RE: What Does Justice Look Like?
This is such a well thought out and written piece. And top marks for using "tomfoolery" too (love that word). I do think there is a lot to be said for "restorative justice" where the perpertrator meets with the victim and comes to understand the impact of his/her crime. There is little evidence that prison "fixes" people, it just makes things worse. And aside from the psychopaths most criminals are not "born" that way. If you take away someones chance to be a meaningful member of society and label them as a criminal too early then what choice do they have. I do believe in self fulfilling prophecies and also that if you treat someone a certain way then eventually most people will behave in that way.
Having said that, I know the anger that comes in being a victim of a crime. Which is why we have a justice system, that emotion is taken away so that people can be judged fairly (well that's the idea, anyway).
Found your article thanks to the #steemitbloggers: have a great day!
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Thanks @felt.buzz, yes, I believe that tomfoolery is very much an underused word. I've recently been considering compiling a list of words that are not used as much as they used to be, and this one feature quite high on my list. I'm just happy that someone picked up on it and actually knew what it meant!!
I'm not sure as to whether or not prison actually does what it claims too. I wonder whether there are simply too many elements at play to really see true rehabilitation. I guess, it's something that statistics will tell us about.
The self-fulfilling prophecy is an interesting one. I tend to see it from your idea. If you keep preaching to yourself that you are one thing, then eventually, you'll likely end up as that thing. I think the opposite is called affirmation. Tell yourself that you'll sin every morning, and that's what's likely to happen. Sad how some people only experience the negative.