Posted on 10/26/2021 4:36:06 AM PDT by Kaslin
If no one goes to prison for actor Alec Baldwin's accidental killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, our society will have failed a crucial moral test.
We will be saying human life is not sacred; that it, in effect, is of little or no consequence.
The killing was, we presume, unintentional (though we do not know for sure, as the possibility remains that someone had motive to load the gun with real ammunition). But that does not mean that no one should be held culpable and punished. Society must regard the taking of human life -- even when unintentional -- as something terrible.
I learned this principle from the Bible, which was, until the last century, the source of America's and the Western world's moral values.
This principle is repeated over and over in the Bible's first five books (the Torah), the source of all biblical laws. This repetition strongly indicates how seriously the Bible takes this issue.
Example one:
Exodus 21:28: "When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned ..."
The obvious question is: Why would the ox be put to death? It is surely not guilty of murder; oxen have no free will. The reason it is put to death is that the killing of a human being cannot go unpunished.
The Jewish Bible scholar, professor Nahum Sarna, wrote:
"The execution of the ox was carried out in the presence, and with the participation, of the entire community (the animal was stoned, not merely killed) -- implying the killing of a human being is a source of mass pollution and the proceedings had an expiatory function. The killing of a homicidal beast is ordained in Genesis 9:5-6: 'For your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast ... Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in His image did God make man.' The sanctity of human life is such as to make bloodshed the consummate offense, one viewed with unspeakable horror. Both man and beast that destroy human life are thereafter tainted by bloodguilt."
Example two:
Deuteronomy 19:5: "(If) a man goes with his neighbor into a grove to cut wood; and as his hand swings the ax to cut down a tree, the ax-head flies off the handle and strikes the other so that he dies, that man shall flee to one of these cities and live."
Again, the Bible describes a homicide that is entirely accidental. But the person who accidentally committed the homicide is not free to live a normal life. (SET ITAL) He cannot go on with life as if nothing happened. (END ITAL) While he is not to be executed, he must flee to one of three "cities of refuge" in ancient Israel. There he may not be killed or otherwise hurt by a member of the killed man's family. But he is not a completely free man.
In my Bible commentary, "The Rational Bible," I quote Leeor Gottlieb, a professor of Bible at Israel's Bar-Ilan University: "The Torah is morally ahead of some modern societies, in which people's lives go on nearly uninterrupted if they killed unintentionally."
As the Bible explains five verses later:
"Thus blood of the innocent will not be shed, bringing bloodguilt upon you in the land that the Lord your God is allotting to you."
Human bloodshed brings bloodguilt upon the land.
Example three:
Deuteronomy 21:1-4 and 7: "If, in the land that the Lord your God is assigning you to possess, someone slain is found lying in the open, the identity of the slayer not being known, your elders and magistrates shall go out and measure the distances from the corpse to the nearby towns ... And they shall make this declaration: 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Absolve, O Lord, Your people Israel whom You redeemed, and do not let guilt for the blood of the innocent remain among Your people Israel.' And they will be absolved of bloodguilt."
Unlike the previous instance, in which the (unintentional) killer is known, the killer of the slain man found "in the open" is not known. Nevertheless, the community is still held accountable and must ask for forgiveness for not preventing a homicide.
Example four:
The final example is not biblical but from my radio show. Many years ago, a woman called to tell me about an ostrich raised on her family's ostrich farm. One day, this ostrich kicked her father to death. I asked the woman what was done to the ostrich. "Nothing," she replied.
Given my biblical background, I was taken aback.
"So you tell people who visit your farm, 'This is the ostrich that killed my father'?"
"Yes," she responded.
In my view, that cheapened her father's life and death.
How much more so will Halyna Hutchins' life and death be cheapened if no one pays a steep price -- for a death that was entirely preventable had proper precautions been followed?
But given how little the Bible means to most Americans today, I would not be surprised if no one goes to prison.
I just heard yesterday that Baldwin was,in addition to being part of the cast,the "executive producer" of the film.I know nothing about showbiz but it seems that as executive producer he was ultimately responsible for the whole operation. If that's correct I suppose he could wind up in prison. He's sure as hell gonna be sued for millions...and millions.
I have great respect for Dennis Prager, but he’s not a gun guy.
This was not an “accidental” shooting. The gun did not malfunction.
It was a NEGLIGENT shooting. And no matter who else prepared, handled, loaded or failed to check the gun before Baldwin picked it up, it was HIS responsibility to open it and inspect it, HIMSELF, as a last and mandatory check.
This is slightly blasphemous, but under these circumstances, it’s warranted. I was told as a young shooter by a wise old guy, “If Jesus himself handed you a gun and said, ‘Don’t worry son, it’s not loaded...’” you still check it.
THE SHOOTER AND ONLY THE SHOOTER IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE GUN IN HIS HAND.
Baldwin has been handling guns in movies for many decades. It’s HIS FAULT and nobody else’s.
Others who prepared the gun might be charged with “contributory negligence,” but in the end, it was BALDWIN’S negligence and violation of the 4 gun safety rules that led to her death.
A despicable man.
Well, Alec may never go to jail, but he sure as heck will never be able to host The Match Game ever again. The audience will groan every time he says the word *blank”.
Ashli Babbit.
In the case of the head of an axe flying off and killing someone, why not stone the axe-head? Or maybe only the person who (improperly) fixed the axe-head to the axe-handle is at fault. Or maybe the man who foolishly stood in the way of the stroke of the axe was at fault.
Regards,
I think those are old repeats what they show on GSN, because I have not seen him on there.
3D Animation: How a Single-Action Revolver works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rOs_2Jq6Yg&ab_channel=3DGunner
Alec Baldwin should have watched this short video, and saved a life and his career.
“The Cowboy Load: How To Load A Single-Action Revolver”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S043pY7MAxQ&ab_channel=GunsOfTheWest
A hollywood elitist kills a hollywood elitist through stupidity and we are supposed to be angry. Ashli Babbit.
Sometimes a accident is just an accident.
I have seen that, I really appreciate those kinds of animations. Anyone know how long the interval was between the shots fired? (I understand there were two shots...)
Except this was no “accident”.
“Why would the ox be put to death?”
Because it has proven itself unable to function safely in society.
Yes there’s the punishment angle.
There’s also the practical angle: proven dangers must be mitigated.
We incarcerate, and even execute, not just for justice or vengeance, but to remove a known threat from humanity’s presence.
The ostrich farmer’s daughter is culpable not from some abstract notion of blame, but because she allows a known deadly threat to persist in society.
That is true. I had a discussion on a thread about Candace Owens labelling him a murderer, then retracting it.
I personally didn’t have a problem with the label applied to him fairly or unfairly, because he likes to throw it at people without considering what it means to be labelled a murderer.
I hope the appellation hurt him to the core. I doubt it did, and I doubt it would change his conduct in the future. Perhaps the knowledge that he took a life through his stupidity will, but I have my doubts there too.
Yeah, I don't know if they are planning on another season, but Alec has been the host for the last seven years or so.
“But given how little the Bible means to most Americans today, I would not be surprised if no one goes to prison.”
Been going on for decades. It’s called abortion. The ground is practically saturated. Wake up America.
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