Counterintuitive Spring 2023

Too many states in the U.S punish their own citizens by executing them. The law system believes killing an inmate justifies their criminal act. The death penalty is a form of legalized unusual punishment and states today want to murder their own people by injecting lethal/harmful drugs in the body, electrocution, and death from a firing squad. Capital punishment is an unethical resolution that is unnecessary to be performed. The justice system and states need to realize the use of legal executions is pointless. It also results into too many negative factors of cost, rights, emotions and being hypocritical. There are other resolutions of punishment than murdering their own people.

The criminal justice system in the U.S serves specific functions, when dealing with criminals. The functions they serve are to deter crime, rehabilitate convicts, and incapacitate dangerous criminals. The justice system need to realize another solution that can result into a positive manner. By giving life in prison, opposing to eliminating their; serves a better way to follow the justice system’s functions. In the article, It’s Time to Abolish the Death Penalty, author Sean McElwee stated, “life imprisonment is certainly deterrent, and allows rehabilitation, where as death is final.” The death penalty ultimately doesn’t serve the purpose of the criminal justice system, it goes against it. The justice systems wants to end violent criminals, trying to stop violence in general. When punishing their own people, they are actually promoting violence to the world. They believe punishing a criminal, who is violent for murdering someone; by killing the criminal themselves is a violent act.

Works Cited:

McElwee, Sean. “It’s Time to Abolish the Death Penalty.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Hayworth, Michael. “5 Reasons Some People Think the World Needs the Death Penalty.” Amnesty Australia. N.p., 8 July 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Vancouver and many other places in Canada are now opening Insite program which is a clinic that is designed for drug addicts to get access to heroine. The process of injecting world’s finest heroine is done under  medical supervision without any arresting done by cops. However there hasn’t been any update of  heroine addicts to stop using the drug at all. In fact they ask for more and come back to visit the Insite clinic again. By providing clear access to heroine drug, people are just addicting their body further more and causing damage to their themselves physically and mentally.

People who inject drugs are at high risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis infection. The needle syringe is usually used over again and can cause infection to be spread from person to person. There had been one case studied of a man’s death due to injection of contaminated heroine which was caused byy anthrax. Basically anything injected directly through viens can be very fatal as it directly targets to the brain and lasts longer in a person.

workcited

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2293389/Man-died-injecting-heroin-contaminated-ANTHRAX-say-health-officials.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/11/world/americas/wus-canada-drug-safe-haven/

Children unlucky enough to be born into poverty, or with absent fathers, have been proven to be less successful in life because they lack the ability to delay gratification. They almost always choose to grab what they can immediately, and not postpone gratification in the hopes of getting more. This lack of self control leads to juvenile delinquency, poor performance in school, and lack of economic opportunities. Simply put, weak cognitive self control plus deviant opportunity equals crime and other negative social outcomes.

A classic definition of weak cognitive self control include impulsiveness, low frustration tolerance, self-centeredness, bullying behavior and risk taking behavior. Studies indicate that when parental discipline, nurturing and monitoring are absent, children are at a greater risk for weak cognitive self control.   It makes sense that parents who exhibit weak self control are those most likely to have children that exhibit weak self control. This is because proper parenting requires extensive effort, patience and consistent structure, not likely to be found in the homeless community. Studies indicate a significant link between low maternal self control and low child self control, as many of these families have absent fathers.

According to a study done by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) it was shown that parents or other important adults have a major impact on whether or not a child develops good cognitive self control. The parents set ground rules, provide structure and discipline, teach consequences, and provide adequate socialization for their children. They monitor their offspring and teach right from wrong. When four conditions are present (care, monitor, recognize, and correct) children learn to avoid situations with long term negative consequences. Studies have shown that all four conditions must be present for the child to learn self-control. There is also the contention that self control is stable once the child passes the ages of 8 or 10 years of age. Good children tend to remain good, while those lacking self control continue to be worrisome to parents and teachers, and could lead to juvenile delinquency. This suggests that the window of opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life occurs in early childhood. Any teacher can identify those children at risk. For example, if a child is disruptive in the classroom in second or third grade, he would be identified as a child who requires intervention to learn self control techniques. Parents would be brought into the discussion and taught the four conditions necessary for learning self control (care, monitor, recognize and correct), and work in conjunction with the teacher to establish ground rules to put the child on a positive path.

Instilling self control in this at-risk population would result in the ability to make rational decisions based on consequences. They would develop social bonds that could impede deviant behavior. Homeless children and young adults are presented with many opportunities for deviant behavior while faced with trying to fulfill basic needs such as food and shelter. Early intervention through parental education and societal resources could result in a much better outcome for homeless children.

Works Cited

“Childhood Maltreatment and Self Control among Homeless Young Adults.” University of Nebraska- Lincoln, 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

“The Stability of Self-control.” The Stability of Self-control. Journal of Criminal Justice, 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.

Liberalism, an ever growing group of people. Let’s examine what a liberal is. According to the dictionaries definition of liberalism, it states; “1) Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. 2) Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.”   According to other people, liberalism is merely a label that refers to a belief in the way government should run within a society. It is a perspective on the proper role of elected officials and a decision on what types of public policies should be prioritized.

In the article, “Dean’s World” the author tells us to look what the definition of liberalism does not say. It does not mention anything about the view of taxes or the views of homosexuality. It does not say anything about the right to keep and bear arms or about abortion, feminism, school prayer, or what issues to vote on. But what it does state is the notion that a person can think and believe in whatever they want to and still be a liberal. Liberals, by this understanding, could believe that abortion is murder or that taxes are too high. They could think legalizing medical marijuana is a horrible idea, or even believe that Bill Clinton was a horrible president. They can think freely and still be considered a liberal because the definition according to the dictionary does not state anything about liberals having to believe in supporting abortion or high taxes but instead being open to new ideas and tolerating the ideas and behaviors of others. What people tend to think is that if someone is a liberal they are strictly and only this, this and this which isn’t true.

Liberalism was made up of two related features from the western culture; the west’s preoccupation with individuality and the emphasis in other civilizations on status, caste, and tradition. Liberalism has been utilized since the early 16^th century.  In Terrence Ball’s article, “Liberalism” he stated,  “Liberalism is the culmination of developments in Western society that produced a sense of the importance of human individuality, a liberation of the individual from complete subservience to the group, and a relaxation of the tight hold of custom, law, and authority.” This particular culmination of developments leads to individualism.

When we look at liberalism, it is a political ideology with the essentials of equal opportunity. Proponents of the ideology believe Americans should be able to look at the government to provide a structure and enacted laws to protect everyone for an equal society. In the 19^th century, the government was interfering in trade through importation tariffs. Britain defended the tariffs because it maintained prices and agricultural production, which resulted in a political crisis and it left the poor starving. Something needed to be done, and thus the repeal of the Corn Laws was developed. This law resulted in the formation of a political party which was committed to free trade and was also known as the Liberal party.

“According to modern liberalism, the chief task of government is to remove obstacles that prevent individuals from living freely or from fully realizing their potential. Such obstacles include poverty, disease, discrimination, and ignorance.” (Ball) Supporters of liberalism tend to be very big on advocating public policies to get rid of inequality by using the government. There are also four ideas that guide liberal ideology: acceptance of conflict, resistance to power, belief in progress, and civic respect. When a liberal says that they want liberty, they mean that they want resistance to power. This means not only political power, but economic and social power as well. With liberty, they also want respect for people in their own right. The liberal belief in being adversarial is the conviction that human beings are rational creatures capable of settling political disputes through dialogue and compromising. This aimed more towards ending war and solving disagreements with other states through organizations; such as the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice.

Through this economic view point; liberals believe the government should provide more services for the less fortunate and increase taxes, if necessary. Through a social view point, they believe in  having the same marriage rights for homo and heterosexuals. They are also supportive of abortions, embryonic stem cell research, and restrictions and regulations around the right to bear arms. They are typically opposed with the death penalty and many push to have it removed as a resource for it is a “cruel and unusual punishment.” Though through these view point’s, this does not mean that someone has to abide by these beliefs.

There are many arguments on liberalism. One being how some feel that raising the taxes is unnecessary because, if we really think about it, some of the money is going to things such as maintaining our roads where as the other half is going to people below middle class. People think that liberals fix unemployment by taking money from the employed and redistributing it to anyone below middle class. Others would see this as beneficial. But one could say that when people think of liberals, they think of a specific set of beliefs as explained in the first few paragraphs. One could argue that there are different kinds of liberals as well.

If we come to look at it, not all liberals are “free of bigotry,” “favoring of reform,” “unorthodox,” “broad-minded,” or “anti-authoritarian.” There seems to be a debate on whether one is really a liberal if they do not believe in these set beliefs. But according to some, we can still be a liberal and not agree with how others see and believe liberals are. There has also been a more purely conceptual or philosophical critique of new liberalism which is less concerned with its consequences and instead more focused on its priori injustices.

To sum up, there can be many different perspectives of liberalism but in the end there is only one true definition. With that being said, one can be a liberal and have different beliefs on many laws or societal theories. Though, most of their beliefs are going to be pro-leftist, some people might stray away from the politically correct liberalist and still be considered a liberalist while having opposing beliefs. One could be fiscally conservative and socially liberal while still agreeing with the dictionaries definition of liberalism which does not state specific beliefs such as pro abortion or being against the death penalty. One can have their own political views and still be a liberal.

Work Cited

“Are You a Liberal?” N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.

Badger, Phil. “What Is Liberalism.” N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.

Getting admitted to rehab has never been more addicting. As would be typical in the United States, rehab would involve consistent attendance at dreary meetings in a monotonous attempt to break an individual from their dependence on a substance, that being drugs or alcohol. This is an established practice; it is almost entirely unheard of to deviate from this norm. In Vancouver, however, a whole new approach is being taken by the government in an attempt to curb drug usage as well as drug violence. The process of rehabilitation is being reworked and refitted with a new, modern outfit.

Some points of view, such as those held by websites offering rehab programs, suggest that drug rehab facilities simply, “help drug addicts prepare to re-enter society.” (Rehabs) Not only does this idea challenge the structured, accepted interpretation of rehab, but it opens the door to many new possibilities regarding treatment. This also causes the definition of a “drug problem” to be somewhat vague, as there are certainly different viewpoints of all individuals involved with the issue. While some may think it is perfectly acceptable to still participate in recreational drug use if it does not inhibit their work lives, others would argue an opposing position, one that states that drugs must be ridden entirely from oneself for rehabilitation to truly occur. In either case, the system Vancouver is using seeks to fix the issue at hand.

Rehabilitation sets a goal for a plan to fulfill, and there are multiple ways to reach it. Whether that be completely ridding oneself of a substance or simply regulating usage so that it becomes manageable, recovery is the endpoint. Unfortunately for the current state of the world, the system of avoiding elimination in favor of dormancy is yet to become common, and rehabilitation remains synonymous with eradication of addiction.

Work Cited

• “What Is Drug Addiction Treatment?” What Is Drug Addiction Treatment?National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
• “Drug Rehab Treatment Information.” Rehabs.com. Rehabs.com, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Every day in the United States, police candidates receive training and are given guidelines on using force prior to their employment. However, even the best training won’t change the core personalities that some officers have and the repercussion of this is the engagement in brutal behavior that injures and cause the death of suspects. These brutal behaviors come from police officers frequent use of excessive force even when suspects do not demonstrate that they need it to control them. The term “excessive force” has yet to be exactly defined but according to an article from U.S. Legal, “Excessive force is the use of force greater than that which a reasonable and prudent law enforcement would use under the circumstances is generally considered to be excessive.”

According to Mapping Police Violence, a research collaborative website that contains information on police killings nationwide, the estimated number of people killed in the United States in 2014 due to police brutality was 1,149 and so far in 2015, 1,046 cases has been reported according to the Guardian. These statistics demonstrate that our law enforcement cannot handle most suspects and are abusing their authority as they resort to using excessive force that leads to suspects being badly beaten or dead.

When people think of police brutality they never seem to focus on the impacts of it and how dangerous they are. When our police officers continue to engage in these brutal behaviors they aren’t only injuring and killing suspects but they degrade and dehumanize them as well. According to No Bullying, an online forum aimed at educating and advising to stop bullying, “When an officer dehumanizes their victim, it helps them to avoid feelings of guilt when it comes to using violence.” No Bullying also states that when they avoid the feelings of guilt, they convince themselves that the object of their actions are less than human. This results in officers feeling better about hurting suspects when they are beating, choking and killing them. Never do they take full responsibility for their actions, instead they might make a remark like “They deserved it!”

Police brutality continues throughout the United States and shows how our police officers don’t use what they have learned from training, beat, kill and dehumanize victims and in most cases direct the brutality towards minorities. Often when the topic of police brutality is discussed, many find it impractical to avoid the topic of race and how the legal system is bias towards minority cases of brutality. Unfortunately, many cases prove this bias such as Eric Garner who was placed in a choke-hold and killed, Michael Brown who was shot and killed and the infamous Rodney King who was severely beaten. All these cases of brutality were done by white officers on unarmed African-American men. Although racism isn’t the only factor in many cases of police brutality, the outcome has a serious impact on the African-American community and all who have to witness it.

Overall, it is extremely important for police officers to  know when excessive force should be used and even more crucial for them to recognize the damage it causes. Also, extremely evident that our law enforcement lacks using their training but even more evident that they find no accountability in injuring, killing and dehumanizing victims and targeting certain minority groups. Police brutality can cause long-term effects of psychological disorders derived from the violence, angering the African-American community and as well as murdering hundreds of citizens per year. As this violence continues to go on more people are hostile towards police officers, even ones who haven’t committed such crimes are still considered to be the enemy. These hostile attitudes allow new officers to enter the field anxious as they over-react to anything that can be interpreted as a threat which drive them to use excessive force.

Works Cited:

“Excessive Force Law & Legal Definition.” Excessive Force Law & Legal Definition. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.

“The Counted: People Killed By Police in the US.” The Guardian. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

“One Troubling Statistic Shows Just How Racist America’s Police Brutality Problem Is.”Mic. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

“Police Brutality: 5 Things You Didn’t Know|NoBullying|.” NoBullyingBullying CyberBullying Resources. 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

“25 Shocking Facts About the Epidemic of Police Brutality in America.” Mic. Web. 13 Nov. 2015

The ongoing question the courts are struggling with is, “What constitutes rape?”  The next question we must ask is what constitutes consent? Consent is explicitly saying saying yes to a sexual act. Too often men claim women consent but the woman is not in a proper state of mind.

Victims are coming forward and then being pushed aside because society’s view on rape is askew. Women are accusing men and the justice system is accusing women of crying wolf. According to federal law rape includes forms of sexual assault, other genders, and instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity, including due to the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age.” That means that if someone doesn’t consent or they consent while impaired, it is rape.

If we know this is a problem, why does it keep happening? The emergence of rape culture has become the normalization of aggressive sexual acts and exploitation of women. Instead of being incarcerated, rapists and abusers are roaming the streets because another woman supposedly cried wolf. A prime example of this was the case of this culture was the sexual assault of fourteen year old Daisy Coleman. One evening she drank a little too much and became too intoxicated to make informed decisions. Upon the arrival of two seventeen year old boys, Daisy was raped. Despite her saying no, one of the boys continued anyway.

The boys were charged as adults under Missouri State law. However, after news of the incident spread throughout the town, Daisy was ridiculed and cyber bullied. Then on top of that the state dismissed the charges based on insufficient evidence. Despite the confession of one of the boys. After the incident the boys finished high school and went on to college in nearby towns. Daisy however was forced to move forty miles away and struggles with her assault daily. Since the incident he has attempted suicide twice.

New Source:

http://www.npr.org/2013/10/17/236307720/nearly-two-years-later-a-controversial-rape-case-is-reviewed

Health insurance is an insurance that everyone wants. This is an insurance that pays for medical expenses such as surgeries and regular checkups. Even though a person might have health insurance, this will not prevent medical mistakes. The big issue with health care nowadays are the mistakes doctors make and if doctors should be accountable for them.  Accountability means that if a mistake happens, the personal at fault will take the responsibility.

Are Zoo trips really educational?

The idea of holding animals in captivity is a thought that has come and gone in society. Often, observing animals up close and personal is believed to be an educational experience while for many people that is not the case. Without zoos having an educational aspect there is no reason to exist.

An educational experience would be when a person learns new information from the act or place they are at. A piece of information that one takes from the zoo and uses it in the long run can be deemed educational. In the article “Zoos:An idea Whose Time Has Come and Gone” PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)  explains that zoos are exploitation to the animals it holds not education. Peta states that ” most zoo visitors simply wander around the grounds, pause briefly in front of some displays, and spend their time on snacks and bathroom breaks”. There is no educational value to a zoo trip if there is only a very small time spent where the animals are. The organization also explains “visitors spent less than eight seconds per snake exhibit and only one minute with the lions. Only spending such a small amount of time per animal exhibit is not a convincing argument about learning.  People should be spending minutes or even more time such as hours learning about the animals they are examining.

The other side to determining whether or not trips to see wildlife exhibits can be deemed educational is the fact that the observers are not seeing the animals in their natural habitat.  If the people are actually paying attention to how the animals are acting, the person is not getting accurate information on how the animal functions. According to PETA “numerous studies have shown that exhibiting animals in unnatural settings may undermine conservation by leaving the public with the idea that a species must not be in jeopardy if the government is allowing it to be used for display and entertainment”. Using animals for pure enjoyment rather than helping them is not educational. Animals that reside in zoos are usually not extinct, but the more the animals are brought into zoos the closer that species is to extinction because many animals die in captivity and  are not let back into the wild.  Unnatural behaviors and inaccurate information along with lack of observing can be deemed not educational. A trip being educational would mean that the person observing is learning information that is accurate, however the information is not.

According to studies by CAPS (Captive Animals’ Protection Society) in “Zoos neither educate nor empower children, newly published research suggests” the organization states that “Only 38% of children were able to demonstrate positive learning outcomes”. CAPS study also concluded that “Majority of children (62%) were deemed to show no change in learning or, worse, experienced negative learning during their trip to the zoo” It can be concluded that kids don’t really enjoy time at the zoo for the animals. Most children would rather go get souvenirs and food then see the wildlife.There are too many distractions in and around the zoo for their to be a focus on the animals, there are more food and other entertainment related aspects of a zoo on its pamphlet . Children with the desire to learn my have  an educational experience about safety of animals at a zoo leading to the realization that the animals do not belong there and need to be in their natural habitats. Furthermore children should be learning about endangered species while at zoos, in order to learn about how to protect those animals.

Works Cited

“Zoos: An Idea Whose Time Has Come and Gone.” People For the Ethical Treatment Of Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/zoos/&gt;.

“Zoos Neither Educate nor Empower Children, Newly Published Research Suggest.” Captive Animals’ Protection Society. N.p., 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2014/09/zoos-neither-educate-empower-children-newly-published-research-suggests&gt;.