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So you think it's worse for a creepy old dude to touch a kids penis than for someone to get drunk and get in their car and kill a couple of people?
Where did I advocate someone driving drunk? Secondly, how do you EVEN justify a creepy old dude touching a kid's penis? There is no justification for an adult to prey on kids! If you do, then you are the lowest form of low! Also drunk driving and killing someone isn't considered cold blooded or premeditated murder. It's man-slaughter. Big difference.
I find it scary people can be so lost and confused.
Of course it is different when it is your kid. Because you do not have kids, you have no frame of reference.
I could just as easily argue you are biased because you are a parent. I do have little siblings and cousins, and I love them but it's because they are family. I don't prioritize them over my adult relatives, I love them just the same. They are cute, but that doesn't mean they matter more.
I know being an older sibling/uncle/aunt/cousin is not exactly the same as being a parent but still.
I was thinking how maybe the reason people consider murder a less serious offense than molestation is because murder has a deleterious effect on one's genetic heritage that can be "replaced" by having more offspring while a rapist can potentially "contaminate" the gene pool for many generations. I'm talking from a Dawkins "Selfish Gene" perspective, not a moral one. Personally I don't agree. I think people are oddly hung up about sexual issues. But that is evolution in action. I find it odd that people find murder to be a minor crime in comparison.
Interesting post.
I don't think it should be ignored that there may be cultural things at work as well, because, just looking at film and television, children are portrayed as noble creatures, and murder is kind of just something that happens, so in the USA the outrage to murder may have been severely lessened while the outrage to children being harmed may have been increased.
So you're saying if he chose to rape an adult woman instead, that would be somewhat more acceptable? I don't think the age of a victim means that the crime matters more. Besides, it's the justice system, not the punishment system. I think the judge and jury know more about the case than any of us do.
I'm sick of people placing children and old people on a pedestal. A 30 year old can be just as helpless and scared against an attacker as a kid or a grandma. It's just ageism.
But the jury handed down the sentence. Surely they knew the details?
Edited to add: I do believe that sexual crimes against children are far worse. My ex worked with adolescent sex offenders at a facility. The majority of them had been molested themselves. So the cycle continues.
Rape of any human being is a disgusting act, but when it happens to a kid, it's often perpetuating a societal problem.
I could just as easily argue you are biased because you are a parent. I do have little siblings and cousins, and I love them but it's because they are family. I don't prioritize them over my adult relatives, I love them just the same. They are cute, but that doesn't mean they matter more.
I know being an older sibling/uncle/aunt/cousin is not exactly the same as being a parent but still.
We as adults have a moral obligation to protect children from those who would seek to harm or prey on them, because by nature small children are weaker than adults.
Where did I advocate someone driving drunk? Secondly, how do you EVEN justify a creepy old dude touching a kid's penis? There is no justification for an adult to prey on kids! If you do, then you are the lowest form of low! Also drunk driving and killing someone isn't considered cold blooded or premeditated murder. It's man-slaughter. Big difference.
I think what he was saying is that there's a difference between molestation and rape. For example let's say a 19 year old girl put her hand on the backside of a 17 year old boy she liked. Technically, she is a child molester but would anyone seriously think she deserves to die or that her crime is worse than gruesomely murdering a bunch of people? Because that would just be stupid. Everything has different shades.
Outrage over various crimes can't be reduced to some mathematical or scientific formula based on the urge to pass on genetic material or how much quantitative "worth" a human life has in various stages of development.
Some people with Aspergers use intellect as a replacement for emotional empathy. I think that might have something to do with this thread. (one poster did mention his or her autism). It might be akin to discussing a rainbow with a blind person.
I believe the justice system should be in the business of preventing crime, not revenge. A "normal" man doesn't suddenly see a toddler, get "inexplicably" aroused and molest her and then never do it again. What's the current stat? Only 1-2% of pedophiles fail to repeat offend. The chance that any child molester will do it again is astronomical and therefore they shouldn't get out of jail (either life imprisonment or the death penalty).
Containing dangerous people isn't medieval. Any calls for the rack or torture are merely an emotional response. I'm sure very few people actually support them as a practical measure.
I find it sad and disturbing how certain topics can be otherwise rational and humane people totally shut off and turn into sheeple, like this topic, when anyone criticizes the soldiers or a war effort, or when you bash somebody's home town/country. People really are just very complex animals, altruism is probably a myth.
Where did I advocate someone driving drunk? Secondly, how do you EVEN justify a creepy old dude touching a kid's penis? There is no justification for an adult to prey on kids! If you do, then you are the lowest form of low! Also drunk driving and killing someone isn't considered cold blooded or premeditated murder. It's man-slaughter. Big difference.
I used that example because man-slaughter isn't cold blooded murder. However, I think the drunk driver who kills people is far worse than the creepy dude. There is no justification to drive drunk.
I don't think it should be ignored that there may be cultural things at work as well, because, just looking at film and television, children are portrayed as noble creatures, and murder is kind of just something that happens, so in the USA the outrage to murder may have been severely lessened while the outrage to children being harmed may have been increased.
I think you're right. The idea that a child's innocence is worth more than their life itself is a Victorian concept that was revived some time around 1985 or so, I think.
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They are cute, but that doesn't mean they matter more. 
