[sorcerer-mar]

I said we should want a world free of violence, and not purposely exposing people to violence as a matter of daily life (such as public hangings) is an important step towards that. Both in the direct sense that public violence is obviously violence, and indirectly in that there's good evidence that exposure to violence increases proclivity to violence.

Two simple questions:

1. Do we want a world without violence?

2. If yes, is public hanging a step towards that world, or away from it?

[CalRobert]

There will never be a world without violence. The minute such a world existed, bad people would realize they could conquer it.. through violence. And as someone who was raised by parents who were kind and goodhearted and thought flower power and peaceful protest was how things changed I discovered the real world is, in fact, a good deal more cruel than the bubble they raised me in.

[camgunz]

1. I don't think this is possible. I think it's better to pursue a world where violence is unnecessary and aberrant.

2. I'm refusing to indulge your strawman. Let's use something like "is teaching your kid how to deal with bullies a step towards that world or away from it"

[sorcerer-mar]

> I don't think this is possible. I think it's better to pursue a world where violence is unnecessary and aberrant.

I didn't say it was possible. I said it's worth striving for, and then you stated the same thing with different words. We agree.

Ah so you think societies that did public hangings tended to have a strong and reasonable sense of justice.

You are wrong.

Justice in the sense of "punishing people who are legitimately antisocial" tends to yield less indulgent punishments because they recognize that true justice must be dealt cold and with solemnity.

Or do you think it's only a coincidence that the most abhorrent justice systems on the planet do public executions and "civilized" justice systems do not?

[camgunz]

I think we're talking past each other so I'm bowing out.

[sorcerer-mar]

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/deterren...

Sounds good