Quote Originally Posted by Johanna
I thought the line of reasoning that some people are "sub humans" who don't deserve to live was rather disturbing
I don't know... I have no trouble whatsoever calling for example Hitler "subhuman" or "monster", if you will. Suppose he didn't commit suicide, what would you do with him after WWII if death penalty was absolutely prohibited? Bearing in mind footage from concentration camps?
Humans belong to the animal kingdom and only a veneer of culture and civilized behavior makes us different from them. Actually language is probably the most important characteristic that belongs solely to humans -- but it is socially determined; if a child is separated from all human contact, like Maugli children, he will never learn to speak. In the same way, if an adult person commits "crimes against humanity" I'm not sure he deserves to be called human. The robot story was spot-on.

I seem unable to shut up in this thread.