum, for example, in one country to avoid prosecution in another country exists, and it is regularly exercised. America regularly support people who are charged with normal crimes that have obvious political undertones, as they should. This is an unmitigated good. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Guangcheng https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Guangcheng Other popular examples exist. These cases are also often very polarizing for the people of the country who is claimed to have been the victim of some political crime. Note the definition of political crime ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20crime https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20crime ) exactly makes the link: “political offenses … exclude any possibility of extradition.” What makes up a political crime? By definition it can be subjective but some entire categories are usually included. On the one hand, Assange is considered by many to be a journalist doing journalistic things, while others argue he committed espionage doing political things as some kind of spy. Prosecution for either is usually considered a political persecution worthy of asylum. Ecuador granted Assange political asylum because of the U.S. investigation into Assange for his publications that were in the public interest.

yomkippur 4y ago

I can't believe you would actually try this dead end argument. Let me guess, if somebody robs you tonight, they didn't commit a crime, they just violated a law that were passed by a group of people that punishes the impoverished who justified their actions.

StanislavPetrov 4y ago
>I can't believe you would actually try this dead end argument. I cannot believe the stunning inability for people to understand that laws are not based on some sort of immutable, objective moral code but are invented by human beings. Do you think Harriet Tubman was a bad person because she helped those who violated the law? Would you have contacted the authorities immediately when you saw an escaped slave, due to their violation of the law?
- yomkippur 4y ago
  What are you trying to get out of these debates you engage with yourself online? Find something better to do with your time and maybe you will be happier.

deleted 4y ago

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throwaway654329 4y ago

This is one reason why political crimes are treated with different considerations under international treaties and in the day to day norms of states. The right to asylum, for example, in one country to avoid prosecution in another country exists, and it is regularly exercised. America regularly support people who are charged with normal crimes that have obvious political undertones, as they should. This is an unmitigated good. Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Guangcheng https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Guangcheng Other popular examples exist. These cases are also often very polarizing for the people of the country who is claimed to have been the victim of some political crime. Note the definition of political crime ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20crime https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20crime ) exactly makes the link: “political offenses … exclude any possibility of extradition.” What makes up a political crime? By definition it can be subjective but some entire categories are usually included. On the one hand, Assange is considered by many to be a journalist doing journalistic things, while others argue he committed espionage doing political things as some kind of spy. Prosecution for either is usually considered a political persecution worthy of asylum. Ecuador granted Assange political asylum because of the U.S. investigation into Assange for his publications that were in the public interest.