Off with their Heads. Bring back the guillotine.
By katerina
@thea09 (18305)
Greece
January 1, 2010 1:47pm CST
DISCLAIMER: Only enter if you have a sense of humour.
'Orf with their heads' has been the age old cry when disposing of unwanted monarchs and toffs, or the idle rich as they are better known. The crowds cheered in 1789 as the guillotine was in full swing in Paris and there would have been mass rejoicing when Charles 1 lost his head if only dour Oliver Cromwell would have allowed people to be cheerful ( a little known fact is that Britain would still be a republic today if only old Oliver hadn't banned humour from the population).
Here in the Mani the age old tradition of nailing your enemies head to the wall was much established until recent years. Feuding neighbours, Turks and Pirates all hung up there in their severed states to the great pride of the new owner.
Wasn't it much easier to deal with our enemies in this neat way rather than allowing them to flourish, mismanage countries, and hold up the court systems for years? Do I hear the cry 'Bring back the guillotine'?
8 people like this
16 responses
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
1 Jan 10
Hello, Thea. Starting the year as we mean to go on, being politically correct -NOT. Whatever gave Solar Panel that idea? Yes, I'm all for bringing back the guillotine. It's a wonderful deterrent, isn't it? Whatever misdemeanour was committed, it's almost impossible to do it again without a head. Of course, it could be bad for the economy - hairdressers would go out of business - but we have to be prepared to accept a certain amount of collateral damage..
1 person likes this
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Jan 10
Not from me. I vote for impaling them. The Medieval Romanian King, Vlad Tepes (the most probable source of inspiration for Dracula's story), had a very efficient way of keeping the country in order and the enemies at a respectful distance: the impalement. It is also said that one time, when an Ottoman diplomat came to his court and refused to remove his turban, he had his turban nailed to the head... I prefer impalement to nailing to the head or to the guillotine. And if we use the wood of plum-trees, we will also reduce the number of drunk people (plumbs are renowned around here for the spirit distilled from them).
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
2 Jan 10
I will always remember a line from the Iliad when Andromaca bids Hector not to go, saying "Who will feed our son sheep marrow at dinners?". I mean... sheep marrow? Gross...
I have nothing against Hector, but I think in the movie they stole the "horsemaster" idea from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" (the Kingdom of Rohan, to be more precise). I mean, even Priam's sword (which he gives to his looser of a son, Paris) is way to similar to Theoden's sword...
But that wasn't the topic of the discussion, I just tell the marrow and the sword story whenever the topic is tangential to Troy or the Iliad 
I don't think I could get near to Achilles' skill (after all, he was half-god) - considering my weight, I think it's more likely of me to be somewhat similar to... Ajax (the one with the shield, not the other one).
I don't think I could get near to Achilles' skill (after all, he was half-god) - considering my weight, I think it's more likely of me to be somewhat similar to... Ajax (the one with the shield, not the other one).
@vandana7 (100526)
• India
2 Jan 10
Well, for your kind information, goat and sheep's marrow is considered a delicacy out here. I wonder if Lamb will close his account and start a new one after knowing this. LOL. It is cooked in a special way, and there is a special bone marrow spoon as well. I don't know if it is there in the west. But out here that is the case, so what sounds gross to you, may not sound that bad to me cub. :)
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
2 Jan 10
and my mother's relatives the Senkbeils will all be back in a job?
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
2 Jan 10
Senkbeil = guillotine
Want some cherry cake with that?
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
1 Jan 10
I think it's a horrible idea, and you're not hearing that cry from me. What happened to "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law"? As far as a sense of humor, I don't have one when it comes to something like this, and yes, I did read your disclaimer, but I wanted to post anyway. I'd rather have the courts systems tied up rather than see someone who is truly innocent get executed, especially in this manner.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
1 Jan 10
Coolcoder, when exactly did you have your sense of humour surgically removed. This is a fun discussion - we're not running a lynch mob here, you know. When you come to p.e. you get satire, mickey taking, and the occasional serious discussion. This isn't one of them.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
1 Jan 10
i'm more in favor of the stockade.
you can throw tomatoes!
seriously though,my town had one until recently.
they finally had to remove it because kids were locking their friends in and leaving them there.
seriously though,my town had one until recently.
they finally had to remove it because kids were locking their friends in and leaving them there.@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
1 Jan 10
i think bro slob may have done it once..
but the kid in question thouroughly deserved it.he was always getting us in trouble.
yea this one was outside a colonial courthouse.
first they got rid of the top,then removed it entirely.
it was history,but people couldn't stop messing with it.
yea this one was outside a colonial courthouse.
first they got rid of the top,then removed it entirely.
it was history,but people couldn't stop messing with it.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
1 Jan 10
hi thea oh yes once done no more mr bad guy or miss or mrs. bad woman. what a deterrent, maybe we would not hear so many horror stories about moms killing their own children for example or child molesters who get out of prison only to molest all over again and again. yes that just might really work.oh yeah and all the wife beaters who finally put the finishing touches on wife and beat her to oblivion. Maybe put the heads in a public place to deter the other child molesters and wife beaters, good deal.
@vandana7 (100526)
• India
2 Jan 10
Hi Hatley, child molesters are generally people close to family! It becomes difficult to let others know that because nobody believes the child. :( I've been one such victim. :( Funny, even though I told it, people took a stand against me for years, till god intervened, and ruined the molester's daughter's life for good. But I think mother of the child molester is as responsible! She should be bringing up her child well, rather than opting for excessive socializing. What do you say? Don't you think there should be some punishment for the parents as well for letting the children go astray?
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
9 Jan 10
I would have to go for the hangman's noose as there is something more sinister watching someone hang there, limbs quivering especially if it wasn't done properly. Guillotene is too quick and is less likely to fail.
Now am I being serious or not??
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
9 Jan 10
Oh but it isn't that the fun of it, the tension of whether the noose will work properly or the victim's demise will be painfully prolonged. The theatrics of it all are wonderful and those blood splashes from a guillotene are a devil to get out of cotton, lol.
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
1 Jan 10
Speaking of job descriptions, perhaps Madame Guillotine could be reintroduced for anyone who manages to pass their real estate, insurance broking, car sales, or law qualifications. Especially the last one. We may not have much of a clue what we're all doing in those cases, but at least our confusion will mostly be honest confusion.
Lash
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
3 Jan 10
Well anybody in any 'professional' occupation ought to be beheaded neatly if they are caught in corruption. That would probably behead most of people in government.... and solve the problem of the budget crisis. We'd no longer have to pay any taxes for their salaries, they'd all be gone.
@PeacefulWmn9 (10420)
• United States
2 Jan 10
Approaching it from the aspect of humor, yes, there have been a few heads I'd like to have seen roll!
We humans do tend to have a bit of the barbaric side still floating around our collective gene pools lol.
Karen@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
2 Jan 10
Hi Karen, I think the use of the guillotine was actually a fascinating part of history especially in France. And the old Maniot history down here with heads on walls is all true, as it was common practice for neighbouring feuds to result in that end.
1 person likes this
@PeacefulWmn9 (10420)
• United States
2 Jan 10
History is fascinating. Have you ever read the book: Pillars of the Earth?
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Jan 10
Yes, bring it back in for the entire United States Government I say! No offence to the Americans, but their governments have been ruining the world for long enough. It is time for a new world order! 
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
19 Feb 10
The title of your discussion reminded me of something that my little one would do when she was just a tiny baby. When she was displeased with something, she would make this annoyed sound and make a gesture that resembled cutting someone's head off with a knife. I know that it did not really mean anything other than it was a way for her to show her annoyance, but we labeled it her "off with your head" gesture. So yes, I agree that we should shout a resounding "Off with their heads!" when someone displeases us. However, I don't think that I would want to have the job of actually doing the beheading.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
19 Feb 10
Ha, luring me out by answering something two months old I see Purple. I do try and get back but usually just for a couple of minutes before bed.
As to chopping orf heads I don't think there's ever been a woman in charge of that one, their job was to sit around wearing black and knitting. Hugs by the way my dear, I saw you left me some somewhere else.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
20 Feb 10
I will be sneaky and do things like this just to get some time with you, my friend. *HUGS* I do like the new emoticon that symbolizes the hugs, but I think that my old way works just as well.
Alright, if you say that there has never been a woman in charge of cutting people's heads off, then you know I will have to take that as a challenge and apply for the job. I guess that I can do it once or twice (only for those really deserving of it, though - I will not tolerate any frivolous head cutting just to prove a point) and be the first woman to have that position, especially since I do not know how to knit. I do look good in black, though, so at least I will be styling while I am decapitating people.
Alright, if you say that there has never been a woman in charge of cutting people's heads off, then you know I will have to take that as a challenge and apply for the job. I guess that I can do it once or twice (only for those really deserving of it, though - I will not tolerate any frivolous head cutting just to prove a point) and be the first woman to have that position, especially since I do not know how to knit. I do look good in black, though, so at least I will be styling while I am decapitating people. @vandana7 (100526)
• India
2 Jan 10
Hi thea, there is this thing about guillotine! People become martyrs in the eyes of a few! And that faction exists. :( So we had stories like Scarlet Pimpernel, and Charles Dickens' The Tale of Two Cities, which portrayed such things as irrational! Back in our times, there was a girl who liked the guy who killed Mrs. Gandhi so much that she even got married to him before he was sent to gallows! That much of adulation! So I am not in favor of guillotine. I am in favor of ruining the person's reputation so much that people consider him / her unfit to associate with. Of course, we shouldnt let them lose on poor lambs of the society. But we can use their services as unpaid labor! Let the bleeding hearts and human rights activists cry hoarse! Who cares. :)
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
2 Jan 10
Hi Vandana, the Scarlet Pimpernel wasn't fiction, he was real, I'm not with it yet today, got the flu, or I'd fill you in.
Your Mrs Gandhi killer sounds like all those prison groupie ones in the US who fall in love with serial killers thinking they can change their ways.
@bodhisatya (2384)
• India
2 Jan 10
Yeah just BRING it back. I should just take some lessons in knitting, HEHEHEHEhehehe....
(This laugh is supposed to be very sinister).
@Ambitiouslyleiah (591)
• United States
2 Jan 10
yes yes i agree saying off with their heads and wiping the bad guys out... well, it worked. *sigh
