Thought Crimes Quotes

“I think we would all agree that people should not be jailed for thoughts. But when, if ever, does a thought cross the line and become a crime?”
― Gil Valle, Raw Deal: The Untold Story of NYPD's Cannibal Cop

“Once a monk had given himself to his new monastic master he had to obey him – or face the consequences. Numerous rules begin with the formulation ‘Cursed be . . .’. Cursed were those who didn’t give all their wealth to the monastery; cursed were those who shaved without having been ordered to; cursed were those who looked at another monk with desire. If a monk ate, say, the forbidden fruit of cucumber at the wrong time then, the law informed him, ‘he sins’. At least sixty of the rules were devoted to sexual transgressions. Looking desirously at the nakedness of your neighbour while he washed was wrong; as was staring ‘with desirous feeling’ at your own nakedness; those who sat ‘close to one’s neighbour with a filthy desire in their heart’ were also ‘cursed’.
Note that last one: ‘with a filthy desire in their heart’. No sin had been committed. The mere intention of sin was now a sin in itself. In Shenoute’s monastery even thoughts were policed. ‘Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?’ the Lord had asked. The answer from the White Monastery at least was a resounding no. As this new generation of hard-line Christian preachers constantly reminded their congregations in fierce, hectoring speeches, there was nowhere to hide from the all-seeing eyes of the Lord.”
― Catherine Nixey, The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World

“To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?

We all know who it is that we are not permitted to criticize. We all know who it is that it is a sin to criticize.

Sodomy is no longer a sin in America. Treason, and burning and spitting and urinating on the American flag is no longer a sin in America. Gross desecration of Catholic or Protestant religious symbols is no longer a sin in America. Cop-killing is no longer a sin in America - it is celebrated in rap "music." The degradation of beautiful young girls in disgusting pornography is no longer a sin in America. The killing by the multiple millions of the next generation in the womb is no longer a sin in America.

But anti-semitism is the ultimate sin in America. But as things get worse and worse, we are losing our fear of this silly word. We all know who it is that controls the wealth of our nation through their exchanges and counting-houses in New York. We all know who it is that has deformed the minds of two generations of Americans with their television programs.”
― Kevin Alfred Strom

“There are two major problems I can see with the idea of putting a computer chip inside a human brain: The first is that our thoughts and memories are no longer private. They will be accessible and hackable. Secrets will be a thing of the past. Thought crimes will be a reality, and the prosecutors will have concrete evidence. Secondly, on reincarnation the soul could become trapped inside an entity which is part machine and part human. What happens when the soul is unable to leave the body is a complete unknown, and surely also open to nefarious manipulation.”
― Jack Freestone