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Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

asiancorrespondent.com

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Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#61

Post by joe5150 »

Bakary wrote: post #36
libeclipse wrote: post #2

Is this a joke? Surely something so utterly stupid can't be real. This man just gave the public free rein to murder and get away with it. Jesus this planet is insane.

It's actually not that insane from the perspective of a local voter who has nothing to lose and has a miserable crime-ridden existence. It's not qualitatively different from disenfranchised workers voting for Trump. It's the nuclear option for people who have no way to profit from the existing system. It just so happens that life is much, much easier in the US so there is no need to consider actual violence when thin…

this is not remotely like voting for Trump. and it doesn't "so happen" that life is easier in countries with functioning (if deeply flawed) justice systems than it is in ones where corruption and vigilantism rule; there are pretty good reasons for why that is.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#62

Post by bluejekyll »

I had this T-shirt a friend of mine gave me years ago, it simply had a silk screen on it that said "legalize murder". It was meant to be an ironic liberally extreme idea of granting freedom to do whatever you wanted.

It was meant to be over the top. I can't believe I just read that it is quite literally happening.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#63

Post by venomsnake »

jacquesm wrote: post #15

What an idiot. The highest government official calling for extra-judicial killing of citizens should lead to a single indictment. What's really disturbing is that this guy got voted in. 30 people in 4 days.

Sadly history is not a morality play. In it immoral actions are often rewarded and idealists suffer shitty fates. I think that idiot is the wrong insult here (tyrant, cruel, despicable, scum and many others are all fine).

But we live in a world in which Saudi Arabia is chair of the UN human rights council ...

Laws, rights, constitutions - they mean a lot less when no force is capable or willing to enforce them.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#64

Post by xerophyte12932 »

abpavel wrote: post #9

So, I can kill anyone and claim they were an addict? Who is going to prove me otherwise? It's dissapointing that people see this as something to do with drugs, while in reality it's just a green light for a killing frenzy.

That was my first thought as well, but then I realized normal people aren't just waiting with stow away guns waiting for the day they can go on a killing frenzy. The type who are like that are possibly connected to drug as wells (as either addicts or part of the criminal machine) which means they are more likely to go into hiding lest they be killed themselves.

Yes, maybe some murderers will slip under the radar, but the numbers so far look good. Only 30 deaths over the country (that's no killing frenzy) and 952 people have surrendered to the authorities. I'd say it's working

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#65

Post by kbart »

tux3 wrote: post #49

An attempt to kill a whole subset of the population, this is genocide, isn't it? It might be appropriate to refer this lovely gentleman to the International Criminal Court.

No, it's not. Genocide has a clearly defined meaning[1]:

"Genocide is the intentional action to systematically eliminate an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group"

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#66

Post by briandear »

deanCommie wrote: post #29
jmspring wrote: post #11

Not directly related to Phillipines, but an actual Bay Area addict case question...And honestly, I'm not sure of individuals current state (no arrest records)... Young female from out of area (some state) comes (homeless) to a town known for downward spirals. Arrested 20+ times over 2 years, mainly around meth addiction, but seriously mental. Local people reach out to family/friends of said individual via social medi…

Society. Society is responsible. The fact that people in the richest country in the world are still having this debate is appalling to Canadians and Western Europeans. Americans will be the last on this ship, but part of living in a prosperous 21st century society means giving up some liberty (in the form of taxes, limited access to guns, suffering additional government bureaucracy) for the knowledge that getting sic…

"Giving up liberty.." No. Liberty doesn't mean anyone has the right to harm other people. We should be encouraging more liberty, not less. We are not and should not ever be the Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks said the exact same things you are saying -- almost exactly. And no, it won't be different this time. Man is man.

Suffering additional government bureaucracy? No way. It's interesting because I would bet you're opposed to government surveillance yet you are unopposed to increasing the power and thus the tyrannical potential of government. Those things are one in the same.

In a freshman dorm room late at night, we've all had the discussion that communism would be good if it were implemented correctly. However most of us grew up. We realize that human nature will never change no matter how many rainbows we wish upon. Every single time some perfect society attempt has been made, it turned into millions of dead people. Increasing the power of government is to increase the potential for tyranny.

Utopia doesn't exist and it will never exist.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#67

Post by kimmshibal »

oblio wrote: post #28
kimmshibal wrote: post #20

Addicts in Asia are not the same as in west. They are worst. They will do anything to get drug. They will get into your house, put knife on your throat and take your money and jewelry. Police can't do anything because they are lazy and corrupt, unless there's a body.

So the solution is to allow people to kill random strangers and then claim that they killed an addict? Or even better, they will kill competitors/people they don't like and then claim that they killed an addict.

Why you say they will kill random stranger? They kill an addict. Prisons don't have space anymore because gov don't have budget. You are welcome to go to my country and get mug by them. Your view will change.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#68

Post by cocotino »

electic wrote: post #16

> During the campaign, Duterte said 100,000 people would die in his crackdown, with so many dead bodies dumped in Manila Bay that fish there would grow fat from feeding on them. This isn't a joke. This is real. What a sick bastard.

Tell that to those who are tired of not being safe in their own homes because of the drug lords. Of course it's easy to say he's sick when you live in a civilised place with police protection.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#69

Post by rubber_duck »

zouhair wrote: post #52
OoTheNigerian wrote: post #43

As usual, mostly western commentators sitting on their high horses pointing and pontificating with no idea of local context or understanding. First of all, Duterte was elected overwhelmingly with a clear mandate of using brute violence to clear out drug dealers. He was clear about it and he is delivering on that mandate. I have to accept, he has made a PR error by not calling them terrorists. At which point, he will…

Hitler was also democratically elected. What will happen in the Philippines now is that anyone who any grudge with anyone will just kill that person and label him a drug dealer.

You really think the main reason people aren't grudge killing each other because they are afraid of getting caught ? Look at the murder case % that goes unresolved even in the US - IIRC it was ~40% ? If you wanted to kill someone and were smart about it's probably not that hard to do - unless it's your spouse or something similar that makes you an obvious suspect - in which case it will also look suspicious to anyone investigating if you killed your wife because she was a drug dealer.

Re: Body count rises as Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

#70

Post by pluma »

briandear wrote: post #46
smarks wrote: post #30

How long until Trump says something like, "He's a bad guy -- really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed drug dealers. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were pushers. Over."

Are we making the leap that Trump supports killing drug addicts? We could invoke Hillary if we want with her famous statement, "What difference does it make?" This has nothing to do with Trump or American politics. Not a single candidate in the US has called for the extra-judicial execution of drug dealers or users. Trying to draw an equivalence to Trump is absurd.

As a non-American I find the Trump/Hillary rhetoric extremely weird. Many "liberals" seem to think Trump is Adolf Hitler reincarnate (which is absurd -- he's just a populist). Many "conservatives" seem to think Hillary is an "SJW" (which is equally absurd -- it's evident a lot of her more progressive stances are window dressing rather than deeply held convictions).

Trump is an opportunistic buffoon, Hillary is cold and calculating. But both really just want power at any cost. The differences are not even remotely as significant as voters seem to believe. Sure, they hold opposing views, but neither of them is a saint and neither of them is going to openly do stupid drastic things like telling civilians to murder other people in the streets.

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