Posted by alexandra_k on February 5, 2006, at 16:57:40
In reply to Re: Alex » alexandra_k, posted by Gabbix2 on February 5, 2006, at 13:50:42
> That's it you know. I think when someone is seen as the underdog, someone who's been victimized and on the bottom of the world's shoe their entire life who lashed out and did something heinous, well let's forgive them.
> But what about overfed, racist pompous political figures? Not so easy to forgive, or understand, but that ideal would have to apply to them too.I think a lot of that comes from the way we choose to describe them. If we see someone as 'victimised' or 'at the mercy of a horrible illness' or the 'victim of fate' or a 'victim of chance' then we feel better disposed to them.
If we see them as 'overfed' 'racist' 'pompous' 'nasty' etc then we don't feel so well disposed to them.
> If someone had decided to apply a little retributive justice to Idi Amin, or slave traders or those responsible for the Pent State killings, you wouldn't see me crying about it, and yet.. in accordance with that ideal, it's no different.
Yep.
I think... They know not what they do...
Rawls... The Original Position, I think it is called...
(This is different though related. I'll describe it so it might come out a little differently from Rawls)
Imagine that you have a view from nowhere. That is fairly much a god-like point of view. You are disembodied and are kind of looking down on the earth. You have to decide on a system of wealth distribution, a system of government, a system of law etc. And the whole crucial bit is that YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH PERSON YOU ARE. The thought is that in such a case people would try and arrange things so that nobody was lacking too much. The thought is that... This would be the fairest system.
Would people all agree if everyone had to make the same decision from a god like vantage point?
Don't know.
I think the ideal would be similar than a lot of the current ideals out there.
Of course nobody can do this practically. But the thought is that it is lack of empathy that is the problem...
A main problem in a lot of the inequalities currently.
If you were one of those pompous slave traders... Your father used to do it and you were raised thinking it is acceptable... That doesn't excuse your behaviour (how would you like to be in the position of one of your slaves?). But... It does go some way towards making it understandable / comprehensible...
Regarding forgiveness... I always thought forgiveness was something you had to do for yourself. So you don't become consumed by rage / bitterness.
I think there should be consequences... I think this lady should spend her time in a mental institution. I mean... She obeyed the voices...
Who is to say that the voices won't tell her to kill other people?
Prevention of reoffending...
Also... There need to be fairly predictable consequences for those kinds of acts
because other people do learn vicariously...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:605722
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060204/msgs/606622.html