The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - (TX) Man shoots boy he said was stealing his chickens

Dennis · April 22, 2001, 06:36 AM

Folks,

I am rather disappointed in many of your efforts on this thread.

A homeowner shot a thief at night. It appears to be legal. It took
y’all some agony to agree on that but it got done. Well and good.

Then the question became four-fold:
- Is it moral to do so?
- Would *I* do it? (and under what circumstances)
- Should *you* do it?
- What kind of person are you if you disagree with me?

In the course of discussing the so-called morality of the incident (or
similar incidents), we’ve dragged the discussion down to:
- homosexuality,
- Church attendance and beliefs,
- the question, “... are texans(sic) better than the rest of us??”
- listing laws (without noting the source), implying they are state
laws, when I believe most of them are local ordinances, and without
knowing the legislative or societal intent of the laws (yes, if the laws
are as stated some of them appear silly to me as well).
- exaggerating one person’s point of view to the ridiculous to defame
the person rather than the opinion, and
- other direct and personal attacks (that stops here and now).
-------

Now everybody stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and mentally
concentrate on few issues.
The incident:
1) The Texas laws which seem to apply to such cases have been
stated. No argument there.
2) A jury will decide whether or not this shooting was lawful in this
instance. No argument there.
3) What factors could apply in the determination of whether the
shooting was lawful in this instance?

The law:
1) Do you agree with the states laws or not and why.
2) What you believe the law should be.

The “morality”:
1) At one extreme, some people do not believe in force (let alone
deadly force) to protect or defend anything or anyone!
2) At the other extreme, other people advocate deadly force above
and beyond what the current laws allow.

There’s more, but y’all know the Forum Policies. “I can’t agree
because...” is fine. Stating that a person is immoral or mentally
deficient because of his beliefs is not done here.

High Road, people. Think twice post once (for each post, obviously).

April 22, 2001, 06:36 AM	#84
Dennis Staff Emeritus Join Date: November 23, 1998 Location: a small forest in Texas Posts: 7,079	Folks, I am rather disappointed in many of your efforts on this thread. A homeowner shot a thief at night. It appears to be legal. It took y’all some agony to agree on that but it got done. Well and good. Then the question became four-fold: - Is it moral to do so? - Would I do it? (and under what circumstances) - Should you do it? - What kind of person are you if you disagree with me? In the course of discussing the so-called morality of the incident (or similar incidents), we’ve dragged the discussion down to: - homosexuality, - Church attendance and beliefs, - the question, “... are texans(sic) better than the rest of us??” - listing laws (without noting the source), implying they are state laws, when I believe most of them are local ordinances, and without knowing the legislative or societal intent of the laws (yes, if the laws are as stated some of them appear silly to me as well). - exaggerating one person’s point of view to the ridiculous to defame the person rather than the opinion, and - other direct and personal attacks (that stops here and now). ------- Now everybody stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and mentally concentrate on few issues. The incident: 1) The Texas laws which seem to apply to such cases have been stated. No argument there. 2) A jury will decide whether or not this shooting was lawful in this instance. No argument there. 3) What factors could apply in the determination of whether the shooting was lawful in this instance? The law: 1) Do you agree with the states laws or not and why. 2) What you believe the law should be. The “morality”: 1) At one extreme, some people do not believe in force (let alone deadly force) to protect or defend anything or anyone! 2) At the other extreme, other people advocate deadly force above and beyond what the current laws allow. There’s more, but y’all know the Forum Policies. “I can’t agree because...” is fine. Stating that a person is immoral or mentally deficient because of his beliefs is not done here. High Road, people. Think twice post once (for each post, obviously).