01-21-2009, 11:44 PM
Quote: I was thinking today that I should have been a defense attorney, because I believe everyone should be treated as innocent until guilt is established. I guess that is not a popular view here. Here's your torch and pitchfork.
Wow my own torch and pitchfork, thanks! What gift can I give in return. Ah! Here's your violin. It's not the world's smallest, but it's close.
Yeah, innocent until proven guilty is an unpopular view here. The more popular view is of course, if someone does not cotton to your own views, well they must support the complete and extreme polar opposite. That must be it. That's why some folks in this thread wrote they want to see more facts first, because they're just itchin for some lynchin'.
Ok Seriously. Yes people should be treated as innocent until found guilty, but keep your common sense too. Since when does the allegation of being a neo-nazi even remotely in the same ballpark as a pro life\pro choice bumper sticker?
Shadow basically already summed up a salient point you seem to either ignore or don't get. Parents do have rights (more importantly responsibilities) but so do the kids. Birthing children does not give one complete and total ownership over them. In the past and in some places that's still the sad and brutal rule of the day. Unless that's what you meant by defending freedom and fighting tyranny.
I'll try it from another perspective. Would you have reacted the same way if the kids are not blood relation, but were up for adoption by the same set of people?
At the very least, I'm going to guess that you will at least agree that there should be a very thorough check and investigations in any prospective parents. This is a kid we're talking about after all, not a dog. Hell, my relatives went through a pretty thorough interview when they adopted a cat from the shelter! I would hope the standard would be at least that high if not higher for a human.
We're not talking about the parent's 'minority' views, we're really talking about the potential extreme-ness (and not in a good Mountain Dew X-treme) and the red flags of the allegations in that article.
But hey you're right, maybe all the parents want to do is wipe the stain of the 'Hitler' name. Maybe all they want to do is raise him with the best possible resources and education, so that one day he can cure cancer, AIDS, bring productive peace in the Middle East, and invent faster than light space travel that unites humanity. So when his name is uttered, people can say, "No it's OK, he's the -GOOD- Hitler!'.
To even think of anything else, would presume guilt until proven innocent. And lynching, can't forget the lynching.