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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: What Do They Teach Them At These Schools?
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
[h/t to Clive for the thread title]
So about two weeks ago there was a fairly nasty gay-bashing attack in Philadelphia by a group described as both "visibly intoxicated" and "well dressed". The victims were able to identify their attackers from various surveillance videos (though as far as I know no video exists of the actual attack).
Then this came out.
quote:
Additional sources tell NBC10 the alleged attackers are alumni of Archbishop Wood High School. The school's assistant basketball coach resigned Wednesday after school officials confronted him over his alleged connection to the attack.
So apparently this group of Catholic school alumni got together at a restaurant to reminisce about the old days and after the party some subset of them violently assault and seriously injure a gay couple. Isn't the point of religious schools that they instill a moral code along with the rest of the educating they do? From the Archbishop Wood High School mission statement [PDF]:
quote:
A moral obligation to social justice, steeped in our Catholic teachings, is necessary to make informed decisions about the social, political, and economic aspects of Christian life. The right choice will respect the individual dignity of a person while recognizing the needs of our global community.
At the very least there was a failure to instill these values. At worst, the values taught are actively pernicious. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia eventually issued a statement on the incident, mostly as it related to the fact that one of the alleged assailants was a basketball coach at Archbishop Wood High School.
quote:
A key part of a Catholic education is forming students to respect the dignity of every human person whether we agree with them or not. What students do with that formation when they enter the adult world determines their own maturity and dignity, or their lack of it. Violence against anyone, simply because of who they are, is inexcusable and alien to what it means to be a Christian. A recent beating incident in Center City allegedly involved, in some way, a part-time coach at Archbishop Wood High School. After inquiries by school leadership, the coach was contacted regarding the matter and he resigned. Archbishop Wood's handling of the matter was appropriate, and I support their efforts to ensure that Catholic convictions guide the behavior of their whole school community, including their staff.
The Archbishop did not address the question of how the school failed to impart "[a] key part of a Catholic education" to such a sizable number of alumni, though it's still early to have a good answer to systematic questions like that. On the other hand, it's also possible that the alums absorbed the Archbishop's position that gays are actively harmful to society [fb] and simply acted in what they deemed an appropriate manner to address what they saw as a threat.
This kind of thing is not, of course, limited to Catholic schools. I could just as easily (maybe even more easily) see such an incident happening involving alumni of some of the more dogmatic evangelical schools in the U.S. (You know, the ones that try to pretend they didn't start out as Segregation academies.)
So, does this kind of thing represent a failure of religious schools to impart the kind of moral teachings they say are the main difference between them and the public schools, or is this an example of students accurately learning from what their teachers really think and putting it in to practice in easily anticipated ways?
I'm putting this thread in DH because of the "any aspect" rule regarding homosexuality.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Horseman Bree
Shipmate
# 5290
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Posted
You probably have to spread the net a bit wider, since there are so many other sources of "bad" attitudes.
That said, the school doesn't seem to have been particularly effective at teaching the Second Great Commandment, just as many of the evangelical schools seem to tolerate a fair amount of dislike for "the other".
And there may have been a misunderstanding in the hiring process. Was "winning" (at all cost) a part of the sports ethos? maybe a cultivation of "we're better than they are" for rich/elite/sports kids, just so long as the teams win a lot?
Having taught in a couple of private schools (not RC and not in the US)I can see some of those attitudes being cultivated.
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It's Not That Simple
Posts: 5372 | From: more herring choker than bluenose | Registered: Dec 2003
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
You probably have to spread the net a bit wider, since there are so many other sources of "bad" attitudes.
I'm not sure about that. I mean, I'm sure that there are other sources of bad attitudes, but religious schools sell themselves as being an effective countermeasure against them. 'Send your kids here or they'll grow up to be immoral monsters' is the usual kind of sales pitch involved. If those kids grow up to be immoral monsters anyway, that kind of undermines the whole justification of the enterprise.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Horseman Bree
Shipmate
# 5290
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Posted
Well, there is the power of the social group. If you are brought up within a limited group, or just hang around longingly with that group, you take on the negative attitudes as well.
This article deals with fraternities on American college campuses, where it is clear that, whatever moral base you once had, if you want to be "in", you have to be rather less moral in your behaviour. That is how the group becomes cohesive: "behave like us or get out". After that, one has to keep up the appearance of being that way.
It is quite possible that the group of A. W. "scholars" had the same problem.
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It's Not That Simple
Posts: 5372 | From: more herring choker than bluenose | Registered: Dec 2003
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
Just a quick update on this thread.
quote:
Two of the three suspects in the September 2014 attack on a gay couple in Philadelphia entered guilty pleas on Thursday morning, bringing their cases to a close after months of plea negotiations. A third suspect indicated she plans to go to trial.
Kevin Harrigan pleaded to one count each of simple assault and conspiracy. Philip Williams pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and aggravated assault. They had been charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, conspiracy, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. Neither man will spend a day in jail.
Does this count as justice?
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
You probably have to spread the net a bit wider, since there are so many other sources of "bad" attitudes.
I'm not sure about that. I mean, I'm sure that there are other sources of bad attitudes, but religious schools sell themselves as being an effective countermeasure against them. 'Send your kids here or they'll grow up to be immoral monsters' is the usual kind of sales pitch involved. If those kids grow up to be immoral monsters anyway, that kind of undermines the whole justification of the enterprise.
They are not becoming immoral monsters despite what they are taught, but because of what they are taught.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Of the same level of relevance and interest, nobody here is decrying the routine over-use of antibiotics in factory farms.
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Of the same level of relevance and interest, nobody here is decrying the routine over-use of antibiotics in factory farms.
So it's ok to vilify an entire religious education system if not religion on the basis of the actions of a couple of individuals?
It'd be plenty relevant if the word "school" was replaced by "mosque".
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Of the same level of relevance and interest, nobody here is decrying the routine over-use of antibiotics in factory farms.
So it's ok to vilify an entire religious education system if not religion on the basis of the actions of a couple of individuals?
You'll have to point me to where I said that. Perhaps you can link to the post.
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Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Is that an actual statistic (only one in several thousand religious schools have a graduate who commits a hate crime*) or just a rhetorical attempt to derail any discussion of the topic? If the former, can you provide a citation?
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*Yes, I know Pennsylvania hate crimes laws don't extend to hate crimes motivated by bias against sexual orientation, so technically the example isn't a hate crime under Pennsylvania law. I'm using the term in a rhetorical sense.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Ricardus
Shipmate
# 8757
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
I'm sure that there are other sources of bad attitudes, but religious schools sell themselves as being an effective countermeasure against them. 'Send your kids here or they'll grow up to be immoral monsters' is the usual kind of sales pitch involved.
Is it? The mission statement you quote in support of this says nothing of the sort, but uses more muted expressions such as 'instil', 'promote', 'encourage', etc. I don't think they claim a 100% success rate.
(It's hard to see how they could, given their own premises. Catholic schools presumably believe their alumni have free will and can like Adam turn their back on the goodness that is revealed to them, while those of a Calvinist nature presumably think that ultimately their alumni are only saved from the mire of sin if the inscrutable grace of God has elected them for salvation.)
(Anyway, round here the sales pitch is more likely to be 'Our GCSE / Ofsted results are amazing!' Unless they aren't, of course.)
[ 16. October 2015, 05:32: Message edited by: Ricardus ]
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Then the dog ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail. -- Tobit 11:9 (Douai-Rheims)
Posts: 7247 | From: Liverpool, UK | Registered: Nov 2004
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Crœsos:
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
It's interesting that there's no outrage on this thread about the vilifying of Christian schools based on the violent, abhorrent behaviour of a handful of people who happen to be graduates of 1 of 1000s of such establishments.
Is that an actual statistic (only one in several thousand religious schools have a graduate who commits a hate crime*) or just a rhetorical attempt to derail any discussion of the topic? If the former, can you provide a citation?
Nice try but no cigar, that's a totally irrelevant question. I made no such claim. What I said was restricted to this thread in which religious schools are being vilified on the basis of THE one particular instance of violence mentioned in the OP. If you'd posted stats that showed graduates of religious schools were more likely than others to commit hate crimes, then questioning the role of religious schools in general would be fine but as it is you're drawing a correlation between the violence and religious schools which isn't justified.
In all honesty, it was the comment quote:
They are not becoming immoral monsters despite what they are taught, but because of what they are taught.
that I found alarming. If you said that about the religious/moral instruction of any group other than Christians you'd be called to hell in an instant and accuse of hating that particular religion.
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*Yes, I know Pennsylvania hate crimes laws don't extend to hate crimes motivated by bias against sexual orientation, so technically the example isn't a hate crime under Pennsylvania law. I'm using the term in a rhetorical sense.
more
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Evangeline:
In all honesty, it was the comment quote:
They are not becoming immoral monsters despite what they are taught, but because of what they are taught.
that I found alarming. If you said that about the religious/moral instruction of any group other than Christians you'd be called to hell in an instant and accuse of hating that particular religion.
That quote was mine. And I am not saying all Christian schools so teach their students. I am saying those Christian (or any religion, really) schools that do so teach are creating monsters. Why? Because when you add authority to such attitude, you increase the the likelihood and intensity of such incidents. The stronger a person's belief in that authority, the stronger the justification they feel. So a school, by saying that homosexual is harmful, contributes to such attacks.
Yes, they have the right to say they think homosexuality is a sin. But when they spread nonsense about it being "harmful" they spread the seeds of hate and violence.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Just for the record, I think this attack is outrageous too and the perpetrators have got off more or less scot-free. You can't really blame the school system for that; it looks like your justice system is broken too.
However, it may interest you to know that the C of E has recognised that homophobic bullying is a problem and is trying to do something about it. I don't know what the Catholics are doing, though; and I don't see how it squares with the archbishops' opposition to equal marriage. But it's a start.
lilbuddha: quote:
And I am not saying all Christian schools so teach their students.
That's good, because they don't. Christian schools in Britain are usually popular and oversubscribed, but the big attraction over here is that they usually get much better exam results than the other state schools in their area, as Ricardus says. The one my daughter goes to (C of E) teaches the National Curriculum on sex education just like everyone else... well, maybe with a bit more about the moral implications of abortion or whatever than a secular school, but over here they're expected to *debate* stuff like that, not just accept whatever the teacher says.
And whatever values the school may be trying to teach have to compete with popular culture, peer pressure and the values taught at home. Children are not empty vessels just waiting to be filled with knowledge, and teenagers certainly aren't.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
And whatever values the school may be trying to teach have to compete with popular culture, peer pressure and the values taught at home. Children are not empty vessels just waiting to be filled with knowledge, and teenagers certainly aren't.
I am not saying that any school is a sole source, and I would hope your argument is not that that they are an insignificant source.
NB: I would also think that religious prejudice is less zealous n the UK than the US, but this doesn't mean it is without influence.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
No, I wasn't saying it's insignificant. Just not the only influence on moral/spiritual formation.
We do have fewer religious zealots in the UK, but there are still plenty of people about who are willing to assault anyone different from themselves.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
As an aside, I've long made the case for disestablishment. But, given that is fundamental law in America and not in the UK, the resultant influence religion has in both makes me wonder.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Signaller
Shipmate
# 17495
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Posted
So why no comments on their willingness to get drunk, which probably had more influence on their behaviour than what they were or were not taught in school?
Posts: 113 | From: Metroland | Registered: Jan 2013
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Siegfried
Ship's ferret
# 29
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Posted
I think this points out the problem with the "Hate the sin, love the sinner" position. Too many can't make that distinction.
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Siegfried
Life is just a bowl of cherries!
Posts: 5592 | From: Tallahassee, FL USA | Registered: May 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Signaller:
So why no comments on their willingness to get drunk, which probably had more influence on their behaviour than what they were or were not taught in school?
If it were simply the Demon Rum to blame you'd expect the perpetrators to simply attack the first people they came across, rather than selectively targeting a gay couple.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Signaller:
So why no comments on their willingness to get drunk, which probably had more influence on their behaviour than what they were or were not taught in school?
Being drunk doesn't make you do bad things. It lowers your inhibition and clouds your judgement. It does not turn you homophobic.
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Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
I have a tendency to get ranty after a couple of drinks and start complaining loudly about the vexations of my life. Fortunately I am apparently rather entertaining when in this mode. (I hasten to add that I have never hurt anyone, just ranted about how bloody annoying they are. My boss is a frequent target, as was my former housemate from hell.)
However, I have never said anything while tiddly that I didn’t really think. I just say things that I think but would have kept to myself if I hadn’t been drinking.
In vino veritas*. People like me show our real selves once the alcohol gets our inhibitions down.
* the truth is in wine
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
* the truth is in wine
For people like you, yes, not for everyone. Motives don't change, so if one wished to lie, hurt, boast, etc.; but sober consideration had prevented them, alcohol removes that barrier.
Not challenging your experience, but the validity of the Latin quote as generally perceived.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
So the the verdict is in and Kathryn Knott is guilty on four of the ten charges against her.
quote:
Jurors convicted Knott on only four of the 10 counts she was facing. She was convicted of simple assault on Zachary Hesse, reckless endangerment on both Hesse and boyfriend Andrew Haught, and conspiracy to commit simple assault on Hesse. She was found not guilty of aggravated assault on both victims, simple assault on Haught and all but one of the conspiracy charges.
"It shows that she wasn't just standing there doing nothing," [Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Mike] Barry said of the verdict. "The jury clearly found her guilty of everything that we said regarding her own actions: That she punched Zach Hesse, that she was creating a reckless situation."
Interestingly, despite being convicted of an anti-gay assault Knott claims (via her lawyers) that she's not homophobic.
quote:
[Knott's lawyer Louis] Busico said his client does not hate gay people.
"This young woman is not homophobic," he said. "There isn't a fiber of her being that is homophobic. Sadly, unfortunately, but realistically, there are times that we all use words — whether it's with a spouse, a significant other, a family member, a friend, or strangers — we all say things at times we all wish we could take back. But they don't come from the heart. They come from being reactionary."
First, it wasn't Knott's words but her fists that got her in to trouble with the law. Second, I'm not sure I find this assertion of non-hate to be particularly plausible, given her willingness to back it up with violence.
Sentencing is in February. Knott potentially faces much stiffer penalties than her reportedly much more involved co-conspirators, but that's the risk you take when you turn down a plea deal.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
* the truth is in wine
For people like you, yes, not for everyone. Motives don't change, so if one wished to lie, hurt, boast, etc.; but sober consideration had prevented them, alcohol removes that barrier.
Not challenging your experience, but the validity of the Latin quote as generally perceived.
I think you're both saying exactly the same thing. Booze brings out what's inside; it doesn't create new feelings.
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Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
Not exactly in my estimation.
She is saying truth is released.
I am trying to say inhibition is removed.
But so is judgement, proportion, empathy, rational thought, etc.
There is a difference. You could say or do something hurtful whilst drunk, but have had no intention, hidden or restrained, of doing so when sober.
Alcohol is a drug, it affects the way your brain functions. It can remove inhibition, but that is not the only alteration it can produce.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
OK,
I realise this last post would seem to contradict what I said earlier in the thread.
But I am not saying that getting drunk can make an egalitarian pacifist into a gay-bashing bastard.
More along the lines of saying something hurtful that one doesn't mean, like insulting comments about beards.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
I strongly believe that In Vino Veritas. If someone's a complete arsehole when their pissed; it's because deep down they are a complete arsehole, but most of the time they hide their arseholery in order to avoid having the shit beaten out of them. But an arsehole they remain.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
(Missed edit window)
If one says things one doesn't mean when drunk, then it merely shows that one is the sort of arsehole who enjoys hurting people, but doesn't do it when sober for fear of the consequences. But one is still an arsehole of that nature.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
I'm afraid I side with Karl on this. Alcohol releases the inner arsehole. It doesn't create arseholes.
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Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
As we cannot read minds, we shall just have to not completely agree.
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Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
As we cannot read minds, we shall just have to not completely agree.
No shame in that.
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Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
And the sentence has been handed down for Kathryn Knott: 5-10 months in prison, followed by two years probation.
quote:
Kathryn Knott, 25, was sentenced to five to ten months in jail for her role in the attack.
A jury in December acquitted Knott of felony aggravated assault charges, but found her guilty of charges including simple assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy. She sobbed in court after the verdict was read.
Which illustrates the perils of not taking plea bargains. It's always a gamble and when you lose, you lose big.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
A reminder of the actions involved:
quote:
[Beating victim Andrew] Haught also addressed the court on Monday afternoon, saying the one thing he has been unable to process is that all 15 people left him unconscious on the street.
"Not one of them even called for help," Haught told the court. "I will never forgot that everyone in that group, including Kathryn Knott, left me in the alleyway to die."
<snip>
After the violent attack, Knott's group left Haught bleeding on the side of the street and headed to Tir Na Nog, an Irish pub, for drinks.
Knott's own words to her victims at sentencing don't seem to show any genuine remorse:
quote:
"I am so sorry to what happened to you both on the night of Sept. 11, 2014," Knott said. "I ask you now for your forgiveness and I hope that you some day will be able to provide it. ... Again, I apologize to you and your families. I wish you nothing but the best."
Note the use of the passive voice: "what happened to you both", not "what I did to you". Granted that speaking in public can be tricky and nerve-wracking, but she sounds like someone who's not sorry for what she did, just sorry she got caught.
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
What a pustule.
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Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Reminds me of the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese (Wikipedia). The original reports had around 38 witnesses down as doing absolutely nothing. (May actually be more complicated than that, per the article.) Made quite an impression on me, as a kid.
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--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Crœsos
Shipmate
# 238
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Posted
Kathryn Knott is apparently appealing her sentence, because why not? Her [new] attorney makes an interesting argument.
quote:
[Knott's attorney Bill] Brennan said last month that he is requesting the court consider alternatives to incarceration, contending that Knott's sentencing should be more rehabilitative and a better attempt to heal the wounds caused by the assault.
"Frankly, my client will be out in a few months either way," Brennan said. "It's to establish dialogue with the community and begin to heal the wounds with the victims, the community and the city."
Maybe it's crass of me to point out, but the folks at Hahnemann University Hospital were the ones who already acted to "heal the wounds [of] the victims". I'm not sure there's much of anything Ms. Knott can add at this point beyond an obviously self-interested apology expressing not remorse but rather a desire to not be in the slammer any longer.
Yes, I know I can't read her mind, but there has been precisely nothing this woman has done to demonstrate any kind of remorse that wasn't in some way tied to trying to benefit herself.
quote:
Brennan has said Knott "has learned a lot in the 18 months" between the incident and the trial, adding that the community and city could benefit from a sentence that includes community service or a public service announcement.
"She's learned that words and actions have a much more far-reaching impact and effect than she ever thought possible," Brennan said. "She learned that your life can change on a dime. I think, rather than warehouse her in jail for a few months and that be the end of it, perhaps some community service or a public service announcement might be more proactive and productive in addressing the larger issues that this case dealt with."
Which brings us back to the initial question. If it took being sentenced to jail to learn that breaking someone else's jaw and leaving them in the street to die might have a "far-reaching impact and effect", something seems to be massively wrong with whatever moral education she received, not to mention her understanding of cause and effect.
And is it just me or does "you should put me on television instead of in jail" seem like the most tone-deaf alternate sentence proposal ever?
[ 02. March 2016, 19:25: Message edited by: Crœsos ]
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Humani nil a me alienum puto
Posts: 10706 | From: Sardis, Lydia | Registered: May 2001
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Golden Key
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# 1468
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Posted
I don't know what punishment she should receive. But, AIUI, people (both adults and kids) who've done awful things are sometimes sentenced to go to school classes and talk about what they did.
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Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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