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Bees · 03-23-2008, 08:47 AM

In this thread I will describe the one area of my attitude towards life, my core beliefs if you will, that I suspect could be most affected by "cultural bias".

Once I am done, perhaps we can spark a discussion in which other people honestly attempt to see where their "Blind Spots" may lay.

Please avoid, if at all possible, commenting on other people's "blind spots".
Please write about your own "Blind Spot" - this open introspection is more interesting and takes more courage.

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My blind spot affects my views of capital punishment.

A majority of people in the U.S. support the death penalty. The percentage has been as high as 75% a decade ago. Support dropped down to 66% by 2001 and I believe the percentage is still waning but still high.

I am left of center on most social and political issues and that is probably due to my early formative years. Both my parents were involved in Democratic Party politics in the Mexican-American community of my home town in California. While I abhor violence and the taking of human life my personal blind spot allows me to support the death penalty for one class of criminal. I generally do not support the death penalty in all other cases. I don't believe in deterrance. I really don't believe that fear of the death penalty effectively deters people from committing capital crimes. Actually it does deter just one class of people; those that are executed.

That leads me to describe the one situation that allows me to justify the death penalty:

I'm thinking mainly here of murderous rapists and pedophiles, the repeat offender type, and their crimes against truely innocent victims. These are criminals, repeat offenders, that committ acts so heinous that they should be locked up in prison for life but it seems they rarely are. In the U.S. we seem to lack the will to incarcerate these monsters for the rest of their lives. Every month or so there is news of the release of one of these monsters even though there is evidence that they are habitual repeat offenders and many do repeat after release. So if we can't lock them up for life then I believe we should execute them.

I believe that I have a cultural bias inherited from being born and raised in a society that has always firmly supported capital punishment. Thus my "Blind Spot" allows me to justify the death penalty in certain situations.
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What is your "Blind Spot"?

03-23-2008, 08:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
Bees Crazy Location: New Hampshire, US	My Blind Spot In this thread I will describe the one area of my attitude towards life, my core beliefs if you will, that I suspect could be most affected by "cultural bias". Once I am done, perhaps we can spark a discussion in which other people honestly attempt to see where their "Blind Spots" may lay. Please avoid, if at all possible, commenting on other people's "blind spots". Please write about your own "Blind Spot" - this open introspection is more interesting and takes more courage. _____________________________________________ My blind spot affects my views of capital punishment. A majority of people in the U.S. support the death penalty. The percentage has been as high as 75% a decade ago. Support dropped down to 66% by 2001 and I believe the percentage is still waning but still high. I am left of center on most social and political issues and that is probably due to my early formative years. Both my parents were involved in Democratic Party politics in the Mexican-American community of my home town in California. While I abhor violence and the taking of human life my personal blind spot allows me to support the death penalty for one class of criminal. I generally do not support the death penalty in all other cases. I don't believe in deterrance. I really don't believe that fear of the death penalty effectively deters people from committing capital crimes. Actually it does deter just one class of people; those that are executed. That leads me to describe the one situation that allows me to justify the death penalty: I'm thinking mainly here of murderous rapists and pedophiles, the repeat offender type, and their crimes against truely innocent victims. These are criminals, repeat offenders, that committ acts so heinous that they should be locked up in prison for life but it seems they rarely are. In the U.S. we seem to lack the will to incarcerate these monsters for the rest of their lives. Every month or so there is news of the release of one of these monsters even though there is evidence that they are habitual repeat offenders and many do repeat after release. So if we can't lock them up for life then I believe we should execute them. I believe that I have a cultural bias inherited from being born and raised in a society that has always firmly supported capital punishment. Thus my "Blind Spot" allows me to justify the death penalty in certain situations. _____________________ What is your "Blind Spot"? __________________ *The sands of time past keep shifting according to how we remember or forget or refashion it in hindsight, which is no sight at all.* Kajal Basu Last edited by Bees; 03-23-2008 at 05:20 PM..