The Daily Mail described a man stabbing a woman in the back more than 20 times as a “Romeo and Juliet style attack”, because nothing says romance like attempted murder.
They picked up the phrase because the victim used it in a desperate attempt to take the knife from her attacker. It’s vile, but not surprising, that Betts bought into this twisted fantasy, he’s a man who responded to rejection by trying to kill a woman. But surely international publications can do better than murderers?
And just to add some vile backstory, Alan Jones, at the time of Bett’s conviction, said: “I have seen these things in Shakespearean plays. It just happens.”
Some points to note:
- Shakespeare was fiction
- Attempted murder is a crime
- It does not “just happen”, someone makes a choice to try to murder another person
- Rejection can cause tears, anger, hurt feelings and misery. It does not cause murder.
- The only cause of murder is a choice to murder someone.
- Alan Jones is revolting
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