Please don't do anything stupid on this thread

Today the ugly side of Britain reared it's head again, and hate is never a good thing.

I find such views worse than Venables' crime. At least he could argue some degree of ignorance.

The lad has done his time. Some may feel that justice has not been served, but that is their issue, and they must address it. They should deal with their own anger, rather than organise a nationwide manhunt for this man.

This all brings things round to the notion of forgiveness. I don't know whether Denise Fergus will ever forgive her son's murderers. I would find it hard, that's for sure, and I'm always in awe of parents who find it in their hearts to forgive such evil.

But forgiveness is not about the wrongdoer, it's about the wronged.

I'll always remember the night I prayed for someone I felt had wronged me - Osama Bin Laden. On the day his death was reported, I closed my eyes and prayed that God be merciful to him.

I'm not saying this to be self-righteous; I'm saying this because forgiveness works.

Perhaps we should all forgive Jon Venables. Or at least forget about him.

On Venables, you're spot on.

He was nine when the murder was committed. A child who had been on the receiving end of violent abuse, which had been handed down like old clothes are in most other families.

I find it quite extraordinary that some people appear to believe that being abused as a child does nothing to you.

That is not to say that nothing should have been done, but in terms of 'punishment', I think his parents got off, in effect, scot free.

I'm going for a lie down in a darkened room.

I never thought the day would come when I agreed with a thread started by kirkstaller

You going to mass on sunday then

Has Kirkstaller turned you

can someone explain how a world wide ban naming them and showing their pics works.
if a north korean or chinese(or any country) web site decide to show their pics or name them what is britain going to do, fine them, jail them, slap their wrist!!!

And how did that work out?

Have you not seen Zero Dark Thirty?

The problem is that the country is in such a state that however worthy you think it may be, it simply can't afford the millions spent on Venables and his mate, and I could make a list of a million better uses of money.

I seriously doubt that there is a vigilante mob who would seek him out and kill him. I think there are plenty who would hound him and make his life miserable but when people who have done nothing wrong find lifesaving or extending treatment unavailable or rationed, the inappropriateness of priorities is apparent.

In modern times, before the state started spending millions on fake IDs, there is no trend of baying mobs ripping apart released killers. Indeed, I find it quite reassuring as well as surprising that so many murderers who are released without anonymity never seem to come to any harm at all from their victims' families let alone bloodthirsty mobs so where is the justification?

I'm not sure how he 'wronged you' but his God promised him 72 virgins so he probably couldn't care less about your prayer. If he is right he'll be up to his nuts in guts.

I'm also a little puzzled by this although agreeing with the OP's Venable sentiments.
If I was a praying type wouldn't my time be more appropriately spent praying for the many innocent victims of all world violence?

Did the OP pray for Bush and Blair after a million innocents were murdered in their, and our, [iWar on Terror?[/i
Did the OP pray for Paul Wood (a man assume he has never met) after he left his wife for another woman, but never murdered a fellow human being, as far as I know? (Remembering the OP felt the need to start a discussion, venting his utter contempt and disgust on a public forum for said person).
Is the OP currently praying for Oscar Pistorius and Michael Le Vell?

I aren't being antagonistic, just interested in whom your (g)od deems it worthy for you to be able to clasp your hands together for?

Perhaps you have free reign to make your own judgement/decisions?

What a mis mash of rubbish.

Why go looking for his picture? If I know what he looks like I can forgive him more?

Prayers are a bit like Facebook friends requests, The God gets up every morning, checks his overnight mail and deletes most of them, goes for his cornflakes and then browses through whats left, if he finds something that he thinks is worthy then he forwards it to one of his elves.

Or is that Santa ?

I agree with your sentiment and the harm it can cause to the developmental mind, though I have to say that not every child that is abused goes on to abuse.

Venables needs us all to keep out of his face whilst he receives help for the issues he seems to still have.
Why would anyone put his photo online?
I can only think of two reasons ...
1. Some sort of crazed vigilantism to further punish him by making his life even harder to live than it is already.
2. Stupidity.


Apart from the praying bit, I agree with Kirkstaller in this thread.
Unfortunately we have many among us for whom the heated emotional response of revenge is stronger than the cool (and more difficult) response of help and forgiveness.
We shall see them posting on this thread later, I am sure.

I challenged one of the Twitterfork brigade over this last night. You'd scarcely believe the level of abuse I got by return from him and a group of mates.

I'm a lesbian, which is bad, apparently – facts don't seem to bother such sorts – I need some "c*ck", I'm fat – etc etc.

To laugh or to cry? And the latter only at the patheticness of it.