We are all desensitized, the media has supplied us with so many horrific stories that when we hear or read about murder, rape, abuse etc etc, we have the same reaction as brushing our teeth in the morning. I read two news stories today that evoked a strange reaction in me, both involve murder and to my surprise, I felt strongly against the first case and I was almost condoning the second. But murder is murder right? or is it?
Let me explain. In the first case, a 17 year old Spanish boy was hit by a car driven by two British tourists, instead of stopping and getting the boy help, the couple kept driving with the boy stuck under their car. They then proceeded to try and dislodge his body from their car by reversing and going forward a couple of times, when they managed to do this, they tried to cover up their crime but witnesses, of course, nailed them. Now they face a minimum of 13 years in jail. I felt an indescribable rage when I read this story, the punishment should fit the crime in my eyes and 13 years in jail just isnt enough, in fact, they should drag their bodies under a car, an eye for an eye right? Ok so that's a little harsh, the civilised have to deal with the uncivilised in an appropriate manner. Lock them up and throw away the key.
In the second story, a headless and handless man was found in a swamp, a couple of days later a man came forward confessing to the crime. It turns out that it was his girlfriends father who had been sexually abusing her since she was a child telling her it was 'her duty to pleasure him'. That makes me sick to my stomach. The man killed his girlfriends father in a fit of rage after he tried to abuse the girl again. Now I can't help but feel sorry for this man who felt the need to take another human beings life in order to stop a vicious cycle of abuse. They have both been charged with the murder because she was his accomplice. I say set them free....
But that brings me to my question, where do we draw the line? When is it acceptable to kill, if at all? I sometimes think I look at life as black and white and when I read stories like this, it brings me back to the reality that there is so much grey in between. How did we get to a point in our civilisation when murder becomes an everyday occurrence that is sometimes acceptable?
