Please realize, this is a vastly abridged and oversimplified version of my thoughts earlier this morning. That being said, we need to look at what is happening to our society, not as a whole, but as individuals placed in a unique situation and how varying situations lead to a plethora of mixed results. Much like the prisoners within the United States Correctional System, many of us feel trapped by the rules put in place to protect us. Unlike prisoners, most of these demands are mere suggestions, placing the onus on the individual to protect themselves and others. The spread of this virus has shown us that many shirk accountability when not being supervised. So how does this translate to the penal system?
Incarceration for crimes in this country is meant to serve four principles.
Retribution - Paying for one's crimes
Incapacitation - Removal of the criminal from society as a means to protect the innocent.
Deterrence - The hope that withdrawal from society prevents future crimes.
Rehabilitation - Through activities, the prisoner is formed into a citizen worthy of readmittance.
Should we view ourselves as prisoners? Of course not, but let's look at how some of us have handled our new found seclusion, ignoring all the science behind how little our prison system works in terms of reformation and simply at how incarceration, even the mildest forms of it, affect the human psyche.
In some ways, the almost immediate change in climate on areas of overpopulation is showing us that we actually must pay some form of retribution to our crimes against nature. It's an inadvertent positive side effect to all of this controlled chaos. The removal of ourselves from normal everyday life is proving that incapacitation can slow this virus, so in the most simple terms, much like a prison, incapacitation works at the lowest level of what it is meant to do. Deterrence is where it gets a little tricky. Our incapacitation and incarceration are not real. Where prisoners have forfeited their basic rights and freedoms, our current situation is simply a pause to the luxuries we have become accustomed to. Some of us are even being paid to stay home from work and still find a reason to complain. Then comes rehabilitation.
Will we as a society realize that most pandemics begin from someone eating an animal? Will it change our behave differently and limit where, what, how, and the quality of what we eat? Will we move towards a more plant-based diet? Will we take greater care of our planet in general? Will this isolation makes us respect our freedoms more? Will we appreciate our neighbors and even strangers more than we did? Will we view essential versus luxury differently? Will we value save money and resist frivolity? Will we be better human beings and value human life and all the rights that are afforded each and every one of us, regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, and any other variable?
If you answered no to any of the above questions, either for you or anyone else, then I ask, why do you believe this system should continue for the betterment of those convicted of a crime, regardless of its severity?
Incarceration for crimes in this country is meant to serve four principles.
Retribution - Paying for one's crimes
Incapacitation - Removal of the criminal from society as a means to protect the innocent.
Deterrence - The hope that withdrawal from society prevents future crimes.
Rehabilitation - Through activities, the prisoner is formed into a citizen worthy of readmittance.
Should we view ourselves as prisoners? Of course not, but let's look at how some of us have handled our new found seclusion, ignoring all the science behind how little our prison system works in terms of reformation and simply at how incarceration, even the mildest forms of it, affect the human psyche.
In some ways, the almost immediate change in climate on areas of overpopulation is showing us that we actually must pay some form of retribution to our crimes against nature. It's an inadvertent positive side effect to all of this controlled chaos. The removal of ourselves from normal everyday life is proving that incapacitation can slow this virus, so in the most simple terms, much like a prison, incapacitation works at the lowest level of what it is meant to do. Deterrence is where it gets a little tricky. Our incapacitation and incarceration are not real. Where prisoners have forfeited their basic rights and freedoms, our current situation is simply a pause to the luxuries we have become accustomed to. Some of us are even being paid to stay home from work and still find a reason to complain. Then comes rehabilitation.
Will we as a society realize that most pandemics begin from someone eating an animal? Will it change our behave differently and limit where, what, how, and the quality of what we eat? Will we move towards a more plant-based diet? Will we take greater care of our planet in general? Will this isolation makes us respect our freedoms more? Will we appreciate our neighbors and even strangers more than we did? Will we view essential versus luxury differently? Will we value save money and resist frivolity? Will we be better human beings and value human life and all the rights that are afforded each and every one of us, regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, and any other variable?
If you answered no to any of the above questions, either for you or anyone else, then I ask, why do you believe this system should continue for the betterment of those convicted of a crime, regardless of its severity?
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