Superb Rant

From Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail.

The column starts out as a condemnation of the Brits' idea to allow juvenile delinquents to be judged by a panel of their peers. A panel of children.

Yeah. Things have gotten that stupid.
After encapsulating general and specific failures of the UK's criminal justice system, Phillips gets to the root of the thing.

One reason for this catastrophic-failure to protect the public is the refusal by many probation officers and others involved in the criminal justice world to accept that punishment is an appropriate and effective response to crime.

They believe it is no more than a primitive lust for revenge which serves no useful purpose. And they also tend to see criminals as the victims of society.

But without punishment there can be no justice. The connection between behaving badly and suffering a painful experience as a consequence is a vital part of training children to be socialised and civilised.

Wow. She sounds like a spanker.

And finally:

What we are seeing is simply the adultification of children and the infantilising of adults.

Please do read the whole thing. It resonates unpleasantly. We have to remain vigilant, because stupid ideas have proven to be just as infectious on this side of the Atlantic.

Unrelated note that I'm going to unethically shoehorn some new meaning into: ** A BP clerk refuses service to Brit soldier (Afghanistan Vet) because he was in Uniform.

The incident comes as army chiefs are seeking ways to increase respect for military personnel amongst the public.

General Sir Richard Dannatt last month warned that there was a growing gulf between the public and the Armed Forces.

Emphasis mine. That 'growing gulf' may well be the difference between adults and children. It does seem rather spoiled-childish to spit on the people who keep you safe, doesn't it?

**Sincerely. You won't know how badly I abused the article and the quote until you read that one, too. What can I say? It's a boring day today.

Next up at AOSHQ:
State Dept. achieves diplomatic victory against notorious barbarian horde!

posted by Laura. at 11:39 AM

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