# Short of being klilled what happened to community assholes & undesirables in ancient times? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122 "2016-06-11T17:09:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122/41 "2016-06-14T13:15:43Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I had to look up weregild and I’m _so_ disappointed it doesn’t mean werewolf gold ☹ “Were” means “man”. Hence “werewolf” is “manwolf”. There’s a whole lot of “were somethings” in mythology, not just wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122/42 "2016-06-14T22:03:39Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > and fairly recent, not in “ancient times.” Most of the disapproval of sex is an invention of Christianity. Prior to that religion spreading, people were far more relaxed about this natural function. For example, many places regularly had fertility festivals and parties that were basically orgies. Prostitution was legal and accepted in ancient Greece and Rome. People openly took lovers of either or both sexes. Adultery wasn’t a crime, but since married women were considered property, a husband could kill a straying wife if he wanted to, unless the woman had some powerful relatives who would come after him if he did so. > Even in Christian-controlled countries, apparently quite a few people didn’t pay any attention to the Christian “sex is for reproduction ONLY” rule. How else would a syphilis epidemic spread in the 16th century? “Sex is for reproduction only” has NEVER been a Christian rule. It was a Catholic rule–a mighty big difference. The Christian rule, on the other hand, is “sex between husband and wife only.” ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122/43 "2016-06-14T22:49:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I do think it’s a big problem in our society. It’s seen in school shootings because kids can’t just move away and start over. We don’t engage people who are ‘different’, there’s no role for them and they can see they are treated as outcasts. > > I’m sure there was rule of law for citizens of Rome, for those who lived in cities that had government structure of some kind, but just as in some places in the world now, justice was available only for the privileged. I’m confused by your first point. Our schools tolerate all manner of violence, criminality and indiscipline from students. We have decided as a matter of law and public policy that every child deserves an education, so we continue to tolerate and provide for shitty little monsters who neither want nor deserve to participate. I would argue that our problems are the result of being excessively tolerant rather than intolerant. But the second point here is a valid one. Whenever someone asks, “How did people do X in the past?” the answer is usually more like, “How did \*rich \*people do X…” or “How did people _in the major cities_ do X…” The poor and the people in remote communities are usually under-represented in the historical records for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122/44 "2016-06-15T00:03:43Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > “Were” means “man”. Hence “werewolf” is “manwolf”. There’s a whole lot of “were somethings” in mythology, not just wolves. I know wer means man - I was learned enough old English in college to know it was the original meaning. Doesn’t make it less disappointing that it’s that usage. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122/45 "2016-06-16T03:16:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Nobody yet mentioned the [ducking stool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucking_stool). I thought those were just for witches… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-of-being-klilled-what-happened-to-community-assholes-undesirables-in-ancient-times/757122.md?page=2)