Put this another way - if someone is being harmed by the actions of another - and I mean really harmed in every way - is it moral for someone else to harm the one committing the harm on the first person?
What if the one being harmed in the first place is a child? Does that make a difference? What if the perpetrator of this harm is a pedophile who preys on children - those who are too weak to fight back or who are not mentally tough enough to realize they are the victims, not the one abusing them for his own sexual gratification?
Most people presented with the query above would answer that, yes, they believe it is permissible to do something to help the child being so harmed by the pedophile. But would these same people be willing to actually get involved and do something to stop the abuse of that child?
In Dead Eyes, the suspense/thriller from Morne Scott, that is the scenario brought into question when Michael Stillman, respected psychologist and husband, is brought on board a task force to identify and apprehend pedophiles. He joins because he feels it is a cause worth undertaking - until he has to review too many hours of computer files seized as evidence in a case. Those files horrify, numb, and then enrage Stillman until he can no longer sit back and merely review pornographic files. He feels he has to take a more proactive stance - and the death of the pedophile perpetrators seems to be the only answer.
Author Morne Scott writes a compelling story involving everything that is wrong with our society. In his novel, the only way to know for certain if any particular pornographic clip of pedophilia or incest is real is to examine the eyes of the alleged victim. As a psychologist, the protagonist, Michael Stillman, has learned to identify the "dead eyes" of those who have seen too much, been abused too long, endured the atrocities of their unfortunate lives beyond reasonable endurance. For Michael Stillman, ridding this society of its worst criminals by ending their lives is the only reasonable answer.
This same question is brought up in other eBooks promoted and published by Crescent Suns Publishing. Most notably toward the beginning of Forever Undead and especially in the last story contained within Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror (Always Free at Smashwords.com), the issue of eradicating pedophiles, the worst scum and predators upon this mudball of a planet, is answered in only one way - death. Preferably as brutal as possible so the pedophiles themselves understand what it is like to suffer at the hands of someone more adept at abuse than they, but in any manner possible, pedophiles must be stopped.
This blog post and review is not intended as a political piece on the deprivations of society, but as a thought-provoking question that can be asked in only one way:
What would you do?
Morne Scott's Dead Eyes is worth the asking price and is a fast-paced read that will keep your hungry eyes moving across the lines of the story until you reach the end. It's worth the time invested.
Mark Fortune is a corrupt cop who is only concerned with satisfying his own scandalous desires. He takes cash to convict a murder suspect, while taking other favors from the suspect's wife to help set him free. Playing one side against the other can't possibly work. Or can it?
Read "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula LeGuin for a much tougher version of this problem.
ReplyDeleteFrancis: I have read that. Thanks for reminding me about it. Ursula LeGuin is a great writer.
ReplyDeleteJacob Drake