Both you & @
AgrippinaX use a lot of terms with which I am unfamiliar. No clue what the above means.
It's already sort of been explained, but basically saying that things are either right/good or wrong/bad/evil. Ie "Anyone who steals is evil." This type of thinking doesn't distinguish between a rich teen stealing from a store for fun and someone stealing a loaf of bread to feed their starving family.
Definitely not all, especially with addicts who often are victims themselves, but with convicts? Most, I feel, are just predators who obviously look to take advantage of someone or hurt someone for their own selfish needs and quite often deserve the lot they’ve been given.
On the other hand, I acknowledge there are some who have earned the right to redemption, but don’t get that opportunity due to the moral absolutism you speak of.
I think that a lot of people behave the way that they do because of the circumstances they are in. And the more desperate people are, the more likely they are to make choices that harm themselves or others.
I also just personally know or know of a lot of people who were totally screwed over by the justice system, including a friend who made a joke about bringing rakes back from home after fall break to defend fellow students from police making drug busts on campus. This was just a year after 9/11 and he was convicted of
inciting domestic terrorism. A friend of mine from college works for the Innocence Project, and a lot of the stories there are heartbreaking. Another acquaintance works with juveniles who have been given life sentences. This includes cases like a boy who stole a van with his older brother, the older brother and another friend got into a gunfight and killed a third teenager. The boy who stole the van never left the vehicle but was still convicted of murder and given a life sentence.
But I also get that it's hard. I don't like to imagine that someone helping me carry my luggage up to my hotel room when I'm alone might be a convicted rapist. Or that the employee talking to my child at a restaurant might be a convicted child molester. Or that the person helping out at the bank has a past history of fraud. It's also true that different crimes have different rates of recurrence, and that different situations have different potential for reform. It's a really complex issue, and that's even without considering some really serious issues with the way that different groups are treated in the law enforcement, trial, and sentencing process. There are certainly people who are "beyond help", and at the same time people who have the potential to be positive contributors to society. Have you seen the film
The Interrupters? It's an interesting documentary that showcases both types: people who are working hard to reform and people who don't seem to actually want to commit to it.