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We are a vindictive violent society that has no hesitation in throwing people away. We are also so ignorant that we fail to realize that doing so often exceeds the crime that was committed in the first place.
I am constantly amazed at the complete lack of compassion that fellow Americans exhibit. So many feel no empathy for a person who suffered terribly and ends up 'crazy'. If that 'crazy' person commits a crime, we offer them NOTHING but prison. I wrote somewhere that I'm fine with someone being crazy as long as they can explain it to me. If a person's upbringing was full of horrible events, I can better relate to them and understand them. On a national level, we offer no such understanding. We are so obsessed with our own victimhood that we can't relate to anybody else. How did our supposed world-renowned and envied free society devolve into 310 million independent souls unable to feel anything for each other?
We are a vindictive violent society that has no hesitation in throwing people away. We are also so ignorant that we fail to realize that doing so often exceeds the crime that was committed in the first place.
I am constantly amazed at the complete lack of compassion that fellow Americans exhibit. So many feel no empathy for a person who suffered terribly and ends up 'crazy'. If that 'crazy' person commits a crime, we offer them NOTHING but prison. I wrote somewhere that I'm fine with someone being crazy as long as they can explain it to me. If a person's upbringing was full of horrible events, I can better relate to them and understand them. On a national level, we offer no such understanding. We are so obsessed with our own victimhood that we can't relate to anybody else. How did our supposed world-renowned and envied free society devolve into 310 million independent souls unable to feel anything for each other?
We are obsessed with retribution rather than justice. We have systematically removed discretion from judges so that all circumstances for a given crime are punished equally. Harsh mandatory sentences are vote winners and, therefore, popular with politicians We have no concept of rehabilitation and continue to punish the criminal long-after they have served their sentence.
In particular, we do not make good use of probation or alternative sentences such as community service.
We are a vindictive violent society that has no hesitation in throwing people away. We are also so ignorant that we fail to realize that doing so often exceeds the crime that was committed in the first place.
I am constantly amazed at the complete lack of compassion that fellow Americans exhibit. So many feel no empathy for a person who suffered terribly and ends up 'crazy'. If that 'crazy' person commits a crime, we offer them NOTHING but prison. I wrote somewhere that I'm fine with someone being crazy as long as they can explain it to me. If a person's upbringing was full of horrible events, I can better relate to them and understand them. On a national level, we offer no such understanding. We are so obsessed with our own victimhood that we can't relate to anybody else. How did our supposed world-renowned and envied free society devolve into 310 million independent souls unable to feel anything for each other?
'soft on crime' liberals ignore the fact that the prisons are filled with MULTIPLE-time offenders and violent criminals.
It's not enough that we have a revolving-door in the Criminal Justice system---they would foolishly loose even more predators on society in the name of "compassion"and 'rehabilitation".
Luckily for the realists in the Country, these bleeding-hearts only get 1 vote each; and are as yet rebuffed in their idealistic attempts to further infest the Nation's streets and communities with "misunderstood" reprobates.
If 1/2 the Nation needs to be employed in the prison system to keep the other 1/2 from preying on society---so be it.
Living is difficult and hazardous enough without the addition of Utopians playing 'social scientist' with debased humans---in the name of "compassion".
If one can't play well with others...that's one thing.
If one repeatedly hurts and destroys the innocent, the productive, and other good citizens; humanity is not well served....or the better for it.
We are obsessed with retribution rather than justice. We have systematically removed discretion from judges so that all circumstances for a given crime are punished equally. Harsh mandatory sentences are vote winners and, therefore, popular with politicians We have no concept of rehabilitation and continue to punish the criminal long-after they have served their sentence.
In particular, we do not make good use of probation or alternative sentences such as community service.
This is something that really bothers me. Almost anything can land you in jail nowadays and for years as well. Plus with having a criminal record that's publicly viewable, very few employers would hesitate to hire you. So, in effect, everyone's prison sentences are extended far beyond their incarceration period. This, in turn, increases the recidivism rate and doesn't stop the never ending cycle of prison and release.
I wonder how many fewer people would be in jail right now, if drug possession was decriminalized
This is something that really bothers me. Almost anything can land you in jail nowadays and for years as well. Plus with having a criminal record that's publicly viewable, very few employers would hesitate to hire you. So, in effect, everyone's prison sentences are extended far beyond their incarceration period. This, in turn, increases the recidivism rate and doesn't stop the never ending cycle of prison and release.
I wonder how many fewer people would be in jail right now, if drug possession was decriminalized
Additionally, putting impressionable young men in jail for small offences puts them in an environment where they have to adopt a rather "hard" attitude to survive. So they emerge as hardened criminals with little hope of regular jobs.
And so the number of criminals increase, there are more calls for harsher punishments...
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