May 01, 2003
Mind Opening Blog + Humane Punishment
Mind open, mind blown. Every once in a while I come across some fact, story or writer who really blows open some of my worldview.
Al-Muhajabah is a white American woman, highly educated, very sharp and who is a devout muslim who wears the complete islamic dress (hijab). That adds up to a pretty unique perception of the world. Very opening to read her blog (if you let yourself be open of course). Plus she's a Movable Type master, all sorts of really well thought out plug-in implemented on her site.
Her post on issues in penal law hit me hard:
It's taken as a given in America that prison is far more humane than corporal punishment. But is it? The body heals; the mind and the soul may not. When we consider whether the prison system is humane we should look at the psychological damage caused by captivity. It's not as easy to measure as physical damage, but it may be far worse and more lasting.
So true, but I never would have thought of it like that in a million years. I have serious issues with the current American penal system, but I still was locked into a knee jerk corporal punishment = evil thought process. Now I still don't like corporal punishment, but I don't think I'll ever be thinking about it in the same way again. Damn, I love having my worldview widened...
Posted by William Blaze at May 1, 2003 10:10 PM | TrackBackHer point of view doesn't seem so alien to me: It's a parenting argument applied to adult misbehavior. In parenting terms the discussion revolves around spanking vs. (allegedly more humane) time outs. The argument in favor of spanking is that it's over quickly and that time outs (depending on how they are administered) cause more psychological harm. The underlying assumption of her argument is that the purpose of criminal punishment is to deter the criminal from future misbehavior.
Of course, the US makes entirely too much use of its prison system. One would assume that, since imprisoning someone rarely ensures that they never commit a crime again, the goal of imprisonment is to get criminals off the streets.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer on May 2, 2003 01:56 PMHer point of view doesn't seem so alien to me: It's a parenting argument applied to adult misbehavior. In parenting terms the discussion revolves around spanking vs. (allegedly more humane) time outs. The argument in favor of spanking is that it's over quickly and that time outs (depending on how they are administered) cause more psychological harm. The underlying assumption of her argument is that the purpose of criminal punishment is to deter the criminal from future misbehavior.
Of course, the US makes entirely too much use of its prison system. One would assume that, since imprisoning someone rarely ensures that they never commit a crime again, the goal of imprisonment is to get criminals off the streets.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer on May 2, 2003 01:57 PMI recommend Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault.
From Amazon:
"In this brilliant work, the most influential philosopher since Sartre suggests that such vaunted reforms as the abolition of torture and the emergence of the modern penitentiary have merely shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner's body to his soul."
That's really interesting Kathryn, guess I'm just not in any position to be thinking like a parent.
As for Discipline and Punishment I really do need to get around to reading it, think I left an unread copy at my parent's house. Thanks for the recommendation Sevenblock.
Posted by: William Blaze on May 2, 2003 05:08 PM