Thought crime in London

By Frank Moraes

Ah, justice! The London bomb plotters are in jail, but the English court system isn't done yet; they have thought crimes to punish! Ruksana Begum is the sister of one of the plotters. She downloaded a copy of Inspire, al-Qaida magazine in order to understand what was going on with her angry brother. I'm not just saying this. This is what the judge in this case says. Unfortunately, like all the Nazis at Nuremberg, he must "follow orders" and so was left with no choice but to put her in a cage for a year.

In one way, this makes me feel good. It isn't just the United States that is a horror show of injustice and cruelty. But in a more fundamental sense, it makes me despair: humans are just a horrible species. It reminds me of the cannibalistic chimpanzees from Planet Earth.[1] The truth is, I don't really understand the justice system. We should perhaps rename it the "law system," because it is about enforcing laws not meting out justice. If we cannot have justice, at least we can stop claiming that we do.

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[1] Here is a clip. "Enjoy":


(Cross-posted at Frankly Curious.)