Subject: Re: hmm
Author:
Posted on: 2009-10-23 13:39:00 UTC

"Nice to see that you don't feel any sympathy for victims."

Not ones that are that stupid, anyway. I've read a story in a paper once about a woman who had been raped and then refused to even talk to her husband or two sons (one of whom was five) because "ZOMG men are evil!" A five year old. Let me repeat that: five. *sighs* Unsurprisingly, I think the man requested a divorce and custody of the three children (and I hope he got it, too). If I ever find myself feeling that, for instance, all women are evil monsters because I was tortured by one (or something. I'm pulling hypotheses out of my rear here), I'd do whatever I could to rid myself of that view as soon as possible or, failing that, something extreme because I'd feel wrong somehow because I know it's not true and I wouldn't want to live feeling like it was.

"Money is not going to places were there doesn't seem to be a need for them"

It doesn't go anywhere else, either.

"(although you probably meant to say that for teenagers the same rules should apply as for adults)."

Sorry, that's what I meant. I should have been clearer.

"If a ten-year-old is considered mature enough to overlook the concequences of a crime he/she commits, he/she is also mature enough to determine which politician best represents their interests in parliament, is mature enough to buy alcohol and cigarettes, and is mature enough to consent to sexual relationships."

I think that crime is a different thing from, say, voting. Crime is obvious that it's wrong. It's wrong to steal. It's wrong to murder. Voting, however, has all sorts of gray areas and, frankly, I wouldn't want a bunch of hyperactive ten year olds swinging the balance of power (though they'd probably vote the same as their parents or for whoever's at the top of the form at that age).

Alcohol and cigarettes, no, because they pose a health risk. I think the age limits should be lower (I can't buy cigarettes for my house-bound, severely disabled mother because I don't feel I should have to pay for photo ID to prove I'm over eighteen), but not down to ten. Maybe sixteen, like they used to be. Of course, the government also needs to get off it's rear and tackle binge drinking and everything before that could happen.

Sex, I won't comment on. I don't know enough about the myriad laws to say anything (though ten year olds generally aren't functioning anyway, so it wouldn't matter). I will say that, based on the fiction I've read and write, I'm fine with fifteen-year-olds having sex (fourteen, pushing it, but okay depending on what's happening (say, a nervous first time)).

"I doubt the law expects teenagers to distinguish right from wrong and the consequences of their actions in the same degree as adults."

For minor offences, I think I agree. But for some of the things that yobs have been doing lately, I think they need to be punished as adults, regardless of age. Then again, I also think that British law needs to buck up it's ideas and actually punish criminals properly.

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