Bet51987 wrote:Will Robinson wrote:...Finding someone else trying to instigate a crime is good. Trying to instigate a crime to see who joins you is bad.
I disagree. There are leaders and followers so entrapping the followers is good. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Bee
There's a fine line to be walked. I can think of some arguments:
1. Most cults form around a very charismatic person. Many of the follows wind up finding themselves in a situation that they never really intended to get into; and it was the charisma of the leader that deceived them into agreeing to things that under normal circumstances they would never have put themselves into.
2. People tend to feed off each other. If a person can isolate a group, and get them focused on his agenda, they can end up going a lot further than they would on their own.
3. Children are quite easy to manipulate. Likewise, the more simple minded the person, the more easily they can be led.
4. People look for people and places that give them the answer that they want to hear. Thus, if a person has terroristic tenancies, they would tend to surround themselves with similar people.
So, the question is: where is the line between leading someone to a place that they don't really want to go, and exposing a hidden desire? I think the difference is who takes the initiative. I think that a cop taking the initiative to propose something specific is wrong, and rightfully illegal entrapment. So, if the under cover guy runs around ranting about Jihad, but never initiates anything specific, that's probably okay. Once he starts being specific, and does any sort of initiation, he's crossed a line. That's my 2c.