"When I was in my 20s it did occur to me that there was something perverted about an attitude that thought that killing somebody was a minor offence compared to kissing somebody"

John McGahern's quote speaks to the idea that society frequently places more emphasis on penalizing physical acts of intimacy than acts of violence. He is suggesting that it is perverse to believe that killing somebody is a small offence compared to kissing somebody. This suggests that society has a warped sense of morality, where physical acts of love are seen as more unethical than acts of violence. McGahern's quote is a commentary en route society views physical intimacy, and how it is typically seen as more unethical than violence. He is suggesting that this is an out-of-date and in reverse mindset, and that it needs to be reassessed. His quote is a tip that physical acts of love need to not be viewed as more immoral than acts of violence, which society must strive to produce a more well balanced and fair view of morality.