Dear xaas:

I have a good understanding of this post (relief). I remember that thread you are referring to: better be a drunk driver killing a victim while driving drunk or be the victim. I wrote that if the victim of the drunk driver was a child abuser, then I would prefer to be the driver than be the victim (and that intending, in this example, that I myself am not a child abuser).

True, that would be my preference. You are welcome of course, to have your own preference.

Regarding your argument that a child abuser does not deserve to die: I did not suggest in that thread that any particular person deserves to die. This would be a topic for another discussion. What I stated was that in the situation I was presented with (and took upon myself as a challenge)- having to choose between being the drunk driver or the victim, in that specific situation, I would choose to be the driver if the victim was a child abuser.

You wrote that a person should be punished with the death penalty only for a planned killing so to raise the value of life. I think that the value of life is not offended only by the act of killing, but by the act of abusing a child. When a parent severely abuses a child, the life of that child is severely compromised and often leading to early death as a result of inattention/ accidents, drugs, crime, etc. The child will have to go through a long, long time of excruciating healing to have some healthy living, eventually.

The value of life is violated by the acts of severe child abuse.

Regarding a child abuser redeeming himself/ herself by saying he/she is sorry… The act of redemption has to involve more that “I am sorry” because child abuse is not a mistake. It is a violation of life, it is intentional. An angry parent, by the very nature of anger, intends to hurt. Anger motivates aggression.

anita