On the record
Severity on one side is met by brutality upon another; one might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “Severity on one side is met by brutality upon another; one might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.”
Editor's note · Context
This statement suggests that excessive severity in law enforcement can provoke equally harsh responses from the public.
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More from Harold J. Laski
The only way to deal with novelty is to understand it, and the only way to deal with grievance is to seek a remedy for the complaint it embodies.
It has been the historic character of persecution always to degrade the persecutor and to strengthen the persecuted by drawing attention to their claims.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
He is able, accordingly, to indulge in the twofold luxury not only of preserving his own authority, but also of assisting the persons attacked to enter, if they so choose, the way of truth.
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