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>If an individual citizen does not have the right to do something, neither does a collective An individual does not have right to punish another person in resp
by mburns 13y ago
>If an individual citizen does not have the right to do something, neither does a collective
An individual does not have right to punish another person in response to a crime after the fact (A.K.A. revenge). Collectively, we do.
- Jayschwa 13y agoI believe revenge on an individual level can be morally legit.
- mburns 13y agoWell that's fine, but we're not comparing personal opinions. This tangent was brought to us by smokeyj's ramblings about the injustice of governments doing bad things with unequal punishment, and edias explaining why he's full of it. Reality is well established that government plays a different role than individuals and is explicitly given permissions we refuse to citizens by way of the Constitution. People can't own ICBMs or atomic bombs, either, which is their sovereign right if not for the oppressive government.
- kika 13y agoCollectively we do justice, not revenge. Justice differs in one important aspect - we give the other party the ability to prepare and defend itself.
- Intermernet 13y agoAs someone with personal experience with this, I can say that "revenge" is the wrong reason for punishment. Punishment handed out by society should be about dissuading other members of that society from behaving against the society's best interests. Anything else is personal. As soon as "revenge" comes into it, the self-perpetuating downward spiral of justifying bad behavior as punishment for bad behavior begins. Individuals in society who gain pleasure from the punishment of others, whether that punishment was deserved or not, should realize they're really just being sadistic.