Sunday 2 October 2011

oh well

Was going to do a very clever diatribe about the death penalty and the media...

But the chocolate oat bars got done first, and chocolate trumps politics.

yummmmmm

(I guess now we all know why my blog isn't famous already.)

2 comments:

Wil said...

I can't count the number of times I had a great idea for a clever or controversial blog entry but by the time I sat down at the computer it just didn't work anymore...

But since you mentioned it:

With many issues, I'd say the media adds to the problem by oversimplifying, or by ignoring the validity of one side's views. With the death penalty, I think they overcomplicate the issue.

It really comes down to one question: Is the death penalty an effective deterrent?

(And a follow up question: If not, why?)

Each person answers the question differently, or approaches it differently, and the media focuses on these varying answers and varying approaches, instead of the question itself and how better to answer it.

MamaOlive said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I was going with the recent execution of a convicted murderer in Georgia (I think) that brought great public outcry, because the media kept playing up his supposed innocence. Especially, I got irritated at non-Americans getting bothered about it, because I doubt they understand our justice system, and they are implying that based on what they read in the paper they have a better understanding than the jurists who sat through hours of testimony (not to mention the higher courts and the White House, who denied appeals).

And then against that I was going to say something about a Christian pastor who was scheduled to be executed in Iran because they have a law against conversion, and apparently this guy has some ancestors who were Muslim and therefore is considered a convert from Islam. And the papers (and, I assume, the TV news) hasn't even mentioned it. You sure don't see Amnesty International intervening on his behalf, or, you know, important people like George Clooney.

But anyway...