Better to be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

[bilbous]

Somebodies latest sig put me in mind of this old saying and I am wondering how many people would agree to the sentiment.
To me it means that if you are going to be convicted anyway you might as well make sure you are not innocent. Personally I cannot accept this philosophy however pragmatic it may be but I really think that few others would. Does that make me crazy? Do not mistake me I am no angel and do my share of inappropriate things but they are not things I set out to do for the most part.

[emeraldfool]

I don't think it applies just to misdeeds. Taking the metaphor on a more broader meaning you could say it's more like the old "If yer gonna set out to do something, do it right and see it through" mentality, even if it means getting hung.

I dunno, I have a way of seeing things from a weird perspective

[bilbous]

Fair enough. I don't quite see it that way as being hung suggests punishment to me but your "something" could be eligible for such Or I could be reading into it too much. By the way, I had lamb for lunch, a much preferable position although I am not quite sure how it fits in.

I just had a thought, perhaps being hung refers to in the slaughterhouse in which case the expression would probably mean it is better to have experiences before you die than to die without ever having any. Curious, I wonder why this has never occurred to me all these years.

[emeraldfool]

Interesting I had turkey for dinner. Teriyaki - that's chinese rice-wine marinade. With brown sugar. It was good.

[Idoru]

well, I like Emeralds interpretation myself.

Anyway, its hangged, not hung.

[bilbous]

I had chicken soup I made from scratch. I wonder how I would tell if lunch came from a sheep or a lamb, the package, which I never saw, could have been mislabeled...mutton.

it would be hung from a hook in a slaughterhouse wouldn't it?

[lordraleigh]

Better to have a great lawyer/defender  to "prove" you are innocent/right 

[Idoru]

it would be hung from a hook in a slaughterhouse wouldn't it?

It most certainly would be. But didnt someone mention punishment? I figured the reference was aimed at theft and being hanged as punishment for it. better to steal the sheep and get hanged for it than steal a lamb. I may be misunderstanding the saying, iv not heard it before.

[zanzibar]

I don't think it applies just to misdeeds. Taking the metaphor on a more broader meaning you could say it's more like the old "If yer gonna set out to do something, do it right and see it through" mentality, even if it means getting hung.

I dunno, I have a way of seeing things from a weird perspective

You've misunderstood Bilbous's posts.  The saying means that if you're going to suffer for something you didn't do, you might as well do it.

[lordraleigh]

I disagree fully with such view.

Turning an act of injustice into an act of justice, specially if directed against you, is nothing but self-conformism and a way to negate the initial truth on it(you were a victim of injustice).

If someone framed you as a murderer would you become one?

[zanzibar]

I disagree fully with such view.

Turning an act of injustice into an act of justice, specially if directed against you, is nothing but self-conformism and a way to negate the initial truth on it(you were a victim of injustice).

If someone framed you as a murderer would you become one?

Well, you aren't really negating any injustice because all you're doing is creating another injustice.  And murder isn't a relevant example because the saying is more or less to do with things which aren't of as harmful a nature.

[Nurahk]

"If you have to get wet, may aswell go swimming"

[bilbous]

I actually think it is more go experience what you can than do what you are going to be unjustly punished for. It really makes more sense to me. Also If you do what they accuse you of you are letting them define you and it matters little if you would not have done it, by doing it, you are what they say you are. If you have principles you have to live by them even if it becomes inconvenient although few people are able to be steadfast under all circumstances.

[zanzibar]

I actually think it is more go experience what you can than do what you are going to be unjustly punished for. It really makes more sense to me. Also If you do what they accuse you of you are letting them define you and it matters little if you would not have done it, by doing it, you are what they say you are. If you have principles you have to live by them even if it becomes inconvenient although few people are able to be steadfast under all circumstances.

It depends on how much importance you grant motive.

[Radiant Memphis]

The meaning of it if I remember rightly was because at the time of it's inception there where a lot of crimes that if committed incurred the same heavy penalty. For example at one point in history thievery and murder where once given the same punishment. Ergo, if someone knowing that where about to take someone for their money they would just as likely kill said person as well as take the money. This way there is one less person to know or alert any others of it. Thereby keeping the thief from the danger being caught. Besides, if the punishment was death and this person was a thief, why then not a murder as well as it was viewed the same in the eyes of the law of the time. Of course then there was times that a thief was caught that only stole (but not murder) out of starvation or some great need and in some cases the court would lessen or wave any punishment thereof. That all dependent on the circumstance of the misdoing of the individual. Of course laws have changed and this old proverb doesn't hold as much meaning as it once did due to law changes...or so I've read. It seems more used in the political arena more than anything else these days.