Pacifists view on prisons?

I just started to get interested in this philosophy,and i'm wondering what are the pacifists views on prisons.


Thanks.

 

I'm not necessarily a pacifist.

In th US, prisons are used to gentrify an area. To make it whiter and more wholesome. The evidence of this is that more than one in four African Americans will spend time in prison. It makes the problem of crime much worse, where someone may have entered into prison a normal kid who was trying to make money in a low income area dealing drugs, has no option after leaving prison of getting a normal job. So they go back to crime and the problem of recidivism destroys lives.

There are people who genuinely pose a risk to society and should be sequestered from it. But many and maybe most of people in prison could be rehabilitated if society cared to do so.

The fact is we don't. We don't care about problems that we can lock away, and that speaks poorly about our society.

 

To send a criminal into a jail full of other people that don't know how to behave doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Wouldn't it be best to rehabilitate them, show them their wrongs, give them new skills they can use, rather than locking them away.

In the US, don't prison companies make money from investors according to how many prisoners they have? This seems counter intuitive. Explains why the US has the most prisoners per capita.

 

Prison should not be a desirable place to end up. It should be a place that is worse than being homeless. However most people who go there eventually get out; very rarely does an inmate serve a full life sentence or get the death penalty. So therefore we shouldn't allow the prison to be so horrendously abusive that it makes their conditions worse. Because we don't want to reintroduce a crazier person back into society, as they will be most likely worse than they were when they first got arrested. Prisons should focus on rehabilitating the inmate, not punishing them. But the punishment for winding up there should not he ruled out. Prisons should not be easy places with rehab programs with government paid food and housing. But what the current prison industrial complex does is inhumane.

 

Hmm. on the one hand, I want to say, harm to none, so don't lock humans up.... but if they're a danger to others, NOT a pot smoker but like a violent offender, someone who has hurt others, then yes, I suppose they do need to be locked up, and rehabilitated if possible.

 

well, i would say a pacifist would probably be against any sort of sanctioned abuse going on in the prison system... pacifism is really about nonviolence and nonaggression, depending on beliefs there are pure pacifists (would rather be killed than kill, for example) and those who believe violence is necessary in self defense only.

as for prisons though, punishment may be vaguely related back to the nonaggression theory- that prisons are not to be used as punitive, but rather to approach the person with compassion and understanding in an attempt to make things better (rehabilitation) as opposed to continuing the cycle of aggression that, as others have pointed out, tends to ultimately leave everyone (society, prisoner and guard alike) worse off.

pacifism as i understand it though, really is about no physical violence. the link i made may be a link in some way but pacifism is a specific term and doesn't make comments about prisons, although those who are pacifist would likely support a more compassionate society though it doesn't make comments directly. you know?

 

We have prison for profit now. And that makes the purpose of them not for rehabilitation but for making lots of money. They expect to run at near full capacity and for that they need to create a group of people specifically to fill it. Which they will do by creating criminals. The prison lobby and the prison guard lobby have quite a bit of power in influencing state laws where these prisons are. one example is while some states are legalizing pot, Indiana I think it was Indiana made sentences longer for it. When a society uses people in this manner, to make money it is a society that has gone completely out of control. corporatism and right wing extremism have taken over common sense.

so I guess my answer to your question would be that I see them as a failure..

 

prison is a breeding ground for crime, you can learn anything from how to smoke crack out of a chicken bone to SnB. The prison system in this country is so fucked up, and it's set up for a person coming out to go right back in. no job training, no education (unless you do it on your own, which is very uncommon), and parole/probation is a joke. they put you on it for years, expecting you to lead a normal life when all you know is crime, drugs, and how to manufacture and commit the two. we need more rehabilitation as opposed to prisons. prisons are the worst most sickly, seedy, disgusting, inhuman places you can go, and i'm speaking from personal experience (well jail for 4 months, in so. cal, but still). We are incarcerating people for the most petty crimes, when rapists and murders get out scott free with enough money. I hate this country sometimes.

 

oh another little tidbit, ~75% of the drugs brought into prisons are by the C.O.'s themselves, also the C.O.s pretend to have a hold on the prison gangs, that's complete bullshit. They know exactly what's going on and they don't do a thing about it. When i was in jail, I was a wood (white) i had to do 142 pushups a day mon-fri or i got put on the wall (beat senseless for 15-20 seconds by two other guys. It's hell in there man. It's a land of savages.

 

Commissary (snacks and toiletries) are the currency (mainly ramen soups). If you are white, you can't trade with a black. hispanic is ok, if you get it approved by the pod leader. You can get almost any drug you want (including rigs) through this process. It's extremely overpriced, I'm talking 500-100% but they pay it. and a lot of times you'll get crushed up seroquel sold as coke. or a used dip out of the trashcan from a CO for a pack of jolly ranchers. It's ridiculous.

 

US prisons are violent, and morally abhorrant.

However, this is not the case in all countries.

"punishment" is not a part of any sensible theory of society. Treatment is.

 

I think you are correct RooR.

 

as a peace man i'll say abolish punishment and then also - death is not punishment .
death is banishment , and then - no one banished should be punished .

 

I've been in jail and nearly went to prison. First time was stupid. Anyone can break into your home and do whatever they want and if you lift a finger to defend yourself, off ya go.
Second time all I did is express my opinion about a man that was voted into office. OPINION only. No threats, direct or implied. Nothing. That would have sent me up for 6 years.

Fuck the system. The taliban ain't the enemy, the system is.

 

I like to think of myself as a pacifist, but i also know you cannot sit back and take a beating. In order to have self respect you must love yourself enough to defend yourself. On the question of prisons I feel that all they do is punish severe crimes gently and small crimes harshly. The whole idea seems rather odd, take the worst of society and put them in small space together that will reform them. (sarcasm dripping) I believe that the real way to reform criminals is to find what makes them think in ways that are destructive and reverse it. This could be chemical imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, severe trauma from past experiences. There need to be remedys and cures for mankinds mental and socialogical ailments not just a cage to hide them in for a few years.

 

In prison pacifists are usually to busy taking it in the pooper and in the jaw to philosophies about prison life.


Pacifists get passed around for cigarettes.

 

And turkey sandwiches

 

I think one of the biggest problems of getting locked up, is after you make parole. It's damn hard to get hired at anything after they find out your a convicted felon. I worked 19 years for one company. Maint. Tech. class "A". I troubleshoot and repair very expensive production equipment, all plant systems, sub-systems, controls. The top man in the plant. I was busted at my house for dope. Ratted out by a pissed off ex. I made a mistake. I've been on parole since 2008. I was turned down for a job scrubbing fucking toilets and floors this week. I don't have a violent bone in my body. I have talent. I love to work, build anything, there is allways a way to fix something. I broke man's law. I didn't break God's law. I lost everything i had. I had to move in with a friend. Next step might be living under a bridge. It's like i'm allmost being forced to implement the Phd in dope i got from the prison system. Don't want to. Just want to be a positive contributor to society.

 

Tell me the system is not fucked with this story. All I can say is dafuq!?!
http://www.kulturekritic.com/2012/0...fe-sentences-for-simply-witnessing-drug-deal/

 

The prison system, like the judicial system are a morally corrupt scam. It doesn't matter so much if someone is guilty, as much as if they have enough money to buy a lawyer that can get them off. What matters is whether the the defense attorney, or the prosecutor can bullshit the jury. O.J.'s murder trial proved that.
But there's a lot of people that actually want to go to prison. Some because their friends are there and they can get better drugs on the inside than outside the joint.
Some go to prison to get free healthcare. There was a man in California that got a free heart transplant.
When the republicans destroy Social Security and Medicare, prisons will probably become the new form of retirement homes, where the elderly can get their meds.
Free meds, free food, free air conditioned place to stay, color tv, weight rooms, game rooms, free education. If you're gay, it's a great place for sex.