4 ms·

I'm sad to think that they would have cut him out of the process if they had known. I sort of hate our culture which demonizes anyone who has ever been prosecu

I'm sad to think that they would have cut him out of the process if they had known. I sort of hate our culture which demonizes anyone who has ever been prosecuted by the justice system and quickly shuffles them into a corner of "people who we can't legally round up and gas but are just as worthless". It's really unhealthy to think that decent, worthwhile people can't ever make mistakes in judgement (and learn from them!) and to presume that the law is always morally correct. It's really a great disservice to the idea that we are trying to rehabilitate people.

tptacek 18y ago
Rehabilitate people? He was sentenced this week. The investigation started in 2005; he didn't even cop a plea until 2007. I'm all for rehabilitation, but if you can't make a judgement call not to put a convicted computer felon in a sysadmin role when he's still pending sentencing, when can you? The relativism here is just dizzying.
- nihilocrat 18y ago
  This particular case makes sense, it's the same as not hiring someone because they are definitely going to have to quit relatively soon, especially if they knowingly withheld that information. However, the article and its title strongly suggest that if he were an ex-convict, they would have cut him out of the process with no second thoughts. Of course all ex-cons are subhuman murderous animals! That's what I'm really annoyed about, so maybe this situation really just doesn't fit, but I still felt it had to be said.
  - Tichy 18y ago
    When do you know that somebody can be trusted again? Serious question - I am not sure about the best way to go about it. A spontaneous feeling would be that maybe someone should earn the trust somehow, so I wouldn't necessarily simply put them in a position where they can do the same things they did before. (Like not employing child abusers in child care). Anyway, it is hard to tell without knowing more about the person in question.
    - cellis 18y ago
      Trust: hard to earn, easy to lose and impossible to get back.
      - wynand 18y ago
        That's a problem with our society. One can only have a morally superior attitude that denies the restoration of trust if you imagine that you'll never make a mistake.

tptacek 18y ago

Rehabilitate people? He was sentenced this week. The investigation started in 2005; he didn't even cop a plea until 2007. I'm all for rehabilitation, but if you can't make a judgement call not to put a convicted computer felon in a sysadmin role when he's still pending sentencing, when can you? The relativism here is just dizzying.

nihilocrat 18y ago
This particular case makes sense, it's the same as not hiring someone because they are definitely going to have to quit relatively soon, especially if they knowingly withheld that information. However, the article and its title strongly suggest that if he were an ex-convict, they would have cut him out of the process with no second thoughts. Of course all ex-cons are subhuman murderous animals! That's what I'm really annoyed about, so maybe this situation really just doesn't fit, but I still felt it had to be said.
- Tichy 18y ago
  When do you know that somebody can be trusted again? Serious question - I am not sure about the best way to go about it. A spontaneous feeling would be that maybe someone should earn the trust somehow, so I wouldn't necessarily simply put them in a position where they can do the same things they did before. (Like not employing child abusers in child care). Anyway, it is hard to tell without knowing more about the person in question.
  - cellis 18y ago
    Trust: hard to earn, easy to lose and impossible to get back.
    - wynand 18y ago
      That's a problem with our society. One can only have a morally superior attitude that denies the restoration of trust if you imagine that you'll never make a mistake.