Christianity is the largest western religion, generally seen as the most legitimate, and often tied to conservatism in America. Being the largest it draws the most attention and considering the liberal lean of most universities it draws the most attacks. Islam, Buddhism, and other religions are treated, imo, as other cultures instead of religions and are thus treated differently than Christianity. There are probably countless other factors that contribute to the attacks that christianity draws to itself, though, I know that almost every atheist book I have read attack christianity exclusively, this is probably due to the fact that it has the strongest philosophical foundation due to many western philosophers throughout history being christian.

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"]

Stuff which I had to labor many hours to acquire. Stuff which if a thief steals, then the thief has effectively enslaved me for the amount of time that I had to labor to acquire it. Lets face it, if I had to work 40 hours to buy something, and then someone comes along and steals it from me, then for those 40 hours which I labored to buy the item, I was basically a slave to the thief. I don't take kindly to being enslaved.

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"]It is easy to blame the criminal and he or she obviously initiated this specific situation, however it may be wise to consider what has possibly led the criminal to this point in his life. Perhaps the criminal is trying to provide for his or her family out of desperate circumstances?dkrustyklown

Didn't ask. Don't care. Not my problem.

Is this deserving of death especially if the criminal presents no risk to your or your family's life? Plzhelpmelearn

Well, considering that the thief is effectively trying to enslave me, then the answer is yes.

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"]I think it is more of keeping things in perspective. We are talking about a man's life versus some property. If you just called the cops, the criminal could still be caught. If you shoot him in the back as he runs (obviously in a situation where your life is not threatened) then you have ended a human life over stuff. It is easy to blame the criminal and he or she obviously initiated this specific situation, however it may be wise to consider what has possibly led the criminal to this point in his life. Perhaps the criminal is trying to provide for his or her family out of desperate circumstances? Is this deserving of death especially if the criminal presents no risk to your or your family's life? airshocker

How am I supposed to know he doesn't intend to risk my family's life?

If a criminal breaks into my home when I'm around and he doesn't surrender when I challenge him, I'm going to shoot him. I don't care what his life circumstances are.

[QUOTE="jalexbrown"]Why do you assume that people side with the criminals? They're not asking the criminals to get off without punishment.airshocker

It seems to me that you side with a criminal when you defend their actions and then put the blame on those that they hurt. Not you specifically, mind, but various organizations and lawyers.

I think we worry far too much on what happens to the criminal than what they did to their victims. That seems a little backwards to me.

[QUOTE="Plzhelpmelearn"][QUOTE="GabuEx"]

1. Criminals do not cease being human beings; the decision that those who are guilty of a crime cease to deserve basic human rights is one that would dehumanize the justice system and render its moral authority null and void.

2. Criminals have only been convicted through a trial by jury; there is no ironclad 100% guarantee that they are guilty, and as such, the punishment should not be unbounded and should leave open the ability for one to receive proper restitution if they are later exonerated.

GabuEx

But the problem there is that the burden of proof in criminal cases is about as high as you can reasonably get. "Without any doubt" is impossible; there can always be completely unreasonable doubt no matter. People don't get convicted of murder just on the basis of he-said-she-said.

I guess at the end of the day i would rather 1 thousand criminals go free than 1 innocent man get the death penalty, and the system is definitely broken as it currently stands. It would just be nice in my eyes if it was possible to keep it around for those particularly sick individuals that deserve it.

[QUOTE="chathuranga"]I will never understand why some people care about protecting the "rights" of criminals. GabuEx

1. Criminals do not cease being human beings; the decision that those who are guilty of a crime cease to deserve basic human rights is one that would dehumanize the justice system and render its moral authority null and void.

2. Criminals have only been convicted through a trial by jury; there is no ironclad 100% guarantee that they are guilty, and as such, the punishment should not be unbounded and should leave open the ability for one to receive proper restitution if they are later exonerated.

I happen to be a lesbian trapped in a man's body, and yes i pursue women with reckless disregard for my own self esteem

one of the best hard rock bands imo

Plzhelpmelearn

one of the best hard rock bands imo

Considering ICE has pretty much stated that they will not help arizona enforce its law, i can understand this as a practical method from removing illegals from your state. Ultimately a national reform that secures the border and works the illegals into legal residents is necessary, and honestly I think a lot of these measures by Arizona is to twist the federal governments into doing it ASAP. I can't blame them for being pissed about having thousands and maybe millions of illegals leeching off the American and Arizona system.