Reply #10: I agree [View All]

yes, the story was obviously overplayed. But the national reaction to it is fascinating.

For some reason, Americans seem to think that the only way to express disapproval of some things is to advocate the most inhumane torture possible. They seem to think that somehow you're "soft on murder" if you advocate less than the ongoing torture-leading-to-death of a convicted person.

It's a game of one-upmanship. "I hate murder THIS much, so I advocate the death penalty." "Oh yeah? I hate it more than YOU, so I advocate having his testicles gnawed off by starving squirrels." "Harrumph! Well then *I* think the squirrels should be infected with rabies and their teeth filed down to make it last longer..." etc. etc.