Curmudgeonly & Skeptical presents Boned Jello: A certain cowboy movie ..

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A certain cowboy movie ..

Looking for a name here, Boss.

Circa 1985, I caught the tail end an old West morality film - on a Christian family entertainment cable channel, of all places. The plot was that a townsman got drunk, drove his wagon recklessly through town, and wound up killing a child. This wasn't a Gunsmoke episode, but had that flavor.

When I tuned in, the drunk was about to be hanged, having been found guilty of murder. Everyone in the town was sorry, his wife was on hand, but it was justice. The consequence of indulging in reckless behavior that harmed others.

I was waiting for the sheriff to stop it, or something, but damned if he didn't get hanged! This was before Lonesome Dove's famous "Jake's Fate" hanging, but I found myself unsettled by it in the same manner. Not that I disagreed; I had just become used to modern molly-coddling sensibilities.

Does anyone know the name of this episode? I am forever wanting to use it in discussions with hard core Libertarians, as an example of changes that are necessary before society makes everything legal, more or less (which in theory, I too advocate). Gracia.

Rodger the Real King of France 1/28/2010 11:44:00 AM 14 Comments

"If the number of Islamic terror attacks continues at the current rate, candlelight vigils will soon be the number-one cause of global warming. "
Argus Hamilton

14 comments:

Kristophr said...: As a libertarian-republican, I don't have a problem with it.

Several witness saw the incident, so there is no question about his guilt.

I would only ask that one of the parents of the dead child demand his life before they take it. I'm far more concerned about their right to get justice than the State and it's supporters worrying about law breaking.

Many libertarians dislike state-imposed death penalties ( as do I ), but none can successfully rationalize away a victim's right to seek justice.; 1/28/10, 12:07 PM
BlogDog said...: "Many libertarians dislike state-imposed death penalties ( as do I ), but none can successfully rationalize away a victim's right to seek justice."

I'm pretty much on agreement with that. But I also think of my garden. When weeds grow in it, I pull them. I don't transplant them.; 1/28/10, 1:03 PM
Anonymous said...: reminds me of the twilight zone episode where the guy does exactly the same thing (except this is the twilight zone of course) and his father gets suckered into buying magic sand from a charlatan claiming it will save his son. So the old man throws the sand on the crowd begging for the magic to work.. and guess what? It does! (This is the twilight zone). Then the rope breaks... The sheriff says, it's the parents' right to still ask for a re-hanging. So the parents of the dead child decide that there had been enough death already et. al..

As for this tv show, no friggin idea what the name of it was :P But I am of a mind to understand and agree with both potential outcomes. If the parents insist on eye for and eye justice, then so be it. If they decide to show compassion in the face of their loss, then that is good too. There is no wrong answer in this kind of situation I think.; 1/28/10, 1:26 PM
BruHa said...: As a Libertarian/Republican, I also find myself conflicted, but I tend to work things out when I boil issues down to individual rights. It was no fault of the girl to get killed. She was killed by another's reckless behavior. By his actions he chose not to remain a member of a civilized society. The rules of his time dictated he pay for his crime by "Hanging from the neck till dead".
A bit if wisdom I read years ago, a quote by Louis L'Amour :

"A mistake constantly made by those who should know better is to judge people of the past by our standards rather than their own. The only way men or women can be judged is against the canvas of their own time."
— Louis L'Amour

Now my strong belief is that one of the few things a Government has a right and a duty to do is protect individual rights, be the fair unbiased arbiter of individual rights, and apply justice equally. And this is where I run into problems with others.

Like I said I am conflicted.

I am pro capital punishment and anti abortion, but from a both a libertarian and religious viewpoint. I believe the unborn innocent deserve to have their rights vigorously protected, and murderers have forfeited their right to live on a civilized planet. (I go round and round with my Libertarian friends on this)

I am a huge fan of the philosophy of Ayn Rand, but remain religious and altruistic, though I hate others telling me/ forcing me on what I need to sacrifice. (I debate and bicker with my religious friends on this one, and quite frankly am still figurring it all out)

I am glad we can grow as a civilization and that we no longer stone people to death for minor offences. (Hint that the pedophile rag head tribe is uncivilized and hasn't grown up in 600 years, but that is another subject)

Bottom line: Justice must be equal. The above mentioned man was hung because of the application of equal justice rather than in spite of it. Not to hang him for whatever reason in that time would have been unjust assuming sentence he received was common for the time.; 1/28/10, 2:08 PM
MJ Wall said...: I had a discussion about this the other day with my brother and mother who are both pretty hardcore Obama voters (they're ok other than that). I like the libertarian mantra of less government. But 'everything legal' is more like anarchy.

That's the beauty of having our Constitution. We don't have to decide how much government we have or don't have, it's already been decided by that document. The mess in Washington we have now is much farther into Totalitarian government than the founding fathers intended and wrote into the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

So when I have to explain to a hundred more people that the constitution is, indeed, written in ink and provides us with all the guidance we need, I feel I've done a small part to educate people who have had the curtains drawn for far too long.; 1/28/10, 2:14 PM
Josh Fahrni-Barn Army Dog Catcher said...: Yeah it sorta sounds like the Twilight Zone episode 'Dust', as said above.; 1/28/10, 3:27 PM
Anonymous said...: "Better to be hanged by your friends, than some strangers" - Jake

Makes me want to watch the series again.; 1/28/10, 3:35 PM
BlogDog said...: Sorry Boss. My Google Fu is usually strong but this one is stymieing me. Might you recollect an actor or an actress who appeared in it? And was it a movie or an episode of a series?; 1/28/10, 4:29 PM
Gayle Miller said...: Looks like a scene from Lonesome Dove to me.; 1/28/10, 4:54 PM
Kristophr said...: BruHa: Justice is for individuals, no the State. Provision of justice for individuals is the only excuse ( besides the common defense ) that the State has for existing.

So fairness of application does not interest me. Only provision of justice for the kid's family ( not the kid ... the kid is beyond all justice now ).; 1/28/10, 5:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Twilight Zone - "Dust" circa 1961

Young man (drunk) runs over young girl with horse (not wagon).

Closest I've come...

Burgie; 1/28/10, 5:16 PM
Rodger the Real King of France said...: I just watched enough of "Dust" to know that wasn't it. Thanks for trying though.; 1/29/10, 11:35 AM
JMcD said...: Western fans everywhere will, no doubt, appreciate this fine old
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQtwZcpYmrk'>Gunsmoke episode</a>; 1/29/10, 1:24 PM
BruHa said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Jj5XnIVc4

;-); 1/29/10, 4:26 PM

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A certain cowboy movie ..

14 comments:

Post a Comment