It's not a sign of intellectual rigor, broad-mindedness or virtuous humanity to empathize with career criminals; it's cowardice masquerading as such.

I can assure you none of you would be pleading for nuance if you had had a single experience of the pitiless malevolence with which such individuals operate.

These people ruin lives, communities, entire societies for petty monetary gain. They deserve no sympathy nor quarter. — Tzeentch

For the record, I largely agree with you. However I would like to offer the reminder that most people go through life fully, living and dying in a state of quasi-debilitation never really knowing or understanding the things some of us take for granted in life. Simply put, the lights are not all on upstairs.

"Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity" seems to be the words of a fool in your eyes, no? :smile:

While most people will state they "don't care", the reality of the individual is they simply don't understand. It's like dealing with a dog. It hungers, so it eats. It is blameless until one tries to view it as anything but what it is—an equal—which is unfortunately what you seem to be doing for reasons I cannot imagine.

There's a fine line here. Rogues are people who break the rules and thus evoke sympathy (something like Jack Sparrow). They remain within the rules themselves. The current conversation isn't about morally black (bad) people, but about morally gray people. That is, those who live entirely outside the good/bad paradigm. The phenomenon I'm talking about has a somewhat different nature. These heroes seem bad, but they are a reflection of us—they're just like us, with everyday problems. And we no longer know whether they're bad or not, or whether we can justify them (because we're all a bit like Walter White). — Astorre

I wasn't talking about black and white characters, either. "Morally gray" characters are nothing new, nor is the critics' hand-wringing over the "moral decline". Again, classic epics are a prime example, but if you want something more recognizable and relatable, look no further than nineteenth century literature - plenty of examples there: Thackeray, Maupassant, etc.

I think life is more complicated for many people than you do. Which is fine. I'm not going to change your mind, so there is little point in bothering. — Malcolm Parry

Good point. Some people are happy to judge others from the warm fug of ignorance. I’ve certainly done this myself.

I’ve known many career criminals, some bikies and gang members. Many of them, from what I have seen, didn’t have much of a chance from the start. Would I hesitate to shoot one if I had to? Probably not. But that doesn’t remove my feelings of sympathy, even if it’s qualified.

Do you think we'll see a true survival show by 2035? Like deathmatches or frantic races?
The participants could be death row inmates, debtors, or the terminally ill, and the action could take place in third-world countries. The technical details aren't so important; what matters is whether modern society is ready for such a show.

Ha! We don’t need a structured show for this. It’s probably more about putting cameras in real world hot spots. For a tame example, look at what YouTube makes of Philadelphia.

I think human beings are always ready for barbarism, it’s one of our capacities, along with empathy and compassion. Some of the biggest criminals I have met have been among the most generous. Sentimentality and cruelty go together. Anyway a lot of sci fi stories seem to have taken this plot as a modern day version of the coliseum.

Ever seen Soylent Green? Long before your time, but a chilling dystopian sci-fi.

I always loved the opening title sequence too.

I'll definitely check it out. Judging by the description, it looks interesting.