Recently Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect responsible for the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks was captured in Brussels during a raid. As soon as the news broke social media was awash with angry commentators from around the globe. One Buzzfeed commentator wrote, "I’m not an advocate of violence. But I really hope this piece of sh*t gets punched real hard, several hundred times in the face with a baseball bat." Another posted this response: "Get all the required information out of him and then kill the c***." The Facebook page for NBCalso has their fair share of vitriolic comments. One individual posted, "They should hang him on live TV after dousing him with pigs blood!!!" and another wrote, "Off with his head!! Viva le guillotine!" There's no subtly in these comments.
It should be noted that I do not have any sympathy for this man or for any of his accomplices. The pain and the suffering that they inflicted upon the people of Paris is deplorable for sure, and they deserve whatever punishment comes their way.
Yet I hesitate to join the throngs of people calling for decapitations and dousing people with pig's blood. I want these terrorists to face punishment for their grievous crimes, but I cannot bring myself to gleefully demand beheading anyone with a guillotine.
Acculturated, an online pop culture magazine, published a piece that poses a very good question: "Should we rejoice at the suffering of badmen?" Acculturated's article focuses on the prison beatings of Subway front-man, Jared Fogle, which has garnered numerous jeers and celebrations of violent retribution just like the capture of Salah Abdeslam. There is no denying that both men are terrible people who have committed grave offenses, but should we celebrate violence against them? It is a moral quandary that I'd rather not think about.
Brandon McGinley, the author of that Acculturated article sums it up pretty well. He writes, "Yes, the predator has become the prey, and it is on one level viscerally satisfying. But—but!—there is nothing good or worthy or humane or just about human beings treating one another as animals—regardless of the state of the victim’ssoul." I would have to agree with McGinley here, though I doubt some of the individuals who posted those social media comments feel the same way.
That being said, I don't think many (if any at all) would actually pull the guillotine lever if given the chance. It is a lot easier to call for violence behind the mask of online anonymity than it is to actually go through with your threats. Neither Abdeslam nor Fogle deserve any pity, but I think it would be wise to consider your own morality when advocating for the return of the guillotine.
