prison for what?

so Pussy Riot were found guilty of"hooliganism"yesterday and began 2 years sentences.

russia is not britain nor is it somewhere else but whilst we in britain and elsewhere think we can see the  absurdity of that ussian law,it ought amongst other things make us think about some of the absurdities about probably more than some of the laws in our own countries.

that said,lets not turn our attention away from the fate of these courageous women in russia.

amongst the long litany of banalities read out and spoken about in court was that they stirred religious hatred.rather it seems t me,it demonstrates that the church and state have no sense of humour.and if god is so great why does the godhead need the protection of human beings,to come down in such an oppresssive way on these women.i am not a bible quoter-that usually consists of believers"intellectually clobberring others"or trying to prove their superiority to other people-but i cant help but point out that jesus christ preached the idea of "turning the other cheek"when we christians are"attacked".it seems to me that at worst this was a performance attack on ideas,so why does the church bring down the wrath not of god but the state on these women?

i believe that in britain,at worst this would have been a breach of the peace usually dealt with by a ind over to keep the piece,with fine for breach as the"sting in the tale".even if they were to receive 2 years custody for something more serious-for what-it is highly likely that the sentence would be suspended given the responsibilities or"vulnerabilities"of the women(i make no assumptions here)my view is that they are entirely innocent of anything............

even at the level of notinally accepting the actual sentence,i believe that the following might apply.i can imagine wriitng reorts fr sentencing which would spell out both their morally informed choices,but also the consequences of sentencing on others in the ambit of an individual.in english law it is acknowledged that whilst the court has the right to punish,it has to be very circumspect of the impact on others such as children and other deendents.

the"numbers" are relevant.even if the sentence were not suspended or an alternative imposed,having served 5 months,which is almost half,they could be released at the midway point giving them another 7 months to serve.with the application of various early release schemes.thes women could be released in weeks if not days.

but i come back to the same point,that essentially i believe these women are guilty of nothing.at the absolute limit i might conceed that they have offended others.in a "mature liberal democracy offending others is not just NOT a crime(mostly)but it is a positive right.

id rather see an end to autocracy and authoritarian rule.id rather see order without government,certainly without the current arrangements that constitutes the state.we have to be able to do this another way.and these couragoous women are showing,like many others over many issues-that everything can be contested and that there are other ways.