#Fine points of abuse
4 messages in this thread
Thol,
Ok, a more exact definition of terms then. Words, transfering ideas through
semantic interpretation, can inspire actions that lead to death.
The 'indirect' is shorthand for the entire mechanical process of transfering
some idea through the medium of either speech or writing.
Think upon a mute world, and you'll have to agree that the exchange of ideas
or information through _any_ medium can be both a wondrous and a dangerous
thing.
Bullets by themselves are pretty tame things, and incapable of causing much
damage (unless they are ingested or dropped upon the target in great
quantities, that is) Combined with the proper firearm, they become deadly.
Since words are the medium of exchange of ideas, and one cannot regulate ideas
themselves, the only recourse is to attempt to control the medium through which
they are exchanged. Indirectly, as I stated before. 8)
Words in and of themselves are pretty harmless, but the idea they pervay may
indeed be deadly. If I am addressing an angry mob, point to you and say,
"There's the bugger! Get him!" and they tear you to bits, the words themselves
did not kill, but I am still guilty of inspiring murder. I managed to convey
the idea to the mob through words and a gesture, and may be held responsible
for your demise.
Pressing a trigger never killed anyone. It is the bullet that does it. But
the action is directly related to the outcome.
Doug
As in 'King Kong',
"The airplanes didn't kill him;
'twas Beauty that killed the Beast."
-tc
Terry,
I though that sounded familiar. 8)
Doug
It is my position that when you stand before an angry mob, point to me, and say
"That is the one who has caused your H{Dlems," you are exercising your rights
to free speech. If yo are committing a crime, and maybe you are and maybe you
aren't, you are not committing the crime of "wrongful speech." No-one in the
mob is your robot. They are all free individuals capable of making their own
moral decisions, and, under Nuremburg, required so to do. If I am harmed, those
who harm me cannot excuse themselves on the grounds that "Doug told me to do
it," or "I was afraid if I didn't do it, Doug would hurt me."
But you may call me every low and evil name you can imagine and hold me
responsible for every kind of misfortune, and be perfectly within your rights.
Putting a word in the ear of a human being is nothing at all like pulling a
trigger on a gun. People are not machines. Guns don't get hanged by
tribunals.