I never claimed it to be. However, whether something is worse than death to the victim is not something that either you or I can determine for them. We can say that we think death would be worse, but if they feel otherwise then that's how they feel.Collector1337 wrote:Obviously psychology and mental health are not your strong suits.Coito ergo sum wrote:In a purely academic sense, yes.Collector1337 wrote:Rape is clearly not as bad as death/murder since you'd still be living after the rape. Just saying.
However, from the perspective of the victim, there are clearly things that happen in life that can effect them in a way that is worse than death. The evidence of that is that sometimes a rape or abuse victim will commit suicide, which means that to them they preferred to die rather than to live with the effects of issue.
And, if a person did that to my daughter, I would certainly kill them if I had the chance, and I would want to do so whether I died or got the death penalty, because some things, to me, are worse than death.
There you may be wrong. For example, take the example of a person who is rendered paralyzed from the neck down due to an attack, with a rape included or not. That person may rationally judge life not worth living at that point, and may prefer to die instead. Further, elderly, infirm people living in constant pain may also feel that they have no better course of action than to be relieved of said pain.Collector1337 wrote:
No one who commits suicide are in their right mind. Committing suicide is not rational, having been raped or not.
As I say on occasion, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
We cannot necessarily decide for them that objectively, living would be better. It's not an objective analysis.
However, the point is not whether living or dying under given circumstances if rationally a better course of action. Whether someone is an awful person can be judged based on an assessment of their character. And, there may be guys, for example, who killed hundreds of people in wartime and we don't judge them to be awful, but someone in his basement lusting after one year olds, but not yet having acted on it, may well be judged as worse than the killer of 100s, due to the circumstances and their mindset. Who should I judge less favorably, the pilot of the Enola Gay, or a child rapist? I choose the latter to direct my scorn.