A while ago, the Cognitive Dissonance podcast discussed this story: Indonesian police arrest 62 over Ramadan bar attack. The group is alleged to have attacked bars that were open on Ramadan. “Good,” I thought, “arrest those assholes!”
But as the podcast went on, I remained stuck on another thought. I pictured what is essentially a mass arrest, and in Indonesia no less. Am I really glad that they were arrested in Indonesia? Do I really think that them going through the Indonesian justice system (with all the corruption, torture, abuse and horrible prison conditions) is a half-decent solution to the fucked-up things the 60 are accused of doing? In the end, am I glad when anyone is arrested (or tried, or convicted) in Indonesia — even on worse charges like terrorism or mass murder?
To me, the answer is no. There are some cases where the arrests will undoubtedly result in a better utilitarian outcome for the world (for instance with terrorism or mass). But even then, the moral cost is too high to be smiling. For countries like Indonesia, there are actual crimes where I wouldn’t give the perpetrator up to the justice system.
Now, I’m not going all-anarchist out here: there are plenty of justice systems where I think it’s ok to call the police. But even in Australia, the system’s not good enough for this to be done with no hesitation. Certainly for the US, it ought to be a major consideration.
People seem to understand this better with high profile cases. The trial and execution of Saddam Hussein, for instance, was met with widespread revulsion. And this wasn’t vigilante justice. It wasn’t Gadaffi being sodomised with a stick and torn to shreds by a mob. It was all official, all legal and proper. But people don’t seem to apply those worries in proportion when they think of an “ordinary thug” going through the Iraqi legal system. As opposed to someone who arranged for the deaths of tens of thousands.
This underlines the importance of having a justice system with some credibility. It would be great to support the arrest of fuckwits who commit violence on religious grounds. But given the repressive systems that are in charge of said arrests, how much cheerleading can we actually do?
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