I'm speechless...

[capncnut]

Click (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/8429896.stm) for article.

Seriously, I don't have anything to add. I'm utterly speechless.

[Mike70]

what the fark is wrong with the "legal" system in the UK? dude runs over a 12 year old, flees the scene and gets 4 months in jail???:eek::stunned: is there no such thing as vehicular homicide over there?

"human rights" is one of the most overused phrases in the english language. what about the rights of the girl this bozo ran down?

wouldn't it be a real shame if this dude encountered some thugs in a dark alley?:evil:

[deadpunk]

Human Rights?!?! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!! :mad:

[Tricky]

Our former prime minister's wife is behind all these "human rights" cases where the criminal gets treated better than the victims, the pair of them have a lot to answer for for the state Britain is in today (and the rest of the world, Iraq etc) :mad:

[SRP76]

A human has the "right" to attempt to not get eaten by a sabretooth tiger or something. That's the only right you actually have.

The other so-called "rights" are just made up by people, and represent what they want people to have, and are only what you are allowed to have by groups stronger than yours.

Fuck human rights and the people who hide behind the phrase. Find yourself bobbing in the ocean alone, with sharks taking chunks out of you, and you'll finally learn how many "rights" you actually have in this world.

[deadpunk]

A human has the "right" to attempt to not get eaten by a sabretooth tiger or something. That's the only right you actually have.

The other so-called "rights" are just made up by people, and represent what they want people to have, and are only what you are allowed to have by groups stronger than yours.

Fuck human rights and the people who hide behind the phrase. Find yourself bobbing in the ocean alone, with sharks taking chunks out of you, and you'll finally learn how many "rights" you actually have in this world.

Disagree slightly.

A human being has the 'right' to be treated as a human being. At least, until such time as they prove to the rest of us that they don't fit that mold. :evil:

[Chic Freak]

what about the rights of the girl this bozo ran down?

Exactly... his legal right to be here has violated her right to live, so he has forfeited his right to stay here imo, in the same way as one forfeits one's right to liberty when one commits a crime (i.e. goes to jail).

[krakenslayer]

Damn, why am I always cursed with being able to empathise with both sides of the argument? This guy deserves to be punished, I agree, and I think he should have received a much harsher sentence.

However, nothing makes me cringe more than when people start the whole "human rights... what a load of cobblers" line of thought (don't post an indignant response just yet, read all the way to the end first ;)). Human rights laws are what make democracies worth living in, they are the foundations of both the written Constitution of the United States and the unwritten constitution of the United Kingdom.

The drawback to having human rights laws is that sometimes they occasionally appear to benefit those whom we would not wish to help, or whom we do not deem worthy of help. And I understand the resentment this causes, I feel is myself with cases like this. The system errs on the side of generosity with regards human rights. However, the alternative, in my opinion, is even worse if you are looking at the big picture - that of a state that strips away all human rights where there is suspicion of guilt. Personally, I'd rather (very reluctantly) see some criminals get soft-touch treatment than see one innocent man suffer at the hands of the state by having his rights to family life or whatever denied him. It all boils down to this: I'd rather take my chances with violent criminals than with an all-powerful state that can take away my rights on a whim.

It's not an ideal situation and I don't altogether like it, but I think that's the price we have to pay.

What people don't see, too, and what tabloid newspapers don't report on, is all the good that human rights laws bring, which far outweighs the unfortunate side effects of having them.


HOWEVER: what I don't understand about this case is why didn't he get a longer prison sentence. Surely there are no human rights issues involved in sending this fucking idiot to jail for an appropriate length of time - since he didactually kill someone.

[darth los]

A human has the "right" to attempt to not get eaten by a sabretooth tiger or something. That's the only right you actually have.

The other so-called "rights" are just made up by people, and represent what they want people to have, and are only what you are allowed to have by groups stronger than yours.

Fuck human rights and the people who hide behind the phrase. Find yourself bobbing in the ocean alone, with sharks taking chunks out of you, and you'll finally learn how many "rights" you actually have in this world.


ANARCHY IN THE U.K. !!!!!!!!!


Brilliant analysis. Anarchy is the natural state of things. By that token we have the "right" to do whatever the fuck we want.

Now, gov'ts on the otherhand specialize in taking things that you naturally have the right to do away and inform you what is "acceptable behavior".


We're free alright. Free to do what they tell us. And that's the sad truth. :(

:cool:

[krakenslayer]

A human has the "right" to attempt to not get eaten by a sabretooth tiger or something. That's the only right you actually have.

The other so-called "rights" are just made up by people, and represent what they want people to have, and are only what you are allowed to have by groups stronger than yours.

Fuck human rights and the people who hide behind the phrase. Find yourself bobbing in the ocean alone, with sharks taking chunks out of you, and you'll finally learn how many "rights" you actually have in this world.



ANARCHY IN THE U.K. !!!!!!!!!


Brilliant analysis. Anarchy is the natural state of things. By that token we have the "right" to do whatever the fuck we want.

Now, gov'ts on the otherhand specialize in taking things that you naturally have the right to do away and inform you what is "acceptable behavior".


Any "right" is just a man-made construct, like all rules and laws and customs, that is made up for humans, by humans. Of course they don't hold any sway over the external forces of nature, that's absurd - but they are there to create guidelines for human behaviour within a society, and to shape the society itself... and that in itself is natural.

Bonding together into groups, tribes, towns, nations, civilisations - that's one of the over-arching themes of humanity down the millennia - we have evolved to do this because it is beneficial to us, just like lions have evolved to bond together into small groups for hunting and security purposes, and ants form colonies and hives around their queen. If it wasn't beneficial to us, mankind wouldn't have been doing it for hundreds of thousands (even millions) of years. Sure, part of me would like to just go back to basics and live alone on a hillside hunting wild boar and not worrying about rights and laws and jobs and phone bills - but I can't deny that society and "rights" are clearly some of the basic elements of human nature. Sure, other elements override them sometimes, but they are there and they are important in the grand scheme of things.

That might change one day, though - the march of adaptation soldiers on.