I thought "Forgiven" was a very interesting article and it posed an interesting concept: restorative justice. For the particular situation described in the article, restorative justice seemed to be a wonderful way of navigating through the terrible process of criminal justice and punishment. Connor McBride showed remorse for his actions, but also an acceptance of his responsibility, which I think is key. Restorative justice would be very hard to implement in situations like that of Patrick Sonnier's in Dead Man Walking because he would not admit to his crime. He remained cocky and remorseless for most of his life in prison and on death row. I think therefore restorative justice would only work if all of the parties were willing and accepting of the situation. The Grosmaires had to have partly forgiven Connor even before the meeting could have taken place. They had to accept that he had killed their daughter, which is not an easy task. McBride had to face the Grosmaires and their pain and grief as a result of what he had done.
I think restorative justice is admirable and I hope that it can be used more frequently. The prison system in America right now is completely broken and I do not think that simply locking criminals away will help the criminals face their actions and begin to work towards redemption. Restorative justice is more in keeping with Catholic social teaching. I think it deals more effectively (when in the right situation) with the emotions and struggles of the people involved (victims, families of victims and the perpetrator). I think it also gives the families and victims a sense of closure (if they want it).
I do unfortunately think that restorative justice will be a difficult tool to use in most criminal cases. However, if it can be used, I think it should.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Hotel Rwanda
When I first saw Hotel Rwanda, I remember Jack's line striking me as well. It disturbed me to think that people in Rwanda really were dying, and yet very little was done by the UN or other foreign powers to stop it.
In a way, I think that Jack was right. People will watch news footage and feel horrible, but they feel there is little they can do so they go back to their lasagnas. I remember this summer watching the footage from the Syrian chemical attack and feeling so sick and powerless. Of course I wanted to do something, but I am 17 years old. I could not very well fly to Syria and shake my finger at Assad. In the end, I tried to block the images from my mind and eat dinner with my family. Everyday the evening news is full of pain and horror and at times it so so overwhelming; what can I, a normal civilian, do? Even those with power cannot possibly fix everything that is wrong with the world. How do you choose which cause is more important?
In the end, I believe most people are good and willing and wanting to help each other. It is just hard for us to clearly see how we can help. If I were Paul, I would still try to get people to help. Like Immaculae says, you cannot have hate. You must believe in the good nature of people. Paul had to believe that he could make a difference and that others would be persuaded to help him. That strong courage of conviction is what saved those lives at the hotel. It may seem small but he made a significant impact on the world; he helped by trying, by believing.
In a way, I think that Jack was right. People will watch news footage and feel horrible, but they feel there is little they can do so they go back to their lasagnas. I remember this summer watching the footage from the Syrian chemical attack and feeling so sick and powerless. Of course I wanted to do something, but I am 17 years old. I could not very well fly to Syria and shake my finger at Assad. In the end, I tried to block the images from my mind and eat dinner with my family. Everyday the evening news is full of pain and horror and at times it so so overwhelming; what can I, a normal civilian, do? Even those with power cannot possibly fix everything that is wrong with the world. How do you choose which cause is more important?
In the end, I believe most people are good and willing and wanting to help each other. It is just hard for us to clearly see how we can help. If I were Paul, I would still try to get people to help. Like Immaculae says, you cannot have hate. You must believe in the good nature of people. Paul had to believe that he could make a difference and that others would be persuaded to help him. That strong courage of conviction is what saved those lives at the hotel. It may seem small but he made a significant impact on the world; he helped by trying, by believing.
Dead Man Walking
Before seeing Dead Man Walking, I was against the death penalty. However, it was not an issue that I thought a lot about because there was nothing I could do to fix it and thinking about it only made me more upset. Dead Man Walking along with my research of Sister Helen Prejean has given me a deeper insight into the world of the death penalty. The movie made me feel more than anything: feel for the prisoners, for the victims, for the families involved. I think Dead Man Walking has given me a balanced emotional scope of all the people involved in the death penalty from the people who administer the lethal shots to the people who must accept them.
Because I had not really researched much into the death penalty before seeing this movie, I really had no idea what lethal injection meant. Dead Man Walking spares its audience nothing in describing how lethal injection works. The first shot is an anesthetic, which helps the inmate to feel nothing and the people watching to see nothing of the internal pain and chaos of the next two shots. The second injection is a paralyzing agent that stops the lungs from functioning. Finally, the third shot induces cardiac arrest, killing the inmate. The cold calculated way in which this end is achieved seems as barbaric as a firing squad to me. This is no way for a human to die.
In addition, Dead Man Walking taught me about the Appeals Court on Death Row. The expense and waste and agony of people fighting for their lives through appeal after appeal is shocking. It makes sense that prisoners on Death Row would want to try to reverse their death sentence, and in a way it seems fair. However, it is completely unjust for the families of the victims to be forced to come to court year after year to sit through a trial of the same case constantly. I cannot imagine the pain and bitterness that would induce. There is no way for a family to grieve and cope with the loss of a loved one when they must constantly face his or her murderer. Also, the cost of lawyers and judges to run this Appeals Court is exorbitant; doing away with the death penalty and sticking to life in prison would actually lessen the expense.
Dead Man Walking was an amazingly executed film that showed the injustice of the death penalty without losing sight of the horrifying injustice of crime. The victims were never forgotten or glazed over. This movie was not a romantic one sided point of view. It showed the death penalty as it is and begs audiences of all beliefs to think and feel.
Because I had not really researched much into the death penalty before seeing this movie, I really had no idea what lethal injection meant. Dead Man Walking spares its audience nothing in describing how lethal injection works. The first shot is an anesthetic, which helps the inmate to feel nothing and the people watching to see nothing of the internal pain and chaos of the next two shots. The second injection is a paralyzing agent that stops the lungs from functioning. Finally, the third shot induces cardiac arrest, killing the inmate. The cold calculated way in which this end is achieved seems as barbaric as a firing squad to me. This is no way for a human to die.
In addition, Dead Man Walking taught me about the Appeals Court on Death Row. The expense and waste and agony of people fighting for their lives through appeal after appeal is shocking. It makes sense that prisoners on Death Row would want to try to reverse their death sentence, and in a way it seems fair. However, it is completely unjust for the families of the victims to be forced to come to court year after year to sit through a trial of the same case constantly. I cannot imagine the pain and bitterness that would induce. There is no way for a family to grieve and cope with the loss of a loved one when they must constantly face his or her murderer. Also, the cost of lawyers and judges to run this Appeals Court is exorbitant; doing away with the death penalty and sticking to life in prison would actually lessen the expense.
Dead Man Walking was an amazingly executed film that showed the injustice of the death penalty without losing sight of the horrifying injustice of crime. The victims were never forgotten or glazed over. This movie was not a romantic one sided point of view. It showed the death penalty as it is and begs audiences of all beliefs to think and feel.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Racism in America
I agree on some points with Mr. Smiley. I think it is hard to talk about race and racism, and I do believe that racism still exists. However, I think it is incredibly hard to gauge how prevalent racism is in our culture. Not many people would willingly admit to racism. Was George Zimmerman motivated by race? Is Stop and Frisk racist? I honestly do not know.
I think we said in class that Mr. Smiley seemed to dramatize the race issue and did not seem that he had any substantial facts to back his claims up. From my own personal experience, I do not believe that "racism is an intractable issue in our society." I think racism has come a long way, especially in the recent generations. Most people I know are very accepting and understanding. Of course, nothing is perfect and there are still people full of hatred and racial prejudice, but I sincerely believe they are a minority in modern America.
Mr. Smiley did not mention how to fix any of these race issues either. I find it frustrating that all the media wants to do is talk about these issues, and while I think that discussion, education, and understanding are key to fixing the issue of racism, I feel that constantly beleaguering the issue of race in the media without offering or initiating solutions further divides races.
Furthermore, I think race is part of a larger issue of socio-economics. In Philadelphia, many of the poorer and more dangerous sections of the city are home to black citizens. Those sections are home to violence and crime, not because of race, but because of the economic depression of the area. I think one of the key ways to improve race relations is to improve depressed economic regions. I recently read an article by Philadelphia Magazine called, "Being White in Philadelphia." The article spoke of race relations in the city. For example, how white people are still wary of black people because of all the crime and the violence in certain areas of the city. Unfortunately some of these ideas are true. I would not want to walk around West Philly at night either, but that is not because the neighborhood is African American. The neighborhood is poor and therefore more statistically prone to violence and crime. Articles like that one did not help the issue of race or socio-economics. It barely addressed them, and only further embarrassed black and white people in Philadelphia.
In summary, I think racism today is more of a multi-dimensional issue and needs to be treated accordingly. Economics play a huge role that is often under-explored. Racism does still exist to an extent in America, but with cooperation, discussion and most of all action, I think the youngest generations of Americans can almost eliminate racism.
I think we said in class that Mr. Smiley seemed to dramatize the race issue and did not seem that he had any substantial facts to back his claims up. From my own personal experience, I do not believe that "racism is an intractable issue in our society." I think racism has come a long way, especially in the recent generations. Most people I know are very accepting and understanding. Of course, nothing is perfect and there are still people full of hatred and racial prejudice, but I sincerely believe they are a minority in modern America.
Mr. Smiley did not mention how to fix any of these race issues either. I find it frustrating that all the media wants to do is talk about these issues, and while I think that discussion, education, and understanding are key to fixing the issue of racism, I feel that constantly beleaguering the issue of race in the media without offering or initiating solutions further divides races.
Furthermore, I think race is part of a larger issue of socio-economics. In Philadelphia, many of the poorer and more dangerous sections of the city are home to black citizens. Those sections are home to violence and crime, not because of race, but because of the economic depression of the area. I think one of the key ways to improve race relations is to improve depressed economic regions. I recently read an article by Philadelphia Magazine called, "Being White in Philadelphia." The article spoke of race relations in the city. For example, how white people are still wary of black people because of all the crime and the violence in certain areas of the city. Unfortunately some of these ideas are true. I would not want to walk around West Philly at night either, but that is not because the neighborhood is African American. The neighborhood is poor and therefore more statistically prone to violence and crime. Articles like that one did not help the issue of race or socio-economics. It barely addressed them, and only further embarrassed black and white people in Philadelphia.
In summary, I think racism today is more of a multi-dimensional issue and needs to be treated accordingly. Economics play a huge role that is often under-explored. Racism does still exist to an extent in America, but with cooperation, discussion and most of all action, I think the youngest generations of Americans can almost eliminate racism.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Social Injustice: Education
In America, most students complain about going to school, but we do not realize that education is a privilege that we are so lucky to enjoy. American students do not realize how many children, especially girls, are denied the right to get an education due to poverty or gender. Children are taken out of school even before high school and forced to labor to provide money for their families. Girls are often taken out of school as young as 10 or 11 to become wives. Girls like Malala Yousafzai, who spoke at the UN for education, are barred from school simply because they are girls. Education should be a basic right for every child, and yet it is not. Often, I think this is due to the lack of education of the adults in many cultures, such as Taliban men who will shoot girls who just want to learn. I think that if, in the first place, these men had been properly educated, they would not treat girls like property or forbid their education. In my opinion, education is one of the best ways to accomplish peace and right many societal injustices.
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