[Rudey]

Originally posted by Marie
This isn't a matter of assumptions; this is a matter of common sense. My point was that there is no way or time to sort through and distinguish the 'hoodlums' from those who are acting like hoodlums for one reason or another. The examples that I listed above are of people who w/o knowing their back-story may appear to be common criminals. If we followed the thinking from your earlier post, then we would be sacrificing the safety, health, and lives of all of those people too b/c it is simply impossible to review everyone's crime on a case by case basis. Certainly you might be able to pin point a rapist, but can you distinguish btwn a paranoid schizophrenic who flips out and strangles a crying baby from a completely sane man who murders a baby to get back at its father/mother? On the surface, these might look nearly the same though I doubt that the same punishment would be applicable. That is the issue that I took w/your solution.

Additionally, I made no assumptions about you thinking that the situation that the victims are in is fair. I responded to your comment that it isn't fair for the people in the Texas towns to have to suffer due to the inflow of criminal victims as well. My point is, no it isn't fair to them, but so what? None of this week has been fair, but we all have to adjust and do the best we can to improve the situation. As I stated, it is nearly impossible to weed each criminal out, so each city that is offering support will have to find ways to cope and maintain order whether it is fair or not.

So you're saying let the schizophrenic strangle the baby and don't shoot him?

-Rudey