July 26, 2005

• So, some lists I belong to have members who believe that it is appropriate that the British police shot and killed a guy they thought might be a terrorist (he wasn’t). He was unarmed, but he was wearing a heavy coat and he ran.

  Imagine that this becomes an “OK” response.

  While imagining that, consider the fact that if you fit a questionable profile you can be detained for extended periods of time (months or years has become a disturbingly frequent report), or possibly indefinitely (As far as I know, Jose Padilla has yet to be charged or released), and things become more concerning.

  With both of those in mind, pretend that you belong to a “questionable profile”. The police want to stop you. If you run, you die. Stop, and you’ll be detained for some indefinitely amount of time and potentially be treated rather poorly.

  Don’t like either of those options? What other choices do you have?

  Shoot back. You’ll probably die anyway, but given the choice, I think I’d rather go out that way than be shot in the back or rot in a cell.

  Fortunately, I’m white and was born American so I’m pretty unlikely to be stuck with making that choice. If I was darker or spoke with an accent, and we get another dark skinned Brazilian or two shot, I might have to consider it more seriously.

  Now what about people who might actually be in violation of some law? No, I don’t think they should use lethal force: if you break a law, you don’t have the right to kill someone to avoid being captured. However, in many cases, you also don’t deserve being killed.

  For instance, while I believe that we should allow people fairly easy entry into the country, I think that those who still enter illegally should be deported. However, I don’t think they should be executed if they try and run away from the officer who tries to detain them. Non-violent or “victimless” crimes should not carry the death sentence.

  If they do start carrying the death sentence, why would people not turn to violent means to avoid being killed?

  • 6:28 pm
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