las.
Active member
First of all, this IS about a lack of criminals (logical process: lack of criminals -> empty prisons -> no need to keep prisons running, therefore budget cuts). So, like I said in the op, this is a fantastic demonstration of what a civilized, rational nation can accomplish, and since the point of this thread is obviously still escaping some of you, I'll spell it out (I didn't originally intend to make this a who's better than who thread, but I need a reference point, and, for obvious reasons, that's you America): if you want your civilized, western nation to have similar results, then, in my opinion, there needs to be a massive re-evaluation on what punishment fits what crime (excluding, obviously, psychopathic crimes like murder and rape and just really disturbing violence - the people who premeditatively commit those crimes are most of the time, as we know, not rehabilitatable), and most importantly not basing the punishments on humiliation and revenge on the inmate like the old-testament style penal code America has.
People very often tend to dehumanize criminals, thinking of them as external to society. Regardless of the severity of the crime, criminals still need to be treated with dignity, as human beings, because the majority of the time they're going to be released back into society. Is regression/a perpetuation of that felonious behaviour really that surprising when former convicts now essentially hold no rights, no skills, no freedom, with a permanent stain on their lives and records, and who are almost certainly going to be living below the poverty line working a minimum wage job? Fuck no. Additionally, if these usually young, educationally sub-normal inmates are just moseying around with other criminals for however long they're incarcerated, it's common sense that they're going to be allured back into criminal activities once they get out. No, fuck all that. Put them in uniforms (like they already are), let themselves and others know they are wrongdoers (which I don't think is unduly humiliating), then get them to do productive and purposeful work. Teach them things. Again, treat them like human beings who are still an essential tooth on the cog that is society, otherwise, what the fuck do you expect when they just go back into the same old shit?
Moral of the story: there are other ways to punish people aside from this outdated, eye for an eye barbarism that is still practised in...certain countries; this recent piece of news being a case in point. Quite obviously there are other major determinants in creating and advancing a society which is morally and socially up to standard in this respect, but I feel the general attitude towards wrongdoers is what should be tackled with the most attention.
People very often tend to dehumanize criminals, thinking of them as external to society. Regardless of the severity of the crime, criminals still need to be treated with dignity, as human beings, because the majority of the time they're going to be released back into society. Is regression/a perpetuation of that felonious behaviour really that surprising when former convicts now essentially hold no rights, no skills, no freedom, with a permanent stain on their lives and records, and who are almost certainly going to be living below the poverty line working a minimum wage job? Fuck no. Additionally, if these usually young, educationally sub-normal inmates are just moseying around with other criminals for however long they're incarcerated, it's common sense that they're going to be allured back into criminal activities once they get out. No, fuck all that. Put them in uniforms (like they already are), let themselves and others know they are wrongdoers (which I don't think is unduly humiliating), then get them to do productive and purposeful work. Teach them things. Again, treat them like human beings who are still an essential tooth on the cog that is society, otherwise, what the fuck do you expect when they just go back into the same old shit?
Moral of the story: there are other ways to punish people aside from this outdated, eye for an eye barbarism that is still practised in...certain countries; this recent piece of news being a case in point. Quite obviously there are other major determinants in creating and advancing a society which is morally and socially up to standard in this respect, but I feel the general attitude towards wrongdoers is what should be tackled with the most attention.
