| Dodece said: This thread boiled down into self congratulatory masturbation in short order. We are talking about two teenagers. Guess what you were that age too, and guess what you did some pretty despicable stuff yourself. Humans of this age are fascinated by death. Specifically the ability to kill other living things. Part of growing up is testing the world around you. I wonder if you guys appreciate the fact that one in six members of this forum has done exactly what these children have done. Oh they will not fess up to doing this, because it is as taboo as eating human flesh. You can seriously murder a human being, rape a child, set fire to houses, and sell drugs to children. Yet for most concerned none of those are as bad as killing a family pet. We base judgments on the helplessness of a victim. Most pet killers grow up to lead normal lives. They are not psychopaths or axe murderers. They just did some sick stupid shit while they were growing up. What is stupid in this instance is the punishment. The judge obviously has no concept of human nature. Which is a joke considering the job. Depriving the children games will not cure them of human nature. Nor will depriving them of pets deplete their list of potential targets. All these actions will cause is the public to ostracize these young people. That is exactly the wrong thing to do, because when you cast someone out that causes feelings of isolation, and that in turn causes feelings of anger. Were the children not troubled before they sure as hell will be now. The punishment should have nothing to do with games. I only blame gaming for not having enough good games this year to keep these children engaged. What these children needed was a referral for counseling. Why exacerbate a situation, and more to the point why look for scapegoats like gaming. I kind of have to admit it is kind of sickening to see others tearing down on those they do not know for having the same failings they themselves have. Are all of you prospects for sainthood? Chances are one person in this thread has raped another human being. Three of you drove fully and recklessly intoxicated. Four of you killed or maimed a family pet. Eight of you have done heavy narcotics. Sixteen of you have shoplifted. So before you condemn these teenagers take a good long look in the mirror and ask do you have a right to cast stones. These teenagers probably do not know better, but most of you are adults, and should know damn well better. Your just lambasting these kids to get your rocks off and feel better about yourselves. When the discussion should be the fact that this judge instead of dealing with helping these young people. Has obviously decided that gaming is the culprit |
I'll admit some things here. I've driven fully and recklessly drunk (dumbest decision of my life). I've done narcotics (opium). I've shoplifted (Pokemon cards lol). I'll still say these kids are sick. You know why? None of the crimes I've ever committed were done with the sole purpose of being entertained by the suffering of another living creature. From a psychological standpoint they're nowhere close. That's not even considering how ludicrous it is to say someone can't judge torture because they've probably also committed a crime.
I can't speak for you, but I can honestly say when I was a teenager I never did anything as depraved as microwaving an animal. It's true that teenagers are fascinated with death to a degree, but the difference here is the lengths these kids went to in order to sate that fascination and their complete disregard for the pain of an animal. The problem is their lack of empathy and regret and that they had the motivation to actually go through with it. I hope you can recognize that.
Oh, and where did you get this "fact" that one in six members of this forum have microwaved a cat? Was there a front page poll I missed? Or is it a statistic that 17% of the population tortures their pets to death?
