----- Original Message -----
From: "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 7:36 PM
Subject: Re: What are we responsible for? (was RE: Attack)
> On Fri, Sep 14, 2001 at 09:00:14PM +0200, J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>
> > Tanks and bullets against sticks and stones. That is excessive in my
> > book.
>
> You are applying a superficial standard for excessive violence. If I am
> surrounded by 10 unarmed, angry people intent upon beating or killing
> me, and I am holding a machine gun, is it excessive violence if I use it
> to defend myself? By the standard you are using, it is bullets against
> hands, so it is excessive. By a reasonable standard, one takes into
> account the way in which the weapons are used, and realizes that the use
> is justified.
An interesting story concerning this is the Boston Massacre. A croud of
colonialists were throwing stones at the British. A couple British soldiers
fired their weapons, probably without orders, and 5 colonialists were
killed.
While, from its name, one would presume that it was treated as a horrid
murder by all. Even though it is storied, they were defended by a future US
president John Adams who got 6 aquitted and the two that fired without
orders convicted only of manslaughter (the punishment was branding on their
thumbs). This aquittal was accomplished even though several colonialists
testified that the officer give orders to fire.
I think this may give one perspective on the American view of returning
fire when attacked with rocks.
Dan M.
