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> As someone who's fundamentally opposed to prison for white collar crimes: I'm curious. What constitutes a white collar crime in your opinion? Is it fundame
by steego 12y ago
> As someone who's fundamentally opposed to prison for white collar crimes:
I'm curious. What constitutes a white collar crime in your opinion? Is it fundamentally non-violent, or is it really just a class distinction? Would you suggest prison time for armed robbery if the armed robber never hurt anybody over someone who embezzled money? What about kidnapping children but never physically hurting them? What about selling children to buyers who don't physically abuse them? Aren't those crimes very similar to selling children to a for-profit prison system?
I'm really curious what you qualify as a white collar crime and why you don't think it deserves the same level of justice as blue collar crimes.
- Karunamon 12y agoIn case you're asking this out of curiosity and not rhetorically (which your last sentence makes me think it's the latter..) I'd say prison should exclude fundamentally non-violent crimes on the part of the person taking the action. People who have to be isolated from society, not because they've done something that violates some law, but because they've proven that they are a clear and present danger to others. Robbers, rapists, murderers, and so on. I say this because prison has incredibly deleterious effects on the human psyche. As long as our system is about punishment rather than reform, I cannot in good faith condemn someone to that fate unless there is literally no other option to keep them from harming further. This guy is both older and well off. There are ways to obtain restitution that don't involve having him spend years among violent criminals and ending up more damaged than when he went in.