Quote:
Originally posted by MooseMan3000
TFPers especially should know how difficult it is to change one's self. Think about how hard it is to change your image with friends or family. Then imagine if, instead of your comfortable, middle class upbringing, you lived your entire life below the poverty line, where the only people who lived comfortably were the drug dealers and pimps. And nobody ever showed you that there was another way. Then you get punished for doing the only thing you know. What are you going to do? Kill yourself?
To listen to replies like "they deserve it" or "it fits the crimes" frankly sickens me. Imagine your child or husband or wife or significant other or grandmother got accused of a crime and was in the jail awaiting his or her trial. You might feel a little differently about it then.
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What if you lived your entire life living from meal to meal, joining gangs to stay alive. .
You commit a crime. You go to a place where you get three solid meals a day, a warm, comfortable place to sleep, and a lot of your friends are already there to catch up with. Gang hierachy you are already familiar with, and you stay out of trouble. Jail is just as good as life outside, plus you get cable TV. Going to jail is no longer a punishment. It's just a fact of life- perhaps even a initiation ritual to be a veteran gang member with respect. I feel if you are guilty of abusing the rules society has put in place to protect itself, and are stupid enough to get caught, you should be punished. Bad action = punishment Good action = reward.
A criminal deserves to have certain rights and priviledges revoked. When there is enough motivation to stay on the right side of the law, people will think twice about robbing that convenience store, or falsifying documents, or shooting that guy in the bar. We are not lucky to live in the society we have in america. It was brought about by the sweat and tears of many honest people believing in sacrificing a little to benefit the greater good. Those who prey upon that ideal should face more serious consequences than they do today.
Your last paragraph annoys me a little. You make accusations based on an emotional reaction. If my grandma stole money from an ATM or abused animals she is just as guilty as any other person out there. Like it or not, she should recieve the same punishment as the rest.