Please don't take HN threads further into flamewar. This is a noticeable drop into hell right here.

We don't need you to change your views but we do need you not to post like this. A more substantive, less aggressive way of making your point would be fine.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

There are plenty of crimes that are totally victimless for which we as a society "punish" people. I think you're right that the average person wants punishment for someone who has wronged them, but (for reasons only God knows) I think the average person also wants punishment for people that haven't wronged them at all, but just did something they think is immoral. I'll never forget seeing a neighbor call the cops on my friend who was smoking a joint in her own car. He only knew she was doing it because he was trespassing on her property. I couldn't believe someone would be such a dick to another person. I sure hope we can change cause what we do now is sick.

Sounds like that guy is a control freak. Some people are like that.

They don't seem to improve the world, when they do crap like this. :(

Most people are really shitty. Sadly I can’t think of any satisfactory solution for that problem and I’m not too hopeful that any solution is forthcoming.

No. It's because we possess empathy.

Please don't take HN threads further into flamewar, let along generic ideological flamewar, which is the sort of hell we're trying to avoid here.

not for those who were wronged in the first place

Most offenses in the USA are nonviolent drug offenses. Do you think those people should get long prison sentences?

> not for those who were wronged in the first place

What a shitty and presumptuous assumption to make.

Implying people who disagree with you only do so because they are like criminals is not a very open mindset.