The Zhoosh! Brighton Blog
A return to barbarism?
I’ve just read about a campaign by right-wing blogger Guido Fawkes to try to bring back the death penalty in the UK.
I want to vomit. I’m not exaggerating. We cleansed ourselves of the hideous, inexcusable concept of state-sponsored murder in 1964 with the last executions in England (although some crimes on the statute books remained, in theory, punishable by death until 1998).
I refuse to acknowledge the validity of “civilisation” in a country that murders its own citizens. It’s why I won’t visit the USA – and it’s why I will keep a close eye on this situation. If this shows any sign of traction (I have enough faith in basic human decency in the UK that I doubt it will), I will campaign, march, petition and fight, tooth and nail – with my last breath if necessary – to prevent us slipping back into this bloodthirsty, medieval barbarism.
Let’s not forget that being gay was punishable by death in the UK, right up until 1861. And bear in mind that the Ugandan parliament is still likely, in August, to bring in the death penalty for the “crimes” of being gay or being HIV positive (the very fact that they equate the two indicates the ignorant, barbaric mentality we are dealing with here). You can (and should) sign the petition against this here.
This is not something about which we should be complacent. We have a fair and equable rule of law in the UK – which generations of people fought (and died) to build and protect. The poisonous, right-wing, tabloid-inspired baying for blood that this subject inspires is something to be fought by every rational human being who applies even a modicum of common sense and basic human dignity to the situation.
Conservative MPs Philip Davies (Shipley), Priti Patel (Witham) and Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) seem to be the first to back this campaign. I have a message for the three of them – if the above is accurate, I believe you (and any of your colleagues agreeing with this repulsive idea) should be immediately and unceremoniously relieved of your positions, on the basis of being unfit to hold them – and I will be writing to my MP and MEP to express as much.
I’m going to go and throw up now.
More power to you. I have always been vehemently opposed to legalised murder and will continue to be so until my dying breath!
Thankyou. I’m still hoping that this is some sort of elaborate hoax to generate debate.
Regarding your comment, James, even if it IS a hoax to generate debate, the problem with that is, if you shift the boundaries of acceptable ideas, even if the most abhorrent idea – state murder – isn’t taken up, it means an idea which would have been the extreme prior to the debate now becomes mainstream.
As for murdering citizens, it is of course utterly abhorrent, unjustifiable and evil.
Thanks for your comment, Adam. I must admit, I’m torn. On the one hand, I don’t believe this type of viewpoint deserves any place in our society. On the other, I would never want to impinge on the ideals of free speech (in the case of individuals) or frank and open discussion (on the part of our elected representatives).
Perhaps we need this ugly issue to raise its head every now and then, to remind ourselves just how ugly it is?