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Death Penalty

No, I do not think that we should be warehousing people at all. I think that prison should be a place of rehabilitation and ultimately reintegration with society. The deterrence aspect, if there is to be one, of prison should be the loss of freedom and self-determination. Once inside of prison or any other rehabilitative space, the conditions should be supportive and humanizing. A good prison, from my perspective, should look and feel a lot like a summer camp.

I absolutely do not believe that "punishment should fit the crime" in the sense that you describe. I find the idea of cutting people's body parts off and killing them to be absolutely abhorrent and completely incompatible with a civilized, prosocial society. I also reject this approach to behavior modification on general psychological grounds. Positive punishments like this only serve to embitter the person on the receiving end and to teach them that "might makes right" and that all moral principles beyond that one are meaningless in practice.

My plan would be to abolish prisons in their current form and to build a true rehabilitation and reintegration system.
Murder and rape isn't incompatible with a civilized society? I'm sure the prison didn't come first.
 
U.S. culture, generally, glorifies violence. Having our state and federal institutions execute people is an explicit manifestation of that glorification. We glorify violence in our sports; our movies; our music; our reverence for the military; law enforcement; mafia; and street gangs; our gun culture; our on-going support for corporal punishment; etc. Where I was raised, violence was both glorified and treated as a right of passage. It was common thread through almost every aspect of life. As stated by another poster: violence only begets more violence.

If we are going to change that culture, then we have to start with banishing state-sanctioned violence against people whenever possible, starting with banning the execution of citizens by the state.
Please tell me how a reverence for the military or law enforcement is glorifying violence? Please note they were lumped in with street gangs and the mafia.
 
Of course murder and rape are not compatible with a civilized society, and not only are prisons not stopping murder and rape, they are facilitating it. People are more likely to be murdered and raped in prisons than anywhere else.
But they aren't committing murder and rape on the outside are they? The prisons are not perfect but they need to be changed to make people not want to be there. See my earlier post about the structure and normalcy in prison. Change that and make it not ok to be there.
 
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No, I do not think that we should be warehousing people at all. I think that prison should be a place of rehabilitation and ultimately reintegration with society. The deterrence aspect, if there is to be one, of prison should be the loss of freedom and self-determination. Once inside of prison or any other rehabilitative space, the conditions should be supportive and humanizing. A good prison, from my perspective, should look and feel a lot like a summer camp.

I absolutely do not believe that "punishment should fit the crime" in the sense that you describe. I find the idea of cutting people's body parts off and killing them to be absolutely abhorrent and completely incompatible with a civilized, prosocial society. I also reject this approach to behavior modification on general psychological grounds. Positive punishments like this only serve to embitter the person on the receiving end and to teach them that "might makes right" and that all moral principles beyond that one are meaningless in practice.

My plan would be to abolish prisons in their current form and to build a true rehabilitation and reintegration system.
Serious question... what do you do with violent murderers or child predators?
 
The purpose of the military is literally to engage in violence on the state's behalf. We fly fighter jets and attack helicopters over our sporting events: these are tools of violence and war. We fire guns at military funerals. We lionize and memorialize the members of the military who kill people. Warrior culture is embedded in all aspects of the military. How is that anything other than glorifying violence?

Law enforcement is simply the domestic version: its literal purpose is to engage in violence on behalf of the state. All law enforcement officers I encounter are always carrying multiple weapons, including deadly weapons. These are tools of violence, and again I do not see how having reverence for law enforcement can be anything other than glorifying violence.

I also thinking fans of boxing, mma, football, war movies, etc. are glorifying violence, as indicated in my post.

You seem to be making a distinction between violence that you see as righteous and violence that you see as nefarious. I am speaking to the culture of glorifying violence, generally.
Do you know why there are flyovers at events and gun salutes at military funerals? Where would we be as a nation without those defending your freedom to think and speak the way you do.

Where would we be without brave policemen doing a thankless job in a system geared against them.

Have a nice day.
 
Murder and rape inside of a prison is in no way more acceptable than murder and rape outside of a prison. Murder and rape are wrong, regardless of the location in which they occur.

Nobody wants to be in prison. Prison are not "okay" places to be. We absolutely do not need to make prisons more terrible than they already are.
They are not supposed to like being there hence prison. Maybe don’t commit crimes?
 
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Reduce the risk of harm posed by them, treat them humanely, and attempt to rehabilitate them.
Hey, in case you missed this question…
are you aware of any countries or states or municipalities who’ve tried that approach, and any data on how it panned out?

Also, even though I wish it could be tested in some meaningful way, I just can’t imagine being the politicians or other leadership who greenlights that unless there’s some damn good safeguards in place to prevent the inevitable “who could have ever thought this would work??!!!!” public outcry, litigation, etc if it goes south and the criminals who we attempted to rehab vs employing harsher treatment wreaked havoc upon their release.

How would you address the political and legal risks here? No matter how well you explain the more optimistic and humane theory, and appeal to people’s higher angels and all that (which I applaud), the downside of being wrong just seems such a huge lift to get past in order to get something like that even piloted.
But maybe it’s already been piloted successfully somewhere?
 
And to add to that pondering… even though I try to be openminded to trying new, even radically new ways to address societal ills that we haven’t yet figured out the “best” ways to address, I can’t fathom being ok with seeing some animal who raped and brutally cut up my sister or a gf or anybody else I care about being sent to a humanely administered rehab facility vs being punished in some much more painful manner. I think your plan sounds hopeful until realizing that we’re all humans who don’t typically turn the other cheek when personally impacted by violent crime.
Just seems too big an ask IMHO
 
Hey, in case you missed this question…
are you aware of any countries or states or municipalities who’ve tried that approach, and any data on how it panned out?

Also, even though I wish it could be tested in some meaningful way, I just can’t imagine being the politicians or other leadership who greenlights that unless there’s some damn good safeguards in place to prevent the inevitable “who could have ever thought this would work??!!!!” public outcry, litigation, etc if it goes south and the criminals who we attempted to rehab vs employing harsher treatment wreaked havoc upon their release.

How would you address the political and legal risks here? No matter how well you explain the more optimistic and humane theory, and appeal to people’s higher angels and all that (which I applaud), the downside of being wrong just seems such a huge lift to get past in order to get something like that even piloted.
But maybe it’s already been piloted successfully somewhere?

 

Didn’t see your BBC citation so slogged through that Atlantic piece. I’m usually a big fan of articles in The Atlantic but holy crap that particular writer’s style was dense and pretentious as hell and a real impediment to even sticking with it long enough to get to the finish line (persevered and got there.) I thought my sentences were too long and impenetrable but he was like hold my beer and take some extra NoDoze.

I did Google to read other articles though and thought this one is good: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-05/what-are-nordic-prisons-like-criminal-justice/101481590

I wish we could drop the American Exceptionalism and macho “who’s gonna be tougher on crime” posturing between competing factions for 5 minutes to have more honest conversations in the US about things we can learn from other countries’ experiences, without immediately citing how “that would never work here because of X, Y and Z” —- and also never really expending any energy to consider if it might be worth exploring changes to X, Y and/or Z as well.

Glad BrainVision spurred some exploring of assumptions here. Still have no idea how any leader looking to get re-elected would even start consideration of any “open prison” experiment in the US, nor if I’d want to be part of the guinea pig community to have one near me.
 
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Didn’t see your BBC citation so slogged through that Atlantic piece. I’m usually a big fan of articles in The Atlantic but holy crap that particular writer’s style was dense and pretentious as hell and a real impediment to even sticking with it long enough to get to the finish line (persevered and got there.) I thought my sentences were too long and impenetrable but he was like hold my beer and take some extra NoDoze.

I did Google to read other articles though and thought this one is good: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-05/what-are-nordic-prisons-like-criminal-justice/101481590

I wish we could drop the American Exceptionalism and macho “who’s gonna be tougher on crime” posturing between competing factions for 5 minutes to have more honest conversations in the US about things we can learn from other countries’ experiences, without immediately citing how “that would never work here because of X, Y and Z” —- and also never really expending any energy to consider if it might be worth exploring changes to X, Y and/or Z as well.

Glad BrainVision spurred some exploring of assumptions here. Still have no idea how any leader looking to get re-elected would even start consideration of any “open prison” experiment in the US, nor if I’d want to be part of the guinea pig community to have one near me.
Unfortunately with us being such a huge melting pot we sometimes get the worse of the worse along with the best of the best. I'm all for rehabilitation but the intellectuals will need more than the opportunity, they'll need millions of dollars to implement it.
 
Unfortunately with us being such a huge melting pot we sometimes get the worse of the worse along with the best of the best. I'm all for rehabilitation but the intellectuals will need more than the opportunity, they'll need millions of dollars to implement it.
I think you encapsulated one of the big impediments to ever getting anything done by your choice of "the intellectuals" to describe folks in favor of exploring genuinely disruptive ways to reimagine how we do some things here in the US.
That whole anti-"elite", anti-"intellectual" populism on steroids thing is not conducive at all to engaging all kinds of potentially valuable stakeholders in a productive convo. Sure seems like it's more about retreating to corners and promoting grievances and resentments.
 
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I think you encapsulated one of the big impediments to ever getting anything done by your choice of "the intellectuals" to describe folks in favor of exploring genuinely disruptive ways to reimagine how we do some things here in the US.
That whole anti-"elite", anti-"intellectual" populism on steroids thing is not conducive at all to engaging all kinds of potentially valuable stakeholders in a productive convo. Sure seems like it's more about retreating to corners and promoting grievances and resentments.
I wasn't trying to use it in a negative tone. Psychologist and those who study the criminal element need a platform. In my opinion they have what it takes to make a change. I have a masters in criminal behavioral analysis. My original goal in life was to enter the federal law enforcement field but it's become such a political field that those goals aren't achievable in the ranks any longer. Entities like FDLE, maybe. I described a story earlier where a gentleman has been a nuisance for ever. When I started as a patrolman and arrested him for battery it came to light that others had tried to get him sent to a state institution so he can be put in the right hands to get the mental help he needed as it was a capacity issue on his part. The state wanted nothing to do with it even with my recommendation and his lengthy history which is another reason I quit law enforcement.
 
Violence is glorified in this country.
Poor people tend to commit more crimes.
Young white men tend to commit more senseless acts of mass violence.
Why would any of that preclude us from trying something that works everywhere else?

My opinion is substance abuse is glorified more than violence in this country. The substance abuse and encouragement is an accelerant to the violence we see.

I often wonder what a country without a population fueled by alcohol and drugs would look like but that idea often gets mocked and laughed at.
 
My opinion is substance abuse is glorified more than violence in this country. The substance abuse and encouragement is an accelerant to the violence we see.

I often wonder what a country without a population fueled by alcohol and drugs would look like but that idea often gets mocked and laughed at.
Hey, at least it might provide future inspiration for a whole ‘nother great run of mob movies:
 
Hey, at least it might provide future inspiration for a whole ‘nother great run of mob movies:

I’ll look for the link and hopefully be able to find it…anyways I read that alcohol consumption is going down and the younger generation isn’t that interested in drinking.

Substance and alcohol abuse is a huge issue.

@spencerklly what percentage of your calls stemmed from some substance abuse?
 
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I’ll look for the link and hopefully be able to find it…anyways I read that alcohol consumption is going down and the younger generation isn’t that interested in drinking.

Substance and alcohol abuse is a huge issue.

@spencerklly what percentage of your calls stemmed from some substance abuse?
Criminal? Probably 25%... but another 25% were probably (based on observations) users, but not intoxicated at the time. About 50% of cardiac red / medical not involving finding a dead person were drug induced. These are rough estimates.
 
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My opinion is substance abuse is glorified more than violence in this country. The substance abuse and encouragement is an accelerant to the violence we see.

I often wonder what a country without a population fueled by alcohol and drugs would look like but that idea often gets mocked and laughed at.


America is also a deeply atheist country now.

That doesn't help.
 
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What do you tell the victim's families who's loved one wasn't treated humanely?
Hopefully, Brainfredvision doesn't tell the family; "A good prison, from my perspective, shouldlook and feel a lot like a summer camp". I doubt that would help with the healing process.
 
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America is also a deeply atheist country now.

That doesn't help.
You have a strange definition of deeply.

In the United States, between 6% and 15% of citizens demonstrated nonreligious attitudes and naturalistic worldviews, namely atheists or agnostics. The number of self-identified atheists and agnostics was around 4% each, while many persons formally affiliated with a religion are likewise non-believing.

 
You have a strange definition of deeply.

In the United States, between 6% and 15% of citizens demonstrated nonreligious attitudes and naturalistic worldviews, namely atheists or agnostics. The number of self-identified atheists and agnostics was around 4% each, while many persons formally affiliated with a religion are likewise non-believing.


I don't think phone surveys are very reliable in this case.

A better guage, IMO, is attendance at religious services and 80% of Americans don't attend each week.

Also, American culture's overall hostility to Christianity.

At this rate, churches will be gone in a couple decades.

 
Most of the world doesn't believe in Christianity. Most "Christians" aren't Christians.
All people are hypocrites. All people. We all know what is right and wrong and we do wrong anyway. Its the innate selfishness in all of us. The church is full of hypocrites. Everyone last one of them. But they do have room for more.... People just like you and me. For we are all weak and bent toward our innate selfishness. That's not bashing ourselves, but it is the human condition. I'm very sorry if you have had a terrible an hurtful experience from within the church or anything church or faith related, but you don't have to carry that emotional and/or spiritual baggage any longer. I get it. DM dude.
 
All people are hypocrites. All people. We all know what is right and wrong and we do wrong anyway. Its the innate selfishness in all of us. The church is full of hypocrites. Everyone last one of them. But they do have room for more.... People just like you and me. For we are all weak and bent toward our innate selfishness. That's not bashing ourselves, but it is the human condition. I'm very sorry if you have had a terrible an hurtful experience from within the church or anything church or faith related, but you don't have to carry that emotional and/or spiritual baggage any longer. I get it. DM dude.


Yep.

Church is a hospital for sinners and not a museum for saints although there ARE saints in churches. :)
 
All people are hypocrites. All people. We all know what is right and wrong and we do wrong anyway. Its the innate selfishness in all of us. The church is full of hypocrites. Everyone last one of them. But they do have room for more.... People just like you and me. For we are all weak and bent toward our innate selfishness. That's not bashing ourselves, but it is the human condition. I'm very sorry if you have had a terrible an hurtful experience from within the church or anything church or faith related, but you don't have to carry that emotional and/or spiritual baggage any longer. I get it. DM dude.
I am a Christian. Raised Baptist and currently attend an Assemblies of God church. I know we are all hypocrites and fall short. With that said, my comment was directed largely toward Catholicism. Are there Catholics who are Christian, yes. But there are many that just attend for the motion. Atleast that is my observation and what some who "practice" have told me. The Catholic church is the biggest business in the world and control much more than what we believe. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Apographa are the tip of the iceburg. Imagine what else they havent allowed to be published. I don't pray or offer offerings to anyone, but God. Take my opinion for what it's worth.
 
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I don't think phone surveys are very reliable in this case.

A better guage, IMO, is attendance at religious services and 80% of Americans don't attend each week.

Also, American culture's overall hostility to Christianity.

At this rate, churches will be gone in a couple decades.

Hostility towards Christianity has been around for centuries. To be fair, I remember these things called the Crusades which slaughtered millions under the guise of an Islamic takeover when all reality it was all for the Holy Roman Empire and their wealth of control. The Holy Land belongs to no one but the Jews who are probably the most hated group to ever walk this earth.
 
Hostility towards Christianity has been around for centuries. To be fair, I remember these things called the Crusades which slaughtered millions under the guise of an Islamic takeover when all reality it was all for the Holy Roman Empire and their wealth of control. The Holy Land belongs to no one but the Jews who are probably the most hated group to ever walk this earth.

True.

America has never been more atheist than now, though.
 
Also, American culture's overall hostility to Christianity.
really? What are your thoughts on how much of this “hostility” is brought on by the manner in which many (thankfully not all) Christians insist that the US is or was intended to be or should be a “Christian nation” and other attempts to judge or marginalize non-Christians based on Christian beliefs?

And how do you think any anti-Christian hostility in the US compares to that experienced by Muslims or Jews or other non-Christians in America?

As a Jew (not particularly observant but I make no attempt to hide my Judaism), and especially a Jew who grew up in and still spends a lot of time in North FL, I’ve had plenty of humorous/bizarre exchanges with my friends and neighbors, classmates, teachers, store clerks, etc… for example the wife of a close friend/neighbor at a home I used to own on the Emerald Coast, she liked me (go figure) and was always trying to set me up with women in her church, encouraged me to be a mentor figure to her kids, but several times told me (at least once in tears) how upset it made her that I’m going to burn in hell as long as I stick to being Jewish. Alrighty then.

And no, that’s not really a “hostility” example, just a humorous memory that came to mind. The hostility part is evident though in the rising rates of anti-Semitic hate crimes in our exceptional nation.
 
True.

America has never been more atheist than now, though.
Potentially... we can thank the internet for both church attendance and instant data for polls on who is and is not an atheist. I'd believe the agnostic population is much larger than we want to think.
 
really? What are your thoughts on how much of this “hostility” is brought on by the manner in which many (thankfully not all) Christians insist that the US is or was intended to be or should be a “Christian nation” and other attempts to judge or marginalize non-Christians based on Christian beliefs?

And how do you think any anti-Christian hostility in the US compares to that experienced by Muslims or Jews or other non-Christians in America?

As a Jew (not particularly observant but I make no attempt to hide my Judaism), and especially a Jew who grew up in and still spends a lot of time in North FL, I’ve had plenty of humorous/bizarre exchanges with my friends and neighbors, classmates, teachers, store clerks, etc… for example the wife of a close friend/neighbor at a home I used to own on the Emerald Coast, she liked me (go figure) and was always trying to set me up with women in her church, encouraged me to be a mentor figure to her kids, but several times told me (at least once in tears) how upset it made her that I’m going to burn in hell as long as I stick to being Jewish. Alrighty then.

And no, that’s not really a “hostility” example, just a humorous memory that came to mind. The hostility part is evident though in the rising rates of anti-Semitic hate crimes in our exceptional nation.

I agree with you 100%.

Anti-Semitism is worse. It's the world's oldest hatred. Simply horrendous.

I live near Washington D.C. and most of my friends are Jewish.

It may interest you to know that Pope John Paul condemned Anti-Semitism in the strongest terms.

Anytime someone says you're "going to Hell" for being a Jew, I recommend replying that they are blasphemous by putting themselves as judge.

And blasphemy is a serious sin.


 
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I agree with you 100%.

Anti-Semitism is worse. It's the world's oldest hatred. Simply horrendous.

I live near Washington D.C. and most of my friends are Jewish.

It may interest you to know that Pope John Paul condemned Anti-Semitism in the strongest terms.

Anytime someone says you're "going to Hell" for being a Jew, I recommend replying that they are blasphemous by putting themselves as judge.

And blasphemy is a serious sin.


Is it safe to say anyone who doesn't believe that God isn't who he is is going to hell. The Bible says the only path to Him is through Him. I also think Jews worship the same God therefor receive the same avenue.
 
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