31–34 of 34 posts
While I was in prison, I received The Rise of the Creative Class. I also received an Artificial Intelligence textbook as well. And I received Headstrong. I did a lot of reading. In fact, once I got a chance to go to the computer lab, I wrote upwards of 100 articles. I wrote articles about introductory AI, health, and science.
Addendum: I also read a couple dozen business books from the prison library. Was quite good.
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Addendum: I also read a couple dozen business books from the prison library. Was quite good.
How was the experience?
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Prisons are a recent invention. Ancient punishments were execution, banishment, enslavement or mutilation. Since people go insane with lack of stimulation in solitary, I'd say stimulation is indeed a basic human right.
Does that include all forms of stimulation, or do the jailers get to pick which kind? Are all needs rights? If so, is a famine an excuse for a human rights violation (implying that there are circumstantial excuses for violating human rights), or are people living in poor countries forced to be human rights violators? You can pick anything you want, and say people should have it, but if you want to say there are no ex…
The point of jail is to protect society from people who violate other peoples' rights. Jail shouldn't be about punishment, torture, etc.
It's well known that removing stimulation from people causes them to go insane. Hence, such is tantamount from torture. While that isn't specifically about book reading, preventing a person from reading, human contact, etc., is removing stimulation. Removing all stimulation violates human rights.
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Yes, this seems needlessly restrictive. What's the harm in letting someone with nothing better to do read Harry Potter? I could imagine restrictions on certain kinds of books... like how to cover up forensic evidence, or how to tie knots, or whatever... but Harry Potter, or computer programming?
The loss of control and autonomy over irrelevant little things like this is one of those things that reinforces the power and cruelty of the guards.