I was recently observing an online discussion on the subject of "illegal immigrants". I was disturbed and disgusted seeing all the mindless hatred expressed. Then one scholar dropped the bomb "the word 'illegal' says it all - they are criminals".
At that point I put in my two cents. I said that "illegal" doesn't mean "wrong", nor does "legal" mean "right". After all, slavery was once "legal", but it still wasn't right; helping the runaway slaves was "illegal", but wasn't "wrong. The other guy responded that my analogy was stupid, and I should think before I wrote. I told him I wasn't making an analogy; merely pointing out that legality is a poor way to judge right and wrong.
I notice this error in thinking a lot. Have "we" become so brainwashed about, or by, the state that we can no longer think for ourselves? I know I have written about this before. It still astounds me that people would really judge right and wrong based upon what a group of criminals decided. Criminals who are only concerned with keeping the power and privilege they possess and gaining as much new power and privilege as they can get away with.
I won't play that game.
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Correct. We need to get away from seeing wrong and right according to state categories. Otherwise, literally whatever the law says must be "good" (slavery, holocaust, etc).
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "Then one scholar dropped the bomb "the word 'illegal' says it all - they are criminals"."
ReplyDeleteSorry, but you misspelled the word "scholar". When people make comments of that nature, the word is properly spelled "skoller", to more correctly denote the amount of thought and study it took to actually reach such a brilliant conclusion.
Look at what cops do on a daily basis: beat up women, put children under the threat of death, kill innocent people, and they get nothing at all, or a suspension.
ReplyDeleteIf that's not an example of something legal and immoral, I don't know what is.