3 ms·

Ugh. You don't even know the age of the boy, or if he even intended the cow's eye to be hit (maybe he was just throwing a rock to see it jump?), and you're rea

by jtheory 12y ago

Ugh. You don't even know the age of the boy, or if he even intended the cow's eye to be hit (maybe he was just throwing a rock to see it jump?), and you're ready to judge that punishment as well-deserved? It's all hypothetical, of course -- and no one is removing eyes based on your say-so -- but that's a shitty punishment for anything. Generally a punishment for a wrong-doing should try to encourage/force the guilty party to be a functional, non-destructive member of society if at all possible (exceptions as needed to protect others). Punishments that harm the person's ability to earn a living, or have normal interactions with other people, are counterproductive (and can force the person to resort to criminal behavior to survive in the future), so punishments that inflict serious physical and/or psychological damage are stupid. They give a few people their "vengeance", for whatever that's worth, and otherwise they damage the society as a whole.

Kiro 12y ago
> in a morbid attempt at fun That's what I'm basing my comment on and what we're discussing. If the OP is wrong is another discussion but I don't see any room for interpretation here. > maybe he was just throwing a rock to see it jump? Are you seriously saying it's OK to throw rocks at cows? > should According to who? My grandfather was a prison governor and a pioneer in treating prisoners humane. Before his time the general thought was to "throw them in a cell with only water and bread". So I definitely know this discussion very well and I still believe the punishment itself could be an end goal.
- jtheory 12y ago
  > Are you seriously saying it's OK to throw rocks at cows? There's a lot of space between "OK" and "take the boy's eye out with a rock", which is what I'm arguing is the wrong punishment. (No, it's not OK to throw rocks at cows.) >> should > According to who? According to me, of course, for the reasons I (briefly) gave. You're welcome to continue the discussion with your own arguments, and your grandfather's experiences sound interesting.

by jtheory 12y ago

Kiro 12y ago

> in a morbid attempt at fun That's what I'm basing my comment on and what we're discussing. If the OP is wrong is another discussion but I don't see any room for interpretation here. > maybe he was just throwing a rock to see it jump? Are you seriously saying it's OK to throw rocks at cows? > should According to who? My grandfather was a prison governor and a pioneer in treating prisoners humane. Before his time the general thought was to "throw them in a cell with only water and bread". So I definitely know this discussion very well and I still believe the punishment itself could be an end goal.

jtheory 12y ago
> Are you seriously saying it's OK to throw rocks at cows? There's a lot of space between "OK" and "take the boy's eye out with a rock", which is what I'm arguing is the wrong punishment. (No, it's not OK to throw rocks at cows.) >> should > According to who? According to me, of course, for the reasons I (briefly) gave. You're welcome to continue the discussion with your own arguments, and your grandfather's experiences sound interesting.