The Scorched-Earth Obsession

First and foremost my heart goes out to all fire victims. It angers me to know that someone, or some people could do this intentionally. Some of you may say that the arsonists do not deserve harsh punishment, and they should waste tax payers money and stay in a prison, where instead of be "rehabillitated" they probably will only grow more angry, I believe if convicted, they should be the ones cleaning up the mess. Not sitting in a prison, talking to a therapist about their "excuses" as to why they endangered so many lives, just because they were angry. Some people need to quite making up excuses for criminals. An ARSONISTS = CRIMINALS. They endangered lives. Destroyed homes. Peoples lives. They are the reason 7 people are dead. And for what? Just because they were angry. Stop making excuses for them, be as they may be "juvenilles." ---how does the saying go? you committ the crime.....you'll do the time....... i know a little cliche but true....

To jeanlafitte16.....So, let me get this straight. In protest of the Iraq War, Fascism, Imperialism and Big Government crime, someone scorches the earth, creating enormous ecological hardship, not to mention overwhelming amounts of pain and suffering for thousands of people (who vote). For what? So that the bad guys will learn to not be bad? Please draw the line for me between the two piles of dog-****, because I don't get the point? Who's learning the lesson? How does this HELP anything?
Pirates and Robin Hoods and Jihaadists are romanticized opportunists at best. Take away the musical score and the costumes and you have a bunch of unwashed, desperate, adolescent sociopaths.

An arsonist, any arsonist, is a piece of human garbage who simply doesn't give a damn about life or property. They are inadequate cowards who, instead of finding a positive way to improve their pathetic lives, cause injury and damage to others without regard. Society affords rights and priviledges to those who abide by society's laws. When anyone opts to go outside those laws, he/she shoud forfeit any rights and priviledges. There is no way these vermin can make restitution. They should not be released with a slap on the wrist. They deserve a life sentence without parole at "hard labor", not lounging around on the taxpayers dollar with exercise facilities and a library to get a law degree. Society owes them nothing. We need to get tough with social deviants. They are incorrigible and are a cancer that cannot be cured.

Well, the more blatant "law enforcement" and other Government crime which I see go unacknowledged, the more understanding I have towards those who strike back (and I do not give a *** who is monitoring this posting). So, for all you "law enforcement heroes" who have arrested someone without warrant or evidence, conducted Special Operations" black bag jobs such as those ritual illegal surreptitious home entries, and lied under colour of authority - it looks like (I'm guessing now) that a number of people have found opportunity to hit back. Expect more in years to come.

After being a FF for 5 years, I know what to expect most of the time when coming upon a fire scene. It's never easy when you hear that the fire was started intentionally. I will never understand any of the motivations for arson, nor will I understand how you can intentionally set a fire when you know that it will ruin the lives of thousands of people to even a few. I personally believe we should rangle up all the arsonists and stick their arm in a raging fire for a few seconds or maybe longer, but not allow them to see the fire, as most of the time that is why they start it, and see how they like being on the other end of it, instead of just being a spectator, Maybe that's just me and maybe I sound crazy, but after losing friends and loved ones to an arsonist out for the sheer pleasure of seeing a building burn to the ground, I'm a litle more than angry with them.

After reading the article it does seem as though perhaps arson is an avenue of abuse for the antisocial personality disordered individual. To have no sence of consequence for the actions chosen, but rather a distorted sence of elation from causing chaos on such a large scale, is hugely antisocial behavior. Antisocials rarely benefit from psychiactric treatments from what I've read, because they simply don't have a plateau that they can be reached on to even get them into therapy until they've violated the rights of others to the point where they are forced to by a penial system. Having encountered antisocials in my own personal experience as well, it seems highly likely that the disorder may exhibit demonstrations of arson, but by no means should be thought of as the only personality type that would set a fire. Mental health screening would be a wonderful start, but can we ethically force "at risk" people to receive treatment against their will? if antisocials knew they were identified through mandatory screening they may decrease their abusiveness for the simple reason that they would know they were identified. Their need to abuse and be destructive in order to self actuate would manifest in other darker behaviors, maybe not as vastly devastating as huge fires but certainly no less grave to whomever their victims would be. It is difficult to say where the best place to start is, it is not difficult to recognize that mental health screening on a larger scale is hugley needed, and beginning somewhere would likely be more beneficial then blogging opposites.

wow all of you who say *** like arsonist should be killed or have limbs cut off are great representations of this nations ignorent stupidity. why not instead of killing them or injuring them, locking them up in prision and getting psychologist to talk to them, you know, maybe to find out what messes up in the brain that causes you to enjoy hurting people or masturbating to a fire. futhermore didn't they say half the fires are started by juevinilles? if a kid is gonna be pissed and start a fire to relese his/her anger or to express it, don't you think something bad must have happened? like abusive parents or parents getting a divorce. try to understand crimanls, instead of calling them varmin. zaksmom, go do what ignorent dumbasses do best, earn a darwin award.

We should practice fire management. Naturally forests burn periodicly. If this is halted, then brush piles up and allows huge forest killing fires to burn. Simple plan is to set fires, allow them to burn a while, then put them out. Additively remove enough brush so the fire does not heat up to sterilize the forest. Why cannot we attempt this preventive measure? Because people fear fire. Let science rule.

to atlantic1
WHAT???????

from:docinalabama
to:atalntic1
what??????

Without minimizing the destruction and horror of arson, angry citizens should remember that some of these people need psychiatric treatment just as suicidal people do. Can a morbidly sick individual be held responsible in the same manner as a rational one? Our legal system says not. If we had a national health care system that included mental health screening, we would see fewer horrendous acts like these.

As a minimum those caught and found guilty should have their hands cut off. Right or left, which ever makes ti mosy difficult fot the sorry bas----s

Interestingly, a proffer of "dramatic" with regard to a decline in arson fires might also intimate that arson investigators are more poorly trained than in the past; and that NFPA 921 (an arson investigation guide) has more succinctly defined intentionally set fires to the point that it is more difficult to issue an opinion that a fire is incendiary,

By the intention and the meaning conveyed in many of the comments, one can clearly determine the nationalities of the people who posted them...enough said.