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From: jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Is air piracy ALWAYS inexcusably evil?
Message-ID: <2333@mit-hermes.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 13:15:53 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-herm.2333
Posted: Thu Mar 21 13:15:53 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Mar-85 02:44:27 EST
References: <4260@ucla-cs.ARPA> <9278@brl-tgr.ARPA> <9311@brl-tgr.ARPA> <2331@mit-hermes.ARPA> <9372@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: The MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 20

< Isn't this just another question of the type "Is it moral to commit an evil
< act in order to avert an even more evil event?" ie, stealing food if you're 
< starving.

> No, the difference in the analogy between the starving person stealing the
> loaf of bread and the hijacking of the airplane is that in the example you
> show, petty theft is not a heinous crime. 

True, but if my life were on the line, I'm not sure that I'd think very
deeply about the "right" thing to do. And if I heard that an innocent person
had saved himself by jeopardizing the lives of other innocent people, I'd
have at least some sympathy. On the other hand, if he were guilty, then his
escape attempt would make him all the more guilty. Unfortunately everyone
decides for themselves whether they are guilty or not. An "innocent" hijacker
has to persuade people that he is ready to kill them, but not actually do so. 

But in the case of the unfortunate Syrian, he may well have achieved his object
even if the Austrians put him in jail for a few years. It's a pretty good bet
that he'd be killed if he were sent home, while by the time the Austrians
let him go the Syrian govt might well have forgotten all about him.