Please note that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was not convicted of _committing_ mass murder. He was convicted on the grounds that a Maltese shopkeeper said that he had purchased a shirt whose remnants were found wrapped around the bomb <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111881314>. I'll leave alternative explanations to the readers.
On Aug 24, 2009, at 1:51 PM, Michael Smith wrote: > Well let me see. > > No I don't have a "character" or "personality" analysis of > MacAskill that indicates the "type" of person he is. I don't think > that psychology has a good enough handle on character and > personality to produce a very valid one, and anyway I wouldn't be > qualified to conduct one since I'm not in clinical. > > So, my assessment is my opinion based on how I read the situation > (as are many of the posts by many of the posters in TIPS). > > Nevertheless it is an assessment that seems reasonable. > > The big question to me is how is it compassionate to have > "compassion" on a single individual when doing so will cause great > grief and sufferring to hundreds of others? > I maintain that MacAskill's decision to deliberately and knowingly > force great grief and suffering upon hundreds of people (including > many of his own countrymen) for the sake of having "compassion" on > a single individual who committed mass murder is a farce and has > nothing to do with "compassion". Rather, as a representative of the > people in issues of justice he is a total and complete failure. > > To pile up all sorts of 'considerations' and torturous judgement > processes poor MadAskill had to go through in this decision is > merely to try to obscure the central issue of his misguided and > malicious judgement. He could well have done the responsible and > truly compassionate thing and stamped the application: "Application > denied". > > We will never know his true motivation which could range from > twisted libertarian ethics, to a desire for notoriety to blackmail. > But it certainly shouldn't be recorded as "compassion" when he > alone willingly and willfully forced additional grief and suffering > on hundreds of individuals who have already suffered greatly. Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
