i’m sure everyone can be normal about this post yes?
transcript:
a tumblr post:
autistichalsin posts:
Some of you are literally watching the right wing continuously try to expand the definition of “pedophilia” to include “existing around a child while queer,” and then agreeing with them when they say pedophiles deserve to be summarily executed.
Not only does this place innocent people in danger of political executions, it also puts children in danger, as most children who are sexually abused have this done by someone close to them, and feelings that they would be responsible for the death of their abuser if they reported leads to lower rates of reporting. It also leads to higher rates of abusers murdering their victims when they’re found out because the punishment will be the same anyway.
Part of being on the left is realizing that it’s better to let 100 guilty men go free than to wrongly convict one. Another part of being on the left is realizing that one’s life is never something others have the right to take away- even the most evil people alive. Yes, that includes mass murderers and rapists and pedophiles. Once you make one group acceptable to kill, you give others a vested interest in defining groups they have prejudice against into that group.
You have to start dealing with the fact that no crime makes one’s life forfeit. Not even the worst most depraved and sadistic acts. The worst people alive have rights, and if you can’t accept that they deserve them, at least try to accept that it is to your benefit that they retain rights no matter what they’re accused of. And if you can’t do even that, well… you just might be the kind of person who would cut off your nose to spite your face.
If you want to protect victims, if you want to protect minority groups, you have to realize that sex crimes, or any crimes at all, do not deserve the death penalty. Period.
brettdoesdiscourse replies:
When a certain kind of person “deserves” to die, bigots will make sure marginalized groups all are that kind of person.
little-gay-dowitcher replies:
My former neighbors were the “kill all pedos” type. They were also incredibly transphobic. And I was visibly queer. So guess who got stalked, harassed and threatened all throughout the brief period of time they babysat for their friend?
Stop enabling fascists. They’ve already proven they’re willing to attack minorities for no reason. Don’t give them a chance to excuse it.
The broad argument fails, for the same reason as ‘banning Nazis makes you as bad as the Nazis.’
Bad faith only works because it resembles good faith. It’s an irrational abuse of a decent argument. That abuse does not disprove the argument. If we avoid things just because some asshole can abuse them, we are paralyzed, because there is absolutely nothing that assholes cannot abuse.
Maximizing everyone’s freedom and dignity means having some restrictions.
Maximizing who survives means some violent bastards get got.
I don’t think the argument does fail. OP is not arguing against killing in the heat of the moment in self-defence or whatever. OP is arguing specifically about executions after the fact. The only way “maximizing who survives” would be relevant is if you believe capital punishment is a deterrent, and that is arguable.
Vigilante violence is the initial example. The death penalty, as a state function, only comes up incidentally.
The broad argument is what’s echoed in the replies: ‘we can’t do [blank] for good reasons, because what if they do it for bad reasons.’ As if doing anything to fascists, which fascists want done to all non-fascists, is double-reverse-secretly “enabling fascists.” But even those replies point out - they’re already fucking doing it. “They’re willing to attack minorities for no reason.”
Fascists will always MAKE an excuse. Usually, whichever one seems popular, especially the ones about stopping them in particular. They’ll pick two opposite excuses in the same sentence. Their shameless lying doesn’t disprove the rhetoric they stole. This is as true when it’s accusations of making shit up, as when it’s suggestions of bringing a brick to a rally.
Obviously. But whether or not leftists support killing people who have done the thing the fascists accuse the minorities of doing/being is whether or not the fascists will be able to kill those minoritites with leftists cheering them on.
Nnnnnope. Being against something real doesn’t suddenly transfer to whatever some asshole claims is the same thing. You can in fact be mad about child molesters, and not accidentally find yourself mad about trans people.
As a clear example of failed redirection: fascists screaming that leftists are “the real fascists.” Unsurprisingly, this does not convince many leftists. They’re still ardently against actual fascists… even the morons screaming “let’s kill those fascists!” and pointing somewhere the fuck else.