Sorry, I didn't really understand what you were trying to say here.
It was directed at me right?
It wasn't directed at anybody. I just may know too much about mental illness, and I forget that most people speak about things like that from a safe distance, that's all.
I just didn't expect you of all people to get mad haha.
Tiger, I am a seething pot of barely controllable rage 99% of the time. I just mask it really well.
On topic:
If I were a juror at this trial, I would make a decision based on how well the prosecution presented the case for malicious intent. If these kids acted knowing that this guy had problems and intending to mentally harm him, then they pose a degree of risk to the rest of society. If they acted out of hatred for homosexuals, then I would call it a hate crime. If not, if it was a prank gone wrong, then they're just idiots, and I would favor lesser sentences. Part of that is simply because I don't think locking them up for longer is gong to make them into better (or smarter) people. Longer jail time doesn't make you smarter, or anything. And I don't think it'd help prevent future occurrences.
I understand where LGBT activists are coming from. Every community is going to have a certain percentage of people that are prone to mental illness, depression, and suicidal tendencies. But when you add another stressor onto that pre-existing condition (society's homophobia for example), that makes living wtih a mental illness all that much more harder. If this were a straight kid who had been severely depressed, it's possible the outcome would have been the same. On the other hand, with society being more accepting of heterosexuality, maybe not.
That said, I don't think scapegoating some idiots for a prank is going to make the situation any better for other people, whether they are LGBT or people struggling with depression, or both. Solutions aren't that simple; you can't just string up some people as symbols and make homophobia or stupidity go away. Kind of wish it was that simple, but it isn't. And I think that LGBT activists can do better than scapegoating someone (assuming it was a prank and not a hate crime).
If I were the judge, I'd make the accused (if convicted) carry around that kid's picture and give talks at high schools or colleges for a year or so, explaining what they did, and trying to counsel other kids. That would be more beneficial, I think, than having taxpayers pay for their room and board at a correctional facility.
I remember a case years ago about some kids who stole a stop sign at an intersection. It caused an accident, and someone died. On one hand, those kids didn't act intending to kill anyone, and they didn't commit vehicular manslaughter, but they did pull a prank that cost someone their life. Of course, that case was more cut and dry than this one.
