> For the intelligencia here who have had no contact with prison-industrial
> complex it is impossible to see how those of us who want it torn down can
> justify our position. Our skeptics may follow the theoretical idea of a
> psycho-social construct of identity (criminal identity), but they haven't
> seen it in practice or felt it themselves. Well, use a thought experiment.
> If you are a parent, then it should be pretty easy to imagine how your child
> can get into trouble with the cops, teachers, or other kids. In fact most of
> your methods for dealing with your kids in potentially hostile circumstances
> are all attempts to prevent a social construct from taking place, i.e the
> bad boy, bad girl syndrome.
Great post Chuck. I understand that the desire for retribution is pretty strong in the population as a whole, and it's a legitimate emotion that's not easy to reason with (though I am surprised Doug wants to see someone in jail for stealing a car). But things have become pretty warped, at least in the Anglo societies, when given economic circumstances that generate a certain level of property and violent crime, a political logic feeds and feeds off that emotion to keep toughening sentences. You don't have to take an absolutist position, or think there a perfect crime-free society is possible, to think the crime and punishment system as it is today is completely rotten.
Mike Beggs scandalum.wordpress.com