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Originally Posted by OhDear  It is seems to me!!! And have you ever been either a perp incarcerated or a victim of a crime of sexual abuse? |
I have been neither, though I know both.
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| Oh my goodness Jaxian. First you rewrite the purpose of the courts and try to construe the word "justice" as a dirty word! Now you say that a villain suffers more than a victim if they are incarcerated? |
You don't agree? But why not? Sexual abuse does not alter the victim's life in any fashion. What I mean is, the victim is still physically able to go to school, to go to work, to speak to others, and to engage in any freedom he or she desires. The entirety of the damage caused by sexual abuse is mental.
Now I don't mean to downplay the horrible mental disorders that can result after sexual abuse. They are certainly bad. However, I don't feel that they mess up a life as much as, say, twenty years of jail time.
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| I hope you can see from the amount of time I have been a member here, that I really do not get ruffled easily, but I am gonna just tell you, You have ruffled me with that! |
I did not mean to upset you. Most people are outraged the moment I say that child molesters should not be executed, but I don't know how to state my position in a fashion which is not upsetting.
However, I don't fully understand why you are upset. Are you upset that I do not wish a criminal to have body parts cut off? Or are you upset that I believe jail time is worse than being sexually abused? Why should you be upset at this?
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A mother has every right to be angry, as does the victim. Anger is even an essential part of the healing process.
Anger is not clouding the judgment of someone who seeks justice. |
Of course people have the right to be angry, and they should be. But any form of anger clouds judgement.
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| But maudlin sentiments have surely clouded the judgment of anyone who puts the focus of his sympathies with the perp! Without a measure of justice, there is no chance for reform. And one victim is exponentially added to by the criminal's conclusion that he got away with it! |
I am not sure what you are saying here. I did not say the criminal should not be punished; I only said the criminal should not be castrated.
I was saying that our current punishment is already strong enough, is more likely than castration to protect the populace, and is not unnecessarily cruel.
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| You have no idea how lives are wrecked in the wake of sexual abuse, apparently. |
I feel I have a good idea of how lives are changed by sexual abuse. But if I am wrong, perhaps you can explain to me what I do not understand? Or perhaps you could provide a link explaining it? Just saying that I don't understand will not help me understand.
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| Oh and while I find it necessary to point out your incredulous statements, what dear Jaxian the heck is this: "But it seems to me that jail time fractures the criminal's life a lot more than rape fractures the victim's life. Considering that, prison seems like a strong, fair punishment"...are you marking a distinction between jail and prison and saying that jail is worse than prison? How absurd is that!!! |
Huh? No, I was not making any distinction between "jail" and "prison". I meant them as the same thing.
I was saying that our current punishment for sexual offenders is already strong enough, and it does not need to be increased through castration or any other cruel fashion.
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| Forgiveness is something that benefits the victim. When a victim can forgive the victim is made better to a certain degree. And forgiveness is a personal responsibility. The courts are not established to be a voice for the spirit of the individual but an arm to strengthen the community and hand down right mandates to punish and correct those who offend the safety and well being of others. |
This is exactly correct. The courts do not exist to execute revenge on criminals: they exist to strengthen the community and punish criminals in order to protect the safety and wellbeing of others.
And I'm having trouble understanding where we disagree. You disagree with castrating sex offenders, right?
So I think we're just having an argument about which is worse: being sexually abused, or twenty years of jail time. Is that correct?