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gratuitous

(82,849 posts)
7. Reminds me of a passage from Bishop Tutu's book
Fri Apr 27, 2012, 05:48 PM
Apr 2012

Desmond Tutu was on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the apartheid system collapsed in South Africa ("No Future Without Forgiveness" was the book title). As part of the rehabilitation of South African society, anyone who voluntarily appeared before the Commission was absolved of any criminal penalties for testifying about their actions under the apartheid regime.

One man who testified had been a policeman and a guard in one of the more notorious prisons. He related his participation in the torture and murder of a black activist the police had apprehended. He and his pals had beaten the man unconscious when he throttled the man's testicles, which swelled up to the size of grapefruits. He testified that he then punched the swollen glands, and the man died, his skin turning from black to a sickly gray as the guard punched his testicles.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel like laughing after reading Tutu's account. But to each his own, I guess.

Ouch NewJeffCT Apr 2012 #1
damn! JitterbugPerfume Apr 2012 #2
I was in a pool of jurists where the accused was charged with assault by squeeze. Scuba Apr 2012 #3
Horrible. geardaddy Apr 2012 #4
That's pretty awful. n/t Chan790 Apr 2012 #5
I feel pain just from reading the headline Ron Obvious Apr 2012 #6
Reminds me of a passage from Bishop Tutu's book gratuitous Apr 2012 #7
Torture is horrible lunatica Apr 2012 #8
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