Of all the forms of murder none is more monstrous than that committed by a state

[seemslikeadream]

Mike Malloy just read this quote

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-120397451.html

"Of all the forms of murder," Snow told the scientists, "none is more monstrous than that committed by a state against its own citizens. And of all murder victims, those of the state are the most helpless and vulnerable since the very entity to which they have entrusted their lives and safety becomes their killer. When the state murders, the crime is planned by powerful men. They use the same cold rationality and administrative efficiency that they might bring to the decision to wage a campaign to eradicate a particularly obnoxious agricultural pest.





"The homicidal state shares one trait with the solitary killer," he continued. "Like all murderers, it trips on its own egotism and drops a trail of clues which, when properly collected, preserved and analyzed, are as damning as a signed confession left in the grave.

"The great mass murderers of our time have accounted for no more than a few hundred victims. In contrast, states that have chosen to murder their own citizens can usually count their victims by the carload lot. As for motive, the state has no peers, for it will kill its victim for a careless word, a fleeting thought, or even a poem."

Snow concluded with a challenge: "Maybe it's time for the forensic scientists of the world to heed the old call of our favorite fictional prototype--'Quick, Watson, the game's afoot!'--and go after the biggest game of all."

[tekisui]

1. KNR!!!

[PDJane]

2. I agree. n/t

[G_j]

3. right on, right on, right on!

the biggest elephant in the room?

[AlCzervik]

4. i love this sticker.

[gateley]

6. Wonderful sticker! nt

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

11. We don't.

We kill them to punish them for their crime.

David

[orpupilofnature57]

5. When the hunter, becomes the hunted!!!!

[Orwellian_Ghost]

7. K&R n/t

[Orwellian_Ghost]

8. To End terrorism, End State Terrorism

To End terrorism, End State Terrorism
by Johan Galtung and Dietrich Fischer*, September 20, 2002

One year ago, two dates punctuated a continuing cycle of violence and counter-violence: the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with about 3,000 civilians killed, and the October 7 start of the attack on Afghanistan, with about 6,000 civilians killed so far. How can we break out of this vicious cycle?

Some days after September 11, a psychologist gave advice on CNN to parents with children asking difficult questions. One young boy had asked "What have we done to make them hate us so much that they do such things?" A mature question, unlike the answer: "You could tell your child that there are good people in the world, and evil - -". That boy had arrived at the stage of reciprocity on psychologist Jean Piaget's scale of child development, seeing the actions of others at least partly as influenced by our own actions (and vice versa). By contrast, the psychologist's answer remained at the earlier stage of autism, seeing evil actions by others as uninfluenced by anything we do.

Motivation helps explain, but not justify. Hitler's success can be explained by the humiliating 1919 Versailles treaty, which called Germany alone responsible for World War I and imposed huge reparations for 50 years. Of course, nothing can justify what Hitler did. Understanding is not forgiving. But without understanding, we are condemned to repeat history.

The US media never mention the state terrorism exercised by the USA on other countries. Since 1945, the United States has intervened abroad 67 times, causing twelve million deaths, about half by overt action (Pentagon) and covert action (CIA). These are practically unknown to most Americans, and rarely mentioned, with the notable exceptions of Chalmers Johnson's book "Blowback" and Bill Blum's "Rogue State: a Guide to the World's Only Superpower." In addition, 100,000 people die daily in the world from hunger and preventable diseases in the midst of enormous luxury and waste.

<snip>

http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2002/09/20_galtung_end-terrorism.htm

[seemslikeadream]

13. He ain't got no name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ZYKM_lwYM

A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood.
A finger fired the trigger to his name.
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man's brain
But he can't be blamed
He's only a pawn in their game.

A South politician preaches to the poor white man,
"You got more than the blacks, don't complain.
You're better than them, you been born with white skin," they explain.
And the Negro's name
Is used it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game.

The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid,
And the marshals and cops get the same,
But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool.
He's taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he's in
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game.

From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks,
And the hoof beats pound in his brain.
And he's taught how to walk in a pack
Shoot in the back
With his fist in a clinch
To hang and to lynch
To hide 'neath the hood
To kill with no pain
Like a dog on a chain
He ain't got no name
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game.

Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught.
They lowered him down as a king.
But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun
He'll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain:
Only a pawn in their game.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKoV1yJnqAI


The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

[Prophet 451]

9. Disagree

I think that, although the death penalty is vastly overused in the US, it is an option which should be preserved for the very, very worst of offenders. Those whose guilt is undeniable, who cannot be rehabilitated, who will always remain a danger to others and who present such a danger that even the tiny chance of their escape is too big a chance to take. In those cases, few and far between as they are, I think we have the right to execute the criminal for the safety of society as a whole. It should never be celebrated, it should always remain a terrible and hateful necessity enacted with due regret because, in the end, the death penalty is a monstrous thing which makes monsters of us all. I believe that very occasionally, we must be monsters but that also, in the process, we must never forget how to be men.

That said, the number of criminals who fit the conditions I laid out above amount to, at most, two dozen within my lifetime (31 years) and my support vanishes if someone ever comes up with some other absolutely castiron way of keeping them imprisoned (say, some form of suspended animation).

[G_j]

12. I think you missed the point of the post

and who the real mass murderers are. We are talking about LEADERS.
To bring this version of retributive justice to these people would require MORE state sponsored murder.
no thank you..

[RB TexLa]

10. ..

have a nice day.

[ConsAreLiars]

14. Phil Ochs - "The Iron Lady" - says it all

(edit to add) Since you can't hear his voice, the tone is both bitter and sarcastic. Absolutely revolted at the inherent injustice and the hypocrisy, cowardice, savagery and ignorance of those who support the death penalty.

From: http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/iron-lady.html

The Iron Lady
By Phil Ochs

Have you seen the iron lady's charms
Taking on a man to die
A life for a life, an eye for an eye
And death's the iron lady in the chair

Stop the murder, deter the crimes away
Only killing shows that killing doesn't pay
Yes that's the kind of law it takes
Even though we make mistakes
And sometimes send the wrong man to the chair

In the death row waiting for their turn
No time to change, not a chance to learn
Waiting for someone to call
Say it's over after all
They won't have to face the justice of the chair

Just before they serve him one last meal
Shave his head, they ask him how he feels
Then the warden comes to say goodbye
Reporters come to watch him die
Watch him as he's strapped into the chair

And the chaplain, he reads the final prayer
Be brave my son, the Lord is waiting there
Oh murder is so wrong you see
Both the Bible and the courts agree
That the state's allowed to murder in the chair

In the courtroom, watch the balance of the scales
If the price is right, there's time for more appeals
The strings are pulled, the switch is stayed
The finest lawyers fees are paid
And a rich man never died upon the chair

Have you seen the iron lady's charms
Legs of steel, leather on her arms
Taking on a man to die
A life for a life, an eye for an eye
That's the iron lady in the chair