Reddit reviews Crazy in America: The Hidden Tragedy of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill
We found 1 Reddit comments about Crazy in America: The Hidden Tragedy of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I think you need to read up before telling anyone to "take a step back".
> Saying that sexual abuse of children can be explained as a mental illness in the abuser (it can't be, at least not with modern psychology that presently exists).
WTF?! Let me quote:
"As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in persons 16 years of age or older...
psychiatric disorder which we criminalize because it is a threat and has safely issues but a psychiatric disorder nonetheless.
And in case Wikipedia isn't good enough for you, try WebMD:
"Does the medical community consider pedophilia to be a mental disorder? Yes. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has included pedophilia in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1968."
I don't know where you are getting your info from. Certainly not from the field that is responsible for classifying it.
Furthermore people who offend may start as victims themselves. It has always been regarded as some sort of sickness and demonizing people who are victims and/or later offenders is part of what has helped escalate abuse.
Also note this is a taboo subject. Go research why it is a taboo subject. Then look up what taboo means. This goes to why this specific crime often has the gravitas that it does.
> 2) Saying that people that want to punish criminals for having done awful things are worse than the abusers (rapists, child molesters, etc.)
And you haven't see that? I have seen cases where seemingly normal people salivate at the possibility of torturing people who are offenders like they are a group of villagers going after Frankenstein. Not simply an "eye for an eye" mentality, but an actual fetish-like glee of torturing people who have been offenders with little or no understanding of if.
I have the theory why this might be the case. While I'm sure most people don't have leaning towards being on offender, it would appear the more outraged you are about the topic, the more you illustrate that you are against it, so not unlike people who are homophobic (but inwardly might be gay) I think people who act out violently are processing some issues of their own, what they are, I don't know.
But no, in a civil society, people should not take pleasure in punishment, that is sadistic, while not an illness per se, is often a precursor to one. For activity that is criminalized it should be about reform, and when that is not possible, separation from society in a way that is safe for both society and the offender.
As an example, I heard of a guy who got together with friends and looked to burn an individual all over his body with a hot iron. Now if you haven't had some sort of mind-altering event to cause this sort of snap, would you say that is normal behavior? Because "Take a step back and realize that" is what you seem to be saying. That is what I was addressing. I know of no other crime that inspires this sort of mentality.
Moving outward toward a more general perspective, note how many people gleefully cheer prison rape. I've wondered why America seems to be like that while other well developed countries may not be, and I'd say it probably can be explained by the degree we have a theistic background.
> Where are you getting this stuff? NAMBLA?
First off, females don't offend? Where are you getting your stuff from.
Secondly, seriously, that is insulting. At the least you owe me an apology. I'm getting this stuff from studying psychology before deciding to go into a different field.
Here are some links for further reading about America's knack for criminalizing social and mental issues:
Geez, try to have a sane, civil discussion. You almost illustrate the point I'm trying to make.