[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

The only thing I've read that bothers me is all this "kid" talk. The girl was 18 years old, let's not treat this as if she's some sort of stupid infant. As if she has no responsibility here... She doesn't deserve to die, of course not, but she did a stupid thing... Hopefully she's ok. But if she isn't, she is partly to blame. I hate to say that, but it's just the truth. If you are walking down the street minding your own business and someone runs up and stabs you, that's different. But when you get into a car with three complete strangers (in ANY country)...well...it's not all that surprising that she's missing.

Not surprising, certainly her own fault, but still sad.

[Sage]

By the way, I had no idea this story had made national (and apparently, international) headlines until I saw this thread here.
It bothers me when people automatically assume Alabamans are ignorant, backward, racist rednecks, but when the world's only impression of Alabamans is formed by a girl who does one of the stupidest things you can possibly do anywhere even though she was old enough to know better, a reactionary (former) judge who claims to have the courage of his religious convictions yet snuck an enormous monument of the Ten Commandments into the state courthouse under cover of darkness, and news footage of the 1965 race riots in downtown Birmingham, I can kind of understand where the rest of the world gets their unfavorable impression of us.
Honestly, we're not all like that.

ScottMate

[Fairygdmther]

If the rest of Alabama was filled with people as sweet and charming as you are, hon, that reputation would be turned around overnight.

In Florida, land of the "hanging chad", Jeb Bush's reign, and the land of retirement, somehow this doesn't stop the influx - we get over 1000 people daily moving to the state.

Lynsie

[Sage]

(blushing)

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Ninth

Not surprising, certainly her own fault, but still sad.

Yes, I agree. I would never say otherwise. In fact, I dislike putting ANY blame on a possible innocent victim...but sometimes there are things they could have done to avoid the tragedy...

[mag]

Originally Posted by Kyrandian

No-- i dont care if people get killed if they have no sense of self-preservation. The rule of the jungle applies to humans as well. An elk who lets their young wander cant be surprised when a lion tears their throat out.

I'm reminded of a quote by Thomas Huxley. He said,

The thief and the murderer follow nature just as much as the philantropist. Cosmic evolution may teach us how the good and the evil tendencies of man may have come about; but, in itself, it is incompetent to furnish any better reason why what we call good is preferable to what we call evil than we had before.

Evolution may tell us a lot about how species developed, but it's still an incredibly harsh system. And anyone how would use a concept as brutal as "natural selection" as a basis for determining right and wrong is, in my opinion, little more than a morally bankrupt monster.

mag