Jon Venables

[BeansBeansBeans]

Do you think the public (or the parents of James Bulger) have a right to know the reasons behind Jon Venables' return to custody?

Personally, I don't believe it is in the public interest. It's an emotive subject though, because of the nature of the crime.

Your views?

[BDunnell]

No, they don't. Will Self's views as expressed on Question Time last night were absolutely right, too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...me/8550915.stm

[Daniel]

I agree.

[Daniel]

I agree.

People here are overly paranoid about their children. The strangest thing happened to me the other day....

Some girl who'd recently popped out a sprog updated her facebook status to say something like "I wish people who don't have kids would stop giving people parenting advice" and I said something like "Just because someone's had unprotected sex doesn't mean they make a better parent!"

So she flies off the handle and says wtf blah blah and deletes me from her friends list. Obviously she's got the wrong end of the stick so I message her back saying

Hi dozeybiznitch (name changed to protect the ignorant), didn't mean that about you personally or anything, just that you get some people who think just because they've had a kid that they know what to do. Certainly not trying to say that about you though. Sorry if I offended you.

Daniel

I thought that was pretty reasonable considering what I was saying was pretty obvious and she'd flown off the handle.

So she replies

well i have taken it personally. we tried for darcy for 8 months... for for us any way it wasnt just un protected sex. im 26 & ian is 33!!!!! your the type of person i was on about

it goes on for a little while longer and she says

Well im struggling to see how you got me having a go at my sister in law on facebook to me or people i know having un protected sex because we are child abuser. what a sick and twisted mind you have. if i ever see that you write anythin else like that on any of our mutual friends wall i will be reporting you to the police

At that point I reported her moronic messages to Facebook just so the whole stupid episode is on record somewhere. I mean wtf?

[christophulus]

No, they don't. Will Self's views as expressed on Question Time last night were absolutely right, too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...me/8550915.stm

I don't think the public have a right to know the details, but I can see the merits of the home office or whoever saying whether he went back for a technical infringement or another violent crime. It'd at least let the public know if he is "rehabilitated" or not.

Having said that, I do pretty much agree with what Will Self said.

[Dave B]

I don't think it's in the public interest to know, but it gives the tabloids something to bleat on about until Gordon Brown's finished giving evidence to Chilcot. Nice to see the "hanging's too good for 'em" brigade out in force on the comment pages.

[Daniel]

I don't think it's in the public interest to know, but it gives the tabloids something to bleat on about until Gordon Brown's finished giving evidence to Chilcot. Nice to see the "hanging's too good for 'em" brigade out in force on the comment pages.

[BDunnell]

I don't think the public have a right to know the details, but I can see the merits of the home office or whoever saying whether he went back for a technical infringement or another violent crime. It'd at least let the public know if he is "rehabilitated" or not.

What good does it do for us, the public, to know? I can't think of how it would affect me one way or the other, quite frankly.

[Daniel]

What good does it do for us, the public, to know? I can't think of how it would affect me one way or the other, quite frankly.

I think people don't necessarily want to know as such, it's just that they don't want to not know. He could be around the corner from me, why should I be a proper parent and actually take care of my children? etc etc

[BDunnell]

I think people don't necessarily want to know as such, it's just that they don't want to not know.

Precisely. People are utterly fascinated by this sort of thing, in a voyeuristic way rather than out of any genuine interest or concern.