(Quick note: I'm sorry if this isn't a furry topic. Normally I save things like this for a live journal, but I hardly ever use that thing anymore. I also want to apologize for how political this is. Even if you don't agree with me, I hope you'll find it in your heart to be my friend and give me good arguments if you see fit.)

Also SPOILER ALERT If you haven't seen the movie I'm about to mention, then stop reading if you hate spoilers.

I just finished watching a movie called "Superman Vs. The Elites", a story that pits the "Truth and Justice" model of Superman against a philosophy that's more friendly towards the death penalty. I honestly have to ask myself which side I would really be on, and it's a hard line to draw.

The animation covered some subtle details that makes the debate very interesting. You have three characters, Superman, A group of metahumans called "The Elite", and a reoccurring bad guy named "The Atomic Skull". There's also international tensions between two made-up countries, but that's beside my point. Superman and the Rival group continually argue over the idea of either incarcerating the bad guy, or simply killing him on the spot. The Atomic Skull kills several people before he is in prison and afterwards, making it seem that Superman's idea of Justice simply doesn't work. It also shows The Atomic Skull in a cell, stuck in one little box for an undetermined amount of time with a quote "This isn't human".

I think the argument pivots on the bad guy. After superman stops him we see him in a cage, devoid of all freedoms because society simply can't trust him with it. The only time The Atomic Skull get's freedom, he uses it to kill more people. He isn't both free and the world safe until he's killed by The Elite.

I have a close personal friend who has suffered the loss of a relative, a rape/murder. The man who did it is still in prison and thankfully not eligible for paroll for a long time. I know that man is rotting in a box right now, perhaps even being raped in prison himself. There is some part of me that feels for him, but a larger part of me that doesn't ever want him to see the light of day. It is nice to say that we all simply want everyone to live and let live.. but where is the limit to that? When do we say "I cannot have you living in my world." When is an sentiment like that really justified?

I think of the ones who committed the crime. For whatever reason, they may never change. Some things that have been done, we could never take the chance of having our trust betrayed again. This puts us in a hard situation. Do we allow men and women to rot in boxes, or do we simply end their lives and the misery they cause for themselves and others.

I don't pretend to have the answer, and I'm still bothered by it. I know one thing, anyone intends to hurt my friends, or the friends of my friends, or those who would care for me as I for them, then I would do whatever should be done.