'A Time To Kill'

[GemmaMarie]

Sooo. As the name implies, I'm watching the movie- 'A Time To Kill'. For those unfamiliar, it's a '96 move w/ some popular stars- Matthew McConaughey, Samuel Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, etc. It's a movie set during the very beginnings of racial reform where a black man kills his daughter's white rapists b/c they will get off otherwise.

Now, watching this movie really got me to thinking. I have children. What would I go through to bring their "wrong doers" to justice. Not only that but it really got me to thinking about todays society and how much I agreed with the national policies, etc.

So- how do you feel? How far would you go if your child was wronged (in this movie a 10 yr old girl was raped, her rapists being let off)? How far would you go if a loved one was murdered or raped or severely beaten over ignorance or simple mental instability? Would you kill? Would you trust the justice system as it stands? Weigh in.

 

[Rose]

I'm not sure I'd have the heart to kill anyone that hurt my child, but if my child was the one who did the hurting.....well I'd highly be tempted to wear them like a boot for the rest of their natural born lives.

BJ and I actually had this discussion the other day and we both feel that if hurt, our main focus would be on helping our child heal before we worried about anything else. If our kid did the hurting, we'd both probably end up in prison for beating the crap out of their ass*. :whistle: If we found out our child was bullying or not speaking up when someone near them was being bullied, we wouldn't beat the crap out of them but there would definitely be a very big shake up in their home life and they'd probably have to attend a sort of boot camp with my father as punishment.

When it all comes down to it though, it's really hard to say you know exactly how you would behave if put in a situation like this.

*We're talking a SERIOUS offense: rape, murder, torture, ect.

 

[GemmaMarie]

Oh we've talked about if our child was the one doing the hurting too. Esp. recently- recently in our town some kids have gone around throwing poisoned food over gates and killing family pets (dogs,cats) & it's been a big debate for what we'd do if it were our children doing that- the hurting that is. & I was very honest. While my children are still very young, my eldest turning 4 in a month, I WILL raise them to respect all life, & to stick up for equality and for fairness and teach them that bullying is wrong. This isn't a matter I feel "passively" about. And if my child were caught doing any bullying or as is the case with our town, poisoning and murdering many family pets, I would simply let them take the fall. I would guide them through the process but I wouldn't try to fight it. The parents of a few of tehse children who poisoned and killed MANY family pets are hiring defense attorneys to lighten the sentence on their child. Baby daddy & I both agree that this isn't something we would do. As long as we felt the charges faced to the minor were fair and warranted, we woudl agree and let them stand trial on their own. We do not plan to defend these kind of acts. Even in our own child.


But on the reverse side. As much as we do not defend said acts, we equally will defend against. Now not so much for bullying, etc- but for corporal crimes- rape, murder, I can't say I'd exactly keep my wits about me. You can't just hurt my child and expect things to be okay. Expect me to follow the rules when you beg your way out of the rules as most people feel that they can do. My problem is that a lot of people feel that they can rape and or murder people and get away with it. and in many cases they do. and it's saddening. I couldn't imagine knowing someone was guilty and them not being punished.

 

[LilyEvans]

As much as I WANT to say that I believe violence is not the answer and two wrongs don't make a right...I'd probably do horrible, deplorable things to anyone who hurt my child. I have a hard enough time keeping from going down to my boyfriend's boss and giving him a good (verbal!) butt-kicking when he does shitty things. :crybaby: Seriously though, one of my friends was raped last year by her boyfriend and I had to be physically restrained from going to his place and kicking the tar out of him. I cannot imagine what I would do if someone hurt someone even closer to me that way.

That said, if I ever spawned a Joffrey Lannister I think I'd be more of a Tyrion and a Cersei. As my mama always said: "I brought you into this world, I can take you back out of it!"

EDIT: A man in Texas a few years ago beat a man to death when he found the man sexually assaulting his young (5 y.o.) daughter. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/u...ing-of-man-molesting-his-daughter-5.html?_r=0 He was not charged as the jury ruled he was authorized to use deadly force to protect the child. I dunno if it's relevant here but there you go.

 

[GemmaMarie]

As much as I WANT to say that I believe violence is not the answer and two wrongs don't make a right...I'd probably do horrible, deplorable things to anyone who hurt my child. I have a hard enough time keeping from going down to my boyfriend's boss and giving him a good (verbal!) butt-kicking when he does shitty things. :crybaby: Seriously though, one of my friends was raped last year by her boyfriend and I had to be physically restrained from going to his place and kicking the tar out of him. I cannot imagine what I would do if someone hurt someone even closer to me that way.

That said, if I ever spawned a Joffrey Lannister I think I'd be more of a Tyrion and a Cersei. As my mama always said: "I brought you into this world, I can take you back out of it!"

EDIT: A man in Texas a few years ago beat a man to death when he found the man sexually assaulting his young (5 y.o.) daughter. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/u...ing-of-man-molesting-his-daughter-5.html?_r=0 He was not charged as the jury ruled he was authorized to use deadly force to protect the child. I dunno if it's relevant here but there you go.

I've heard this story & even reading yours... I agree. I simply can't imagine it. I'm like you Lily! I get all huffy when people so much as threaten my friends. If someone hurt my young... well I was raised southern and that's how'd that go- Awwwwwwhellno. You did no just hurt my baby.iwillfuckyouup.

 

[Mirra]

Our children definitely must be protected from the worst people out there, but once something happens to them the vengeance isn't for them. It's for us. That's not to say I wouldn't do the same thing many of you would.

I can only speculate on how I would feel about someone messing with my theoretical child. On the other hand, I am quite sure how I would react if something were to happen to my nephew. As I think about it though, I would probably only need to assist my brother, sister-in-law, and the sister-in-law's father in... expressing how unacceptable we find the perpetrator's actions.

 

[Shaun__]

You do not think a child would be hurt badly by losing a parent? I think sometimes children need a person to hold them more than a person to avenge them in a vigilante campaign that costs the parent their freedom or life.

 

[Anonymous]

I had never seen the movie A Time to Kill until Nordling suggested it to me. So then I rented it off Amazon Instant Video (for $1.99, I think?), and WOW, that is a good movie! And Matthew McConaughey was ADORABLE...lol. What was also adorable was the part where at the end, the rape victim met Matthew McConaughey's daughter (well, his character's daughter, I mean) and said "Hi, it's nice to meet you." That was the cutest thing EVER...such a sweet, well-mannered little girl, which made your heart break for her even more.

It's easy for a person to say "No, I could never harm/kill another human being" if they haven't been in that kind of situation. But if it was your little girl who was urinated on (yes, they did that!), had beer cans thrown at her body, was beaten and raped, and left unable to bear children, you just may snap and attempt to murder the monsters who did it.

 

[southsamurai]

straight up, if anyone ever hurt a kid under my protection (my own kid or otherwise) there would be no force on earth that would keep my vengeance back. yes, i would focus on making sure my kids heal and survive before i went midieval on someone, but after i was sure they were ok? no way no how will jail time for the perpetrator satisfy me. you do not fuck with those that are mine to protect, ever. that doesnt mean i would be stupid and walk into a courthouse and shoot them. vengeance does not have to be immediate. patience is no problem for me when it comes to that kind of thing. besides, shooting them is not enough for someone like me. they have to know what is happening, why they are suffering, and that suffering must be prolonged.

 

[Rose]

You do not think a child would be hurt badly by losing a parent? I think sometimes children need a person to hold them more than a person to avenge them in a vigilante campaign that costs the parent their freedom or life.

Those are my thoughts because I grew up with a soldier for a father so he was mostly absent due to deployments. From my own personal experiences, I would have much rather have had at least one parent there to support me and help me heal than them taking out vengeance for me.

Plus, that's what grandparents/friends are for, right? :whistle: Tell them what went down, leak a few details about the abuser and then go home and make sure kiddo is getting the care they need. If I hear on the news the next morning that the abuser was found tied up in the middle of downtown with signs all over them stating their crimes with a video taped confession, then I'll know my family found a way to get their own justice....

 

[DuoShi]

Is it bad that I thought the OP was talking about a Steven Seagal movie?

 

[Just Me]

If and only if I was 100% certain they did the crime and the judicial system failed. Not 99.9% certain, but 100%. Even then I am not sure I would or could kill them. Vengeance and revenge is not part of my make up. Especially when it comes to the finality of killing someone.