(Insert title here)
A few points come to mind:
A few points come to mind:
• Precautions: Add this one to the list—Don't trust a Chinese man. After all, I've been reminded several times in recent months that women have an obligation to protect themselves against rape, since men apparently can't help themselves. Oh, also add, Don't trust a rich man. And, especially, Don't trust a rich Chinese man. Oh, shit. I almost forgot: Inquire at the outset if a man has faith in fortune tellers. If he says "no", take the precaution of not believing him and hire a private investigator. It's a relatively small, and therefore reasonable and prudent expense to protect yourself against rape.
• Injustice: Throwing a fortune teller in jail because his client raped twenty people is unfair. Or perhaps the fortune teller should have taken the precaution of presuming that a rich Chinese man who is willing to listen to him is a rapist, and thus withheld his superstitious advice.
• Further Injustice: It seems to me that executing the rapist, while it might be satisfying for some, does nothing for justice. Was the fortune teller's superstitious advice based on a personal invention, or was it drawn from more traditional considerations? If "justice" is "achieved" without gaining any substantial understanding of the crime, society cannot prepare itself to prevent similar crimes in the future. Of course, that's not a problem. We can just put that burden on past, present, and future victims. See Precautions above.
• Injustice: Throwing a fortune teller in jail because his client raped twenty people is unfair. Or perhaps the fortune teller should have taken the precaution of presuming that a rich Chinese man who is willing to listen to him is a rapist, and thus withheld his superstitious advice.
• Further Injustice: It seems to me that executing the rapist, while it might be satisfying for some, does nothing for justice. Was the fortune teller's superstitious advice based on a personal invention, or was it drawn from more traditional considerations? If "justice" is "achieved" without gaining any substantial understanding of the crime, society cannot prepare itself to prevent similar crimes in the future. Of course, that's not a problem. We can just put that burden on past, present, and future victims. See Precautions above.