I have an acquaintance who came this || close to getting a forced lobotomy when she was young, because other people decided it was best for her. She’s perfectly fine, and not only that, hasn’t killed anyone.
So, no, I don’t support punishment for pre-crime.
I am encouraged to see plenty of people recognizing the threat to everyone’s civil liberties when folks can be locked up for something that someone thinks they might do.
I actually appeciate the honesty when people say “we want to lock people up for our good” instead of pretending that it’s for the benefit of the people being locked up. I mean, don’t piss on my feet in the first place, but in particular don’t piss on my feet and then try to tell me it’s raining.
America already has an over-incarceration problem. Locking up people who *might *commit big crimes down the road would triple or quadruple the prison populace.
This should have been grounds for civil, involuntary commitment. If he really wasn’t going to anyone such commitment would “scare him straight” and serve as an example to other pranksters. If he really was off the deep end the commitment would benefit both him or her and society.
A little personal disclosure. In April 1977 I was a sophomore at Cornell. After a series of difficulties on my dorm floor, a serious risk of an “F” in a language course and a nagging, disruptive cough I started walking across the Thurston Avenue bridge over one of the scenic gorges in that area. I was apprehended by a Safety officer, and taken to the infirmary, where I was bound to the bed. My parents came to pick me up. A few days later, cleared by a doctor, I returned. I learned from that experience to express my angst or depression in less scary manners.
A small amount of confinement may convince others to seek help before they hurt themselves or others.
It may.
But it also may be used as a hammer to punish people that those in authority don’t like, to take away civil liberties from the less fortunate in society, and to harshly deal with enemies of those in power.
Or it may convince them not to seek help at all. When you raise the “cost” for seeking help - be it shame, unwanted attention from others, deprivation of liberty or financial - you discourage those who need help from seeking it.
Or, again, it may convince some mentally ill people that they have only one of two choices - either bottle it all up inside, or lash out 100% in suicide or homicide.
I can’t disagree with this more strongly. In terms of a personal disclosure, my dose of psychiatric “confinement” resulted in me refusing to see anyone ever again for psychiatric treatment, drowning the pain out with massive use of illegal drugs instead, and I now lie to absolutely everyone about the fact that I hear voices in my head and that they are getting louder.
So my real life experience is the exact opposite of what you are claiming.
Not even themselves.
Yeah, I can’t imagine how anyone could conclude otherwise. A small amount of terrifying dehumanizing experience is going to convince people to stick themselves in for more of the same treatment if they’re having problem???