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People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

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101–110 of 165 posts

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

so... what do we do with non-criminals? All the small things like bike theft, not paying child support, fare evasion and urinating in the streets? For extra credit: assume the offender has no money.

[deleted]

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#103

Scientific proof that "The devil makes work for idle hands to do" is accurate Edit: not in a religious sort-of-way

Do non-christians really reject this type of wisdom just because it's biblical and only now accept it because we have scientific proof of it?

If I'm being completely honest, once I discovered all of the manipulations and lies Christianity perpetrates on its people, everything else I hear about the religion I take with a heaping pile of salt, including wisdom I might, in a vacuum, accept.

My thought is usually something like, "Yes, and how did this 'wisdom' help earlier Christian leaders control their followers?"

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#104
post #61
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd be happy if we'd just get over this vindictive need to deprive prisoners of basic pleasures. I won't argue that there aren't some people who have such a vindictive need, but in most cases where I've had conversations with folks about things like this, it's more that they oppose someone having a similar (or maybe "better") quality of life to what they have, without working to pay for it, and rather being paid fo…

If the last two years have taught us anything, it's that being stuck in one place, even if it's your own house, feels pretty bad when you cannot go do something else.

My brain seems to reflexively get "bored" when they've announced any new restrictions or measures. I'm not sure bored is even the right word, but it's the best way I can describe it.

It makes me laugh at myself because I wasn't going to do any of it either way.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#105
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.

Or school reform.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#106
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Penal colonies and other forms of exile are cruel and unusual. It's hard to conceive because this form of punishment has been disused in the west for nearly as long as drawing and quartering, but historical use of exile gives a sense for how extreme permanent exile is as a punishment. Even in the age of drawing and quartering, penal colonies were used primarily as an alternative to capital punishment. In the age of g…

I don't see a meaningful difference between exile and inprisonment then. In either way, you remove the people from their communities for an extended period of time. I don't think it's consequential to make a difference between them being stuck outside or inside the geographical area.

Being able to walk outside, feel the sun, the air or the rain on your face, touching grass, trees or rocks - that would be a huge difference for me.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#107
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'm classified as a "violent criminal" by the state by way of having a violent felony. Not trying to be inflammatory, but this sounds like awful idea, mostly psychological and societal at large. In my experience, many, many people have this "us vs. them" attitude towards criminals, as in "I would never commit a crime so therefore they are not like us." The reality is, countless people are either innocent or one-time offenders (or others who likely do not "deserve" exile). Further division along further boundaries is probably not what we need, especially one which is nearly certain to be universally looked down upon.

So, IMO, resources would be much better spent improving what we have (a lot), making sure justice & sentencing is fair and consistent, and certainly doing a much better job of post-incarceration support, community, and monitoring. I would wager that many, many more people can be helped out of their circumstances than are currently, but prisoners are almost dropped entirely once they're released.

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so... what do we do with non-criminals? All the small things like bike theft, not paying child support, fare evasion and urinating in the streets? For extra credit: assume the offender has no money.

Whoa. Are you defending putting these people in jail with murderers and gang members?

Many countries have prison levels.

Non-violent offenders will be housed in a different prison than violent offenders, and the worst of the worst (usually lifers) will be put into one or two very secure prisons.

This castle is the max security prison in Czechia. Used as a prison since 1760 (back then for offending clergy). You won't get there for child support debt.

https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C4%9Bznice_M%C3%ADrov

(Though as a former kid whose father was deliberately neglecting child support payments - it can work pretty long if he lives in another country that has a corrupt judicial system - I believe withholding child support should be punished by more than just a slap on the wrist. Lack of support makes life really hard for the kids.)

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not. But what are the alternatives? Spanking?

> Spanking? Some countries essentially do this (e.g. caning in Singapore).

Don't you, at least in Singapore, get caning in addition to a prison sentence?

Re: People behave more sadistically when they’re bored

#110
post #21

This is a good case for redistribution of wealth.

You have countries such as the oil sheikhdoms where the citizens (not the guest workers) have a lot of wealth and idle time.

They didn't turn into creative utopias, quite to the contrary.

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