The American Way: Lock Away Dissidents.

U

UNIVERSE TODAY

Banned
Banned
:eek:
1,000 Incarcerated Per Week From '04-'05

Over a thousand people a week are now being locked away in America. Jails and prisons already busting at the seams are receiving record numbers of new inmates who are no doubt keen to learn advanced skills from the more experienced criminals already inside.

Go in with a doctorate in burglary and come out with a masters degree in armed holdups. All at the expense of the taxpayer.

This is how America deals with those people who thriough force of circumstances probably had no other choice than to break the rigidly unfair and often ludicrous laws that fill endless volumes on bookshelves and keep our lawyers smiling.

Lock them away and forget about them. That'll teach them. They won't dare try it again right? Wrong. They have a criminal record now. Crime is the only serious option available.

But don't worry. They are far less likely to get caught again and even if they are it's just back to school.

I think the world is overregulated and there are far too many fat happy lawyers around. We need to fix the system and punishment. No more Prisons. People who commit crimes should not be put together but made to work within society. Performing whatever tasks they are capable of in a normal environment.

If anything about the US can really be called normal. A 'Zoo' is the best way I can think of to describe America. Not a Jungle. Jungles are natural environments not full of mentally deranged sicko's.
 
no, but solicitation of prostitutes, possession of soft drugs, DUI. all of these things get ridiculously long prison sentences for what they really are.
 
ohh my god, I found a thread where the voice of reason is clockwood (no offense). America bashing has been taken to a new low.

can't you people think for yourselves? just because its cool to hate America does not mean you have to sheepishly join in.

p.s. DUI is very dangerous. its not hard to call a cab or friend.
 
p.s. DUI is very dangerous. its not hard to call a cab or friend.
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Agreed. I've no problem with prostitution or soft drugs, but DUI is dangerous to others. All my buddies go after DUIs more than anything else with a vengeance. I even had one guy put his own mother in jail overnight for it.

- N
 
I sure hope they either ban cars or wiretap and bug em to see where everyone is driving and breathalizer tests to start up the car to see whether you're sober or not..

/end sarcasm

- N
 
im not saying that DUI isnt dangerous, even trying to drive with my drunk friends in the car is dangerous. but the problem is that they are taking a 'lock em up and throw away the key' approach rather than trying to rehabilititate these people. most of the time they are a functioning member of society, and it is a shame to throw them in jail for one stupid thing they did because they were too drunk to think sensibly.
 
cato said:
ohh my god, I found a thread where the voice of reason is clockwood (no offense). America bashing has been taken to a new low.
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Yeah. It scares me too. ;)
We really need to stop agreeing with each other.
 
DUI is probably quite common in the US because it lacks a proper public infrastructure. Everything is structured around the privately owned car. No effective public transportation systems are in place except in some of the major cities, and not even in all of them. This breeds DUI. If the easiest solution is to go behind the steering wheel and drive home people will do that. Especially if the alternatives are absent.

Take for example Helsinki. Taking the car to go out is just trouble. The easiest way is to take public transport and if you are in a terrible hurry, take a taxi. And if you are totally drunk at the end of night you take the night bus or train back. Or a taxi.

You provide the infrastructure and at the same time you make sure it is known that DUI is not acceptable. That is a solution. Putting your own citizens behind bars because you don't care about them is just sad.
 
Spurious: I am dissapointed. Nobody mentioned the General Motors streetcar conspiracy yet. A pity.

Crap. I'm still agreeing with you as far as public transportation goes. However cars have evolved in our culture to the point where they are symbolic of your manhood; the freedom to go where and do what you please. Someone who doesn't have one is seen to be either too poor or too stupid do be able to drive one.

Here is where I still disagree with you though. Simply making someone aware that driving under the influence is unacceptable is not enough to keep them from doing so. One beer and you lose all inhibitions about having the next. It makes you too damn stupid to know when to stop; such is the curse of drink. Then, when you have way too much in you, you are too stupid and uninhibited to know (or, more importantly, care) that you are incapable of driving safely.

We put actual fear in the hearts of heavy drinkers, threatening to lock them away for a good long time, and still many continue to drink and drive. If they keep doing so now, what makes you think they would react any better to an ounce of public scorn?
 
Sure there are alternatives. Don't drink at all, only drink at home, only have one drink, make damn sure you have a friend with you who isn't drinking, keep a twenty in your shirt pocket so you can call a cab.

I, for one, have a thing for scotch. I have two bottles of 12 year and another of 30 year single malt and I can't get enough of the stuff.
The thing is that I only drink at home.
 
I noticed in the US that it is totally socially acceptable to drive drunk. Nobody blinks an eye.

I know that in holland there now has been an extensive add campaign for years to make it cool to be the sober driver. Or at least, to make it 'normal' to assign a sober driver before going somewhere to consume alcohol.

They even turned it into a new verb.

I think it is slowly catching on. But I don't expect any quick results in this area. And apparently the stiff penalties don't have much effect (referring to the acceptable stigma for drunk driving I mentioned earlier).

Dunno. I think you have a big problem:
- no alternatives
- stiff penalties do not seem to work.

I don't see a quick fix. You can't count on people being sensible.
 
No stigma or scorn? Somehow i don't think you are looking at the right part of the country.
Here in Omaha gradeschools, I happen to know that driving drunk is tantamount murder... or at least the risk of its commission. You have MADD, SADD, RID, the Century Council, and the like all doing their jobs. My brother once drove home drunk and myself and, of all people, our mother beat the living crap out of him, left him on the lawn, and locked the doors. Around here the act of driving drunk, even if it went off without a hitch, is treated the same as if you almost ran over somebody's kid.

Meh. Not the best or clearest post I have ever made, but I am too damn tired to change it.

Curse my late-night incoherence.
 
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Crime, I equate to math, as I usually like to do. If 8 is our desired sum, there are many ways to go about it but we know when we're doing wrong when we get a sum other than 8. We don't want crime, therefore think of what we can do to prevent it. It is to change the values. If someone does wrong, don't turn an eye, tell them it's wrong, how it's wrong, and give them a second chance if they are truly sincere on changing their ways. I would say teach them God's word but I don't want my religion to intrude so much in everything.

But on punishment, yes, I agree, to let them work off their debt to society and not be caged up like animals inside all day only stewing more problems, you kill two birds with one stone. Ideally though, I see it best to forgive of someone who sins against you and not cast judgement since almost all of us have broken the law at some time in our life. Someone being in jail usually means who they sinned against also committed sin. If a man steals your car radio, and is caught by the police, and you forgive him, can he not learn what he done wrong, how it hurt you, how he sinned to get to the point of needing the radio to steal, and hopefully turn around and teach someone else the same thing, to turn over that favor to someone else? Are your vanity possessions worth more than a man and his dignity? Or a chance to teach a man when he has wronged by showing him the right thing to do which is forgive? But as you cast judgement and persecute those that persecuted you, if you persecute someone, don't expect forgiveness or favor. And the criminal who is put in jail harbors no more forgiveness of others that sin against him. And as such, crime, ignorance, hate, and unforgiveness grows and love and the like fade away. I don't say turn a blind eye to it, it does nothing for the problem. But to end with a sum of goodness, one has to use good to fight bad, otherwise, you use bad to fight bad and you get bad.
 
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cato said:
ohh my god, I found a thread where the voice of reason is clockwood (no offense). America bashing has been taken to a new low.

can't you people think for yourselves? just because its cool to hate America does not mean you have to sheepishly join in.

p.s. DUI is very dangerous. its not hard to call a cab or friend.
Click to expand...

I love America. I hate and fear its governing bodies who are cruel and destructive beyond belief.
 
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