Arguing the death penalty? Get a better sign.
Kathryn Clifton, left, and Megan Fincher are among death penalty protesters gathered outside the criminal court building Monday, Oct. 24, 2005, in Los Angeles. A judge signed a death warrant Monday for convicted killer and Crips co-founder Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams, rejecting his attorneys’ request for a nine-day delay in his execution date.
I have a problem with the sign Megan Fincher is holding in the picture. Yes, Jesus died a victim of the death penalty, but he didn’t kill people. He wasn’t even a criminal. In fact, he even brought someone (lazarus) back to life. Besides, Christians believe that Jesus was *supposed* to die. Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams is a murderer. he may be reformed, and have co-authored childrens books while serving time in jail, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is (or was) a murderer.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m not arguing for or against the death penalty. I’m arguing against stupid signs that people use to argue their case. To Megan Fincher I say try harder, and get a better sign. Try not to appeal to our emotions by envoking the name of Jesus whenever you feel like it–especially when it doesn’t exactly fit the bill for the analogy you’re trying to make.
November 4th, 2005 at 7:04 am
Not only that, but with the orange hoodie and round glasses… she looks like a gay Harry Potter…. well a gayer gay Harry Potter.
I find it both irritating and laughable when people use the Lord’s name or teachings to get their special-interest driven (usually a bleeding heart Democrat with no facts to back up an opinion) cause more attention. I’ve found that those folks typically couldn’t tell you much about their own personal relationship with God.
November 4th, 2005 at 10:14 am
I Happen to be against the death penalty because of my religious beliefs, so the sign doesnt completely bother me. I mean if she is doing it just to incite emotion then that is between her and God, but no one can say what she really believes in.
Jesus was executed, he as considered a criminal by the powers that be back in the day. The fact that he was actually an innocent man is part of the foundation of Christianity.
I know that is a little off topic, but I dont completely agree that it is a fallacy. It depends on what the woman’s motives were.
November 4th, 2005 at 2:19 pm
What they need to make their case is an icon–like McGruff or Smokey the Bear.
November 4th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
I believe in the death penalty. Unfortunately, its not totally effective. The innocent do get wrongly punished and killed because of it, but overall, I think that the death penalty is fair as far as being guilty.
To ask yourself if the death penalty is fair, i often ask people this question…
“If your child, wife, sibling, or anyone held dear to you was beath, murdered, sexually assulted… wouldn’t you want that person dead whoever did that to your loved one?”
Often people change their answers when asked that question. I know that if anyone close to me was killed… I’d want the attacker punished to the same extent my loved one was put through. Thats just how I feel, and I think that its fair, and Just.
November 4th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
But here… I agree with Joey in the case of this women holding the sign. It depends on what point she is trying to make. I don’t think that Religion should be placed in every circumstance just to prove your point, but then again, other people are more religious than me, and act based on their religious beliefs.
November 4th, 2005 at 3:02 pm
Ditto, you created the fallacy of inserting emotion. I dont think it is fair to ask that question. Of course If some killed my son I would want that person to die, but I wouldnt exactly be of sound mind or reasonable. I personally think these topics have to be looked at from an outside prespective. That is just my opinion.
November 4th, 2005 at 5:05 pm
here’s an outside perspective. Tookie founded the Crips. The crips have murdered probably a few hundred people in the last 15 years. That’s reason enough for this guy to get the chair.
November 5th, 2005 at 8:56 am
I don’t think ramdac’s piece was whether Tookie deserves the skillet, it was whether or not this woman was trying her hand at a novice demagogue. Is she simply using the sign to incite emotion and get her cause more attention? Probably. Does ANY of that bullshit matter to the courts? No…. fuck that guy… he’s toast. And I frankly don’t care what he’s done to rehabilitate himself. Of course he wishes he hadn’t killed people now. Who wouldn’t? Eye for an eye…..