Not now not ever in my name!

The death of Lee Rigby is the most horrific disturbing thing to have happened on the streets of Britain since the Yorkshire Ripper walked them when I was a young man.

It is right that his killers go to jail for effectively life. It is right that they are kept away from our society. I do not believe that they should have the opportunity to commit such heinous crimes again.

However I also do not believe that they should, as the far right demand, be put to death.

Even more worrying was the call of the mother of Andrew Young for the killer of her son to be put to death for a single punch that caused the 40 year old Aspergers sufferer to fall to the ground and crack his skull.

Now this may not make me popular but I would like people to take some time to reflect. Here is a piece I wrote on the Death Penalty a while ago.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4428684397426764882#editor/target=post;postID=6995367744814505316;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=88;src=postname

I stand by these thoughts today as I did then even though I am deeply saddened by both of these deaths and sympathise with the families of those who have been lost.

Yet the argument still remains. You do not stop murder by threat of execution. It would not have prevented Lee Rigby's death nor would it have prevented Dunblane or Lockerbie or 9/11 or 7/7. We have to seek the root of these issues that would make one person wish to commit such crimes. That root is in the way our society works and that society is becoming more dichotomous and disintegrated as every day passes.

We have to prevent the radicalisation of young men and women at source. We all have a responsibility in the death of anyone who is killed unlawfully as we spend much of our time just accepting I'm alright Jack. Our world is more insular and self serving now than it has ever been. This relates to those at the highest level of our society and the lowest too.

Power, money, religion are all opiates of the people. We are hooked on looking after number one and have forgotten basic humanity. We are no better than Piggy in Lord of the Flies.

I beg of you, in the name of that is good in our world, look to the future with positive eyes, look to the future with a view to making our world better. Do not seek revenge for revenge's sake but take what we have learned and use that as a powerful tool to change the future for the better. Do not become radicalised and look to your neighbour as being your brother or sister. Seek peace in your heart and peace for humankind. Look after your neighbour do not persecute them for they are different. Help them to be better, to be kinder, to have more love.