“Charles Napier, the British army’s commander in chief in India, faced with local complaints about the abolition of suttee (the Hindu practice of a widow sacrificing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre), replied ‘You say that is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.’”
__________
From The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker.
Robert Benjamin said:
Fabulous!
That is wisdom!
Auntie Em said:
RB is right. Will share on FB.
marfmc said:
Had forgotten about this. Will post on FB.
Pingback: Steven Pinker on Feminism | The Bully Pulpit