We seem to encourage prison rape as a justifiable punishment
So me and a friend had a discussion about prison and it occurred to me that prison rape seems to be, "A-OK!" or "Don't DROP THE SOAP!" Sure its funny as a laugh and as a joke but the reality of it is NOT funny!
If someone was to ever joke about raping a woman in order to "teach her a lesson", or to encourage it as part of her pennance for commiting a crime what do you think would happen?
Why the disconnect?
To recap, it is socially acceptable and funny that someone locked up is going to get raped.
What the fuck?
Reactions?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Albert Bakker on -
Okay yeah after release.
But wouldn't that hinder re-assimilation into society? I would suspect most former convicts will not have an easy time getting a decently paid job right away and so such costs would press hard on setting up a new start, maybe might even make one look for easier money - maybe deceive oneself by pretending it to be only as a temporary relief - and perhaps contribute to an even higher rate of recidivism.
Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way, I'm just speculating as I don't know any figures.
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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on -
Sorry, I think punishment is appropriate, and rehabilitation is humane for the prisoners and good for society. Also, we do need to be protected from offenders like you say.
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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on
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You're a gentleman. Out of interest, what country does your name come from?
Thinking about it, it seems that this issue cuts to the heart of some basic ideas. I believe fundamentally that if someone does something wrong then they deserve to be punished - that's a basic fact of life. After that, for their own and society's sake, they need to be rehabilitated.
It seems that at my advanced, wizened, toothless age (ok, 44) I seem to know quite a few really cool people. The things that many of them share in common are: 1) they used to be very bad boys and girls. or, 2) they've really suffered. In both cases, they have been taught through experience the value of invincible strength, invincible compassion and invincible integrity. They've seen how terrible things can get if these are not enforced.
When a "sinner" (for want of a nice atheist word) is punished, and then offered rehabilitation, "he" (for want of a non-sexist word) is given the chance to learn from his mistakes, and so become a better person as a result. He can turn his badness into goodness. This is a highly valid and fundamental truth about life.
In my opinion, this is the whole and most useful point about the story of the Crucifixion and Ressurrection. Forget "Jesus died for our sins" - that's bollocks, and doesn't make sense unless you're a Christian, and even then I'm not so sure. It ought to be, "we die for our own sins". Jesus illustrated perfectly that if we accept our proper punishment for a sin, then we are in a position to move on, learn from our mistakes and be "bjorn again" as a better, wiser, more compassionate person. That's why they say Jesus saves. Too right, he does, to this day.
I think the same process applies to suffering that's not our fault. i.e. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger."
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Permalink Reply by AJ Douglas on -
Never liked it. It's a fucking ridiculous double standard.
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Permalink Reply by Danny Sanchez on -
People joke about prison rape because its just that a joke. I grew up in a tough neighborhood in southern California and many of my friends were/are gang members and drug dealers. Most of those friends I grew up with ended up in prison and I believe them when they said there is no prison rape. According to my friends there are so many homosexual men and some of them who even look like women that there is no need to rape anyone. There is more than enough prisoners giving it up.
Where the problem might lie would be in youth prisons where teenagers are mixed in with other prisoners who have been in the system almost there entire lives and could be there till they are 25. My convict friends admit that in these prisons there are some instances of rape.
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Permalink Reply by TDM on -
From someone who has done two terms on the inside i can assure you that the "prison rape" thing is a myth that law enforcment uses to squeeze that last bit of information out of you. There are people engauging in homosexual activity but they are homosexual. Of course this is not a blanket statement regarding all prisons and all inmates i am just saying i never feared being raped and in fact that kind of behavior would of got me beaten by by own people. So, beware of propaganda. Further more it is not socially acceptable for ANYONE to be raped, criminal or otherwise.
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Permalink Reply by TDM on
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Wow, i cant believe all the one sided debate here, its like i fell into a Fox News ignorance vortex. People, with exception to Danny, did anyone consider talking to someone who actually did time.Further more there is nay a single minute devoted to rehabilitation for the simple fact that prison is a business that can be traded on the stock market with a responsibility to stockholders to make money and no money will be made if people learn how to stop coming to prison. Its actually quit clear when viewed when from the inside.
Check out the private corrections dept. on the S & P or the Dow. If i remember its Wakinghut or Walkinghut or something like that here in California.
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Permalink Reply by TDM on
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Check out the private corrections dept. on the S & P or the Dow. If i remember its Wakinghut or Walkinghut or something like that here in California.
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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on
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Thanks for all the info from those who really know. It's been very illuminating.
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Permalink Reply by Lewal on -
People are bound to think it's justifiable as long as it fits the crime. What I'm curious about is how people equate genital rape with anal rape. Are vaginas and anuses really so similar? Is penetration of one equivocal to penetration of the other? And if not, what punishment in your mind would be justifiably equal to vaginal rape if forced upon a man? If we're really going to be fair here.
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Permalink Reply by IEatDinosaurMeat on -
I think the problem here is a misunderstanding of what is a consequence and what is punishment.
Consequences naturally follow an action (murder, go into isolation where you are no longer a threat to any other people within society)
Punishment is retributive action taken against an individual for an action (slap on the hand for stealing)
Prison is a consequence, rape is punishment. I would tend to be okay with consequences, not okay with punishment.
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Permalink Reply by IEatDinosaurMeat on
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Yeah, because it's very poor logic.
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