I wonder if anyone else ever does this.

Let's say there's an issue eg murders. One part of me says they should be imprisoned, rehabilitated and have a potential for parole. We all make mistakes and sometimes it takes a realisation such as being in prison for life which fills you with remorse and makes you change your ways. Then another part of me says that all murders should be killed - an eye for an eye etc. This latter part I've never told or shown evidence of in any way and if I were ever asked of my opinion, it would always be the former.

Does anyone else ever do this? Have two opinions on a subject - one that they'll happily tell their families, friends, other people etc, and one opinion that they'd never tell?

Or is it just me being weird at 2am?

I think it is quite normal. I have the same dilema - and when you kill a killer, does that make you a killer? If not in the eyes of the law, then in the eyes of God? If you don't "pull the trigger", but are part of the process which causes the trigger to be pulled, are you also guilty?

It isn't a question I have an answer for.

I have the same thing, but not about murderers, I think if we adopted punative coma as a punishment then crime would drop markedly, but it'll never be made law. I am in two minds about other things, most notably current immigration rules, so no it's not just you (and it's no longer 2am)

one mind I think, lethal injection would save millions of taxpayers cash, murderers dont deserve sympathy, maybe manslaughter ones but the intentional....

Not even ones that are later found to be innocent?

I think being in two minds about this issue is pretty normal. I want to see people punished for their crimes if found guilty, but if they can be rehabilitated even better. The argument about whether we've gone too far to one side in rehabilitating offenders in relative comfort is one that's worth having.

A case in point. Last week a couple of hundred young offenders rioted in their prison. They trashed it. If it was down to me, I'd let them stay where they are until they've repaired it. They wrecked the prison, they live with the consequences. Or should we ship them out, poor loves, rebuild the prison at vast expense, and then ship them back to their pool tables and in-cell telly?

I know prison isn't quite as cushy as the media sometimes makes out, but it does seem to me we need to give a bit more tough love when things go a bit wrong.

<pedant hat>

But surely if they are found to be innocent then they weren't murderers, simply people convicted of murder?

</pedant hat>

I was gonna write exactly that but coudn't be bothered

But you both understood what I meant.

Anyway, don't start, or I'll get even more annoyed.

I was using criminals as an example but it extends to other things like immigration, benefits, etc.

For many years I couldn't understand why prisoners weren't bundled to the brim in each cell and fed stale bread and water. No sunlight, no exercise, just 24/7 in a crammed cell with nowt more than bread and water, maybe fruit bread at Christmas if they hadn't grumbled too much. By all means let them out after their term is up, after such a horrible place I'd have thought they wouldn't want to return...
Murderers on the other hand, I'm not sure they should be 'let go', perhaps they should be recatagorised as that of a lab rat and forced to live the rest of their days as a machine to help the rest of the human race? Perhaps they should get life in a cell. But I don't think they should be rehabilitated.

I'm not really in two minds about immigration, come on in if you want to, just please make sure you have a stable job and that you can support yourself for the first X many years.

On such matters I usually have quite strong views, though no real good reason as to why I have them, just some innate feeling.

I'm often known to hold two diametrically opposed views on just about any issue going, current affairs/wider world OR my own piddly life. I also have trouble picking one.

Some people say it's because I'm a Libra. I just know that I'm complex. Either way, I don't think you're being weird at 2am.

Actually, no, pretty much everyone does that on and off. It's called 'cognitive dissonance'.


Jon

Again with the psychology nerdism! Thanks Jon, very interesting.

I still hold that I'm complex though.

I have this 'two minds' thing everyday, I would be surprised if most people didn't. When considering two options, or two sides of an argument are we not doing this?

I pretty much say what I think although some subjects do indeed cause a dilema