4 ms·

Quite a few things actually, but the biggest one is that I believe that [almost] nobody is beyond rehabilitation. Even in cases where the person is beyond, it d

Quite a few things actually, but the biggest one is that I believe that [almost] nobody is beyond rehabilitation. Even in cases where the person is beyond, it doesn’t mean we ought to make them suffer for their circumstances. That isn’t to say we shouldn’t protect the rest of society, but neither punishment nor retribution — especially in the name of “justice” — are justifiable. If anything, such responses only [temporarily] satisfy one’s desire for bloodlust. They cannot undo the harm done and they cannot relieve us of the pain.

didgeoridoo 2y ago
Punishment for crime will happen if the culture wants it to happen. Even if you cannot morally justify that punishment being meted out by the government, the alternative is always individuals taking justice into their own hands — without the constraints of due process, usually with much more rage and cruelty.
- jalapenos 2y ago
  He didn't say government meted out punishment. He just said punishment. He's plainly stated his belief: that no matter what a person did, they should receive sympathy. Classic case of evil hiding behind the guise of good.
  - PartiallyTyped 2y ago
    > Classic case of evil hiding behind the guise of good. Could you elaborate?
derbOac 2y ago
I'm the same way, although I think society is going to find itself wrestling with a lot of ethical issues it's not prepared for when suddenly everything about human behavior is modifiable. What happens when serial child predatory behavior is completely and verifiably modifiable with gene editing and pharmacology, for example? Should someone be punished for the random allotment of genes and circumstances that we can change as a society? This is all on the horizon and we're not oriented to what's coming.
- didgeoridoo 2y ago
  Sam Harris likes to point out that we tend to pity the UT tower shooter because he was found to have a tumor in his brain — and that just because child rapists don’t have a grossly visible defect in their skulls doesn’t mean that they aren’t suffering equally from bad anatomical luck to some extent. I recoil from the sentiment but can’t refute it.
mistrial9 2y ago
all true perhaps - but you miss the basic drive for dominance in the actions of the punisher

didgeoridoo 2y ago

Punishment for crime will happen if the culture wants it to happen. Even if you cannot morally justify that punishment being meted out by the government, the alternative is always individuals taking justice into their own hands — without the constraints of due process, usually with much more rage and cruelty.

jalapenos 2y ago
He didn't say government meted out punishment. He just said punishment. He's plainly stated his belief: that no matter what a person did, they should receive sympathy. Classic case of evil hiding behind the guise of good.
- PartiallyTyped 2y ago
  > Classic case of evil hiding behind the guise of good. Could you elaborate?

derbOac 2y ago

I'm the same way, although I think society is going to find itself wrestling with a lot of ethical issues it's not prepared for when suddenly everything about human behavior is modifiable. What happens when serial child predatory behavior is completely and verifiably modifiable with gene editing and pharmacology, for example? Should someone be punished for the random allotment of genes and circumstances that we can change as a society? This is all on the horizon and we're not oriented to what's coming.

didgeoridoo 2y ago
Sam Harris likes to point out that we tend to pity the UT tower shooter because he was found to have a tumor in his brain — and that just because child rapists don’t have a grossly visible defect in their skulls doesn’t mean that they aren’t suffering equally from bad anatomical luck to some extent. I recoil from the sentiment but can’t refute it.

mistrial9 2y ago

all true perhaps - but you miss the basic drive for dominance in the actions of the punisher