Sippenhaft.
Definition: Arrest an ersatz culprit through uber policing because the justice system is kaput; aka. the end justifies the means.
There is no simple translation into English that captures the depth and the vengefulness of this German word. "Clan liability" gives you an idea of the concept but sounds as innocent as "motor vehicle liability insurance" to our ears.
Although the concept of taking it out on the family and next of kin of someone is old and still in use in many countries, we hoped it was on its way out.
The early Christians, on the ascent after Jesus returned, soon found "Sippenhaft" used against them. Much later, once they were powerful, the church added the tool to its arsenal.
Modern examples are very diverse and include the attempted financial "Sippenhaft" of the Euro Group going after the grandmas of Cyprus.
When the only civilian airplanes over the US in the days after 911 turned out to be those taking members of the Bin Laden clan home, a friend said: This proved to me that Bush and Cheney had no intention of going after Bin Laden.
In Britain, the most obvious beachhead of Advanced Immigration Methods out of the US, the government is seriously planning to check the immigration status of school children, and there was talk of banning the kids from school. Food stamp "cards" (they really are ration cards for the poor) are also coming to prevent people from spending money on gambling, alcohol and tobacco -- yeah, another government enriched black market is born.
Easter is a good time to get out those good religious ideas and ideals.
They may just be the one most effective way to halt, or at least slow down the march towards the new dark ages.
It seemed to be a great subject for Easter, we couldn't make if funny, hence "never mind the bunny".
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