I don't think that calling someone an ageing sexual misfit sounds either like a compliment or an attempt to rehabilitate them. I don't particularly feel the need to demonstrate that I hate say, Gary Glitter, David Irving or Ossama Bin Laden any more than anyone else. They are all sad basket cases to me, no matter how unsavoury I find them.
I have recently been in an interesting debate here with Peter K. on the Irving case. Although I do not agree with his views entirely, it is interesting to hear a man defend the rights of the unattractive bigot. I respect him for that. Similarly, the test of our compassion is not how much sympathy we can muster for brown eyed orphans, dewey eyed heroines and cute puppies. We owe human dignity to everyone - even the mass child torturer. Anything less and we diminish our own humantiy. I will have no truck with the "Up against the wall" mob.