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People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

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Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#41

Post by lapsedacademic »

lostcolony wrote: post #24
mc32 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So put them to work and pay them the going rate [in the normal economy] and use that toward victim restitution? If you pay them the market rate and this activity improves their well-being compared to being sedentary, I think it’s a win for all involved.

I'd be happy if we'd just get over this vindictive need to deprive prisoners of basic pleasures. I've seen outrage over the idea that prisoners have access to TVs, or gaming consoles, or similar, stories of wardens confiscating books and pen and paper and such. I understand there are some other concerns that may warrant keeping usage of some of those under surveillance or similar (keep a pencil from being used as a s…

> confiscating books

Deb Alderson's Global Tel*Link is replacing libraries with locked down tablets that have e-reader apps. Inmates are charged a couple bucks an hour for access to the tablet and are limited to 90 minutes of reading time.

E.g.,

https://www.jurist.org/news/2020/11/allegheny-county-jail-li...

https://moguldom.com/241982/exploiting-prisoners-w-virginia-...

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#43

Post by Taywee »

sleepysysadmin wrote: post #4

Pleasure is fleeting. It must be or else you'd still be glowing from your first orgasm. Inevitably the search for pleasure will require variety and inevitably that variety brings you to inflicting pain on others. We do it publicly. The romans fed people to the lions. We have lots of violent sports. Nascar isn't about driving left. It's about the crashes. Hockey is about the fights and checking. Lets not even evaluate…

Out of the hockey fans I know, only the really casual watchers are interested in fights and checking at all. The big fans are way more interested in the strategy and statistics and many of them are annoyed when a big fight breaks out and wastes time in the game. If what you were saying was true, way more people would just be watching videos on the internet of people getting into street fights than professional sports.

It's way easier to find videos of car crashes than it is to watch hours of cars driving in circles. I don't understand the appeal of NASCAR, but it's clearly not about the crashes.

> Lets not even evaluate violent videogames.

Why not? You might find that long-term players of games are more interested in good gameplay than bloody effects or the violence itself. I've noticed that games in general are tending toward less violence and blood than a decade or so ago.

I think you are being unfairly judgemental about things that you don't understand.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#46

Post by cm2012 »

simmanian wrote: post #36
quacked wrote: post #2

If this is indeed true, it is yet another piece of evidence in the case for prison reform. Prisoners are universally bored, yet in many cases insufficiently protected from one another. Read accounts of any long-time convict's time in prison and you'll hear about excruciating boredom punctuated by acts of outrageous sadism.

I believe we should focus on separating criminals from non-criminals instead of punishing and torturing them. Give them an environment where they can thrive without being harmful to themselves and others. Let them re-join the society ONLY when they pose acceptable risk. This means violent criminals may never get to re-join the society, but that's okay given that they are still given a humane environment where they ca…

Sounds like a pretty good compromise for public safety

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#47

Post by mensetmanusman »

quacked wrote: post #2

If this is indeed true, it is yet another piece of evidence in the case for prison reform. Prisoners are universally bored, yet in many cases insufficiently protected from one another. Read accounts of any long-time convict's time in prison and you'll hear about excruciating boredom punctuated by acts of outrageous sadism.

A family member was in prison for petty theft and breaking parole for over 25 years.

When they got out, they didn’t even know how to drive because it started from teenage years (abusive father).

I was shocked that the state didn’t spend an ounce of energy to at least teach these people basic skills.

Now they are forced to live in cities where they are more likely to interact with bad influences.

Anyway, I wonder if driving could be part of reform. E.g. let them be a part of the driving economy to build skills and support the nation.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#50

Post by quacked »

simmanian wrote: post #36
quacked wrote: post #2

If this is indeed true, it is yet another piece of evidence in the case for prison reform. Prisoners are universally bored, yet in many cases insufficiently protected from one another. Read accounts of any long-time convict's time in prison and you'll hear about excruciating boredom punctuated by acts of outrageous sadism.

I believe we should focus on separating criminals from non-criminals instead of punishing and torturing them. Give them an environment where they can thrive without being harmful to themselves and others. Let them re-join the society ONLY when they pose acceptable risk. This means violent criminals may never get to re-join the society, but that's okay given that they are still given a humane environment where they ca…

I agree with you, I just think it would take a lot more money and effort to provide this environment.
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