1/30/2006: Caning

[Aliantha]

maybe he was thinking, "This woman has been tempting me for a long time now. She must want me even though it's against the rules, and after all, she did say no one would find out"

[Target]

This is the sort of bullshit that Makes President Bush a hero of mine. All theocrats should be whacked.

Yep I'm definintely advocating a purge of Muslim leaders worldwide.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Target

This is the sort of bullshit that Makes President Bush a hero of mine. All theocrats should be whacked.

You'll have to line up behind the theocrats in his fan club.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Target

This is the sort of bullshit that Makes President Bush a hero of mine. All theocrats should be whacked.

My head nearly exploded on reading this.

Public punishment.
Corporal punishment.
Laws based on religious texts.

We're so fortunate to have a president in power who sides with groups willing to fight these awful ideals.

[chrisinhouston]

Interesting that she is wearing white, which we in the west associate with purity and virginity like in wedding dresses or little kids doing the first communion thing at church. Perhaps it is just white so that after the beating the crowd can see the blood soak through.

I quit being associated with any religion when I was about 17 or so. I got tired of all the BS rules. I got tired of all the stupid long church services, no meat on Friday, holy days of obligation, the stations of the cross, having to go to church in the morning on December 25th instead of opening my christmas presents instead like most of my friends. I got tired of atonement theology, being told that my sins were to blame for jesus getting killed like he did and all his suffering. I think what did it for me was that I had asthma as a kid and used to get soar throats alot. One Sunday, my parents insisted I go with them to mass because it was the feast of st. Blaise, the patron saint of throats. My mom insisted that if I would just go to church and have the priest splash holy water on my neck I would be cured of asthma and soar throats. And then there was the time that I misplaced my watch and my grandmother insisted that I should sit right down and pray to st. Anthony.

I think it was Karl Marx who said that religion was the opium of the masses.

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by Target

This is the sort of bullshit that Makes President Bush a hero of mine. All theocrats should be whacked.

Yep I'm definintely advocating a purge of Muslim leaders worldwide.

I officially volunteer to be the one that gets to whack Bush the Theocrat, then. Or am I the only one who's noticed that this is the way our government seems to be heading? Oh, wait...its alright for us to be a Theocracy since we believe in the One True God. Sorry.

Oh, and for the NSA guys who are reading this...I mean "whack" as in "to hit with a cane", as in the picture which leads off this thread. I do not mean "whack" as in to do away with in any way, shape or form.

[magilla]

Originally Posted by Elspode

I officially volunteer to be the one that gets to whack Bush the Theocrat, then. Or am I the only one who's noticed that this is the way our government seems to be heading? Oh, wait...its alright for us to be a Theocracy since we believe in the One True God. Sorry.

Oh, and for the NSA guys who are reading this...I mean "whack" as in "to hit with a cane", as in the picture which leads off this thread. I do not mean "whack" as in to do away with in any way, shape or form.

Nope, Elspode, I am with you on this one. Bush wears the mantle of religion but seems to be one of the least "Christian" presidents I've seen. I also fear the way we seem to be heading down the theocracy trail. It boggles the mind to hear so many people howling about "taking the Christ out of Christmas" or some such nonsense, as though Christians are a persecuted minority here. Many of them seem to think that if they cannot have their religion out in public, on public property, and everyone exposed to it 24/7, that somehow infringes on their rights.

I would also point out that Bush has not had a lot to say about Islam in general. Notice how careful he is when he talks about Islamic terrorism: it is always the Fundamentalists who "twist Islam" etc. (although they are the ones blowing things up). He sure would not want to offend his cronies in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, or the Emirates!

Chris

[chrisinhouston]

Found this at the BBC archive from June 2005:

Aceh gamblers caned in public:

Fifteen people were caned for gambling offences outside a mosque in the town of Bireuen on Friday.

Aceh implemented partial Sharia law in 2001, as part of an autonomy deal offered by the Jakarta government. The province has a higher proportion of Muslims than other areas of Indonesia, and many Acehnese practice a stricter version of Islam.

The 15 men were flogged with a rattan cane on a specially-constructed stage in front of the Grand Mosque following midday prayers on Friday. Another 11 people are due to be caned at a later date.

According to reports from the scene, the event was more of a festival than a punishment exercise. According to a BBC reporter in Bireuen, Maskur Abdullah, crowds of people, including children, watched the proceedings - cheering and booing as the culprits were brought onto the stage to receive their punishments.

One of the convicted men even faced the crowd afterwards and showed told them he had felt no pain, our reporter says.

On Thursday Bireuen's district chief Mustafa Geulanggang explained why the authorities had decided to implement caning as a punishment.

"It's not about pain," he told the BBC. "The aim is to shame people and deter them from doing the same criminal acts in the future."


Kind of reminds me of old skectes and paintings of beheadings in England and France or perahps a public flogging there; all the peasants gathered around in a party like atmosphere. The sad thing is that statistically speaking, punishments like this or even the death penalty have little effect in crimes of passion or in the heat of the moment.

[Aliantha]

maybe neither of them were thinking? Maybe they're in love and he's already been punished? Maybe he's yet to be punished? Maybe she was trying to avoid an even worse situation elsewhere?

I don't think there are any black and whites in these sorts of cases. It's almost impossible for those of us from western societies to understand how some of these ancient societies really work or why the citizens of these countries allow these things to happen.

BTW, the emancipation of women in western societies is still a very new concept in the grand scheme of things.

[mlandman]

In Christian history, women have had their heads chopped off for far less crimes than being in a house with another man.

All sorts of stuff was done by all sorts of religions, a long long time ago. TODAY, most seem to be enlightened. Some refuse.

[Aliantha]

Two generations ago it was a common cry by conservative and liberal parents alike that if you, 'spare the rod you'll spoil the child'.

If this was a quote from the bible (may not be but I think it is), then what makes one religious book more right when both are advocating corporal punishment? The only difference is that in this case, it's a grown woman who surely would have been consious of the consequences where-as with children, sometimes their understanding of consequence is questionable.

Please explain to me why Muslim leaders should be purged world wide? Surely you meant fundamentalists or extremists right?

[Aliantha]

Of course I don't condone a public beating. The point I'm actually trying to make is that from our perspective, what's right and wrong is different. Just as from a Muslim perspective, a lot of what many Christians do or believe is wrong.

What gives us the right to judge?

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

snip

What gives us the right to judge?

I'm thinkin' it must be an old habit. I have vague recollections of admonitions against it in the old testament. Maybe it was the new testament. Who can say?

Judging makes us feel good and right about ourselves. It helps us to bond as a group by uniting against "them".

The alternative, seeing something form someone else's point of view, is sometimes harrowing for people.

But, yeah, who does give us the right to judge? Depending on who you ask, it is usually their "god".

[busterb]

It looks staged to me. I lived and worked in Sumatra back in 76. Also married a lady there. Never saw a caning, but heard tales about, No one lives after 100 licks because they split the cane and it takes a bite out each lick. Also don't get sent to jail if you have no friends, kin because food is not included. My wife had a white get-up like the one above, only worn for special prayer things. So maybe the lady is praying he dosen't beat the crap out of her? Whatda I know?

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by busterb

My wife had a white get-up like the one above, only worn for special prayer things.

I wondered about that pure-white outfit, too. I'll bet each girl gets one on her tenth birthday from mom, "Honey, this is your very special white outfit. You'll wear it for your wedding, special prayers, and if you are ever caned in public."