Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Cashing In On Crime: The Dark Ages, Part II

The cornerstone of our current system of justice can be summed up in three words: Crime and Punishment. The focus on crime consists of a focus on guilt or innocence. Everything boils down to the focus of whether someone did something illegal. The focus on punishment consists of what is the proper infliction of suffering for a crime that has been committed. Crime = Punishment.

As any rational person can see, our criminal justice system has utterly failed. Likewise, any rational person would never commit crime because of the punishment, right? This is where the whole system breaks down: The founders of our criminal justice system believed it was rational when it is not.

This is not a minor distinction. This is the key to understanding the stupidity of our criminal justice system. The way we look at our criminal justice system is just as important as what we believe we see. What if our way of thinking were to become Crime Solution instead of Crime and Punishment?

In order to see the problem different, we must know something different. Something that the politicians, the media and the pressure groups want to hide from you: They don’t want you to know why we have crime I n the first place. Knowledge empowers. Belief enslaves. The less you know and the more you think you believe, the easier it is to use tricks of psychology to get your time, your vote and your money.

You have been fed crap and kept in the dark.

A prime example of being fed crap is the current hysteria, sex offenders. MSNBC has a popular series, To Catch a Predator. Here’s their spin:

“An ongoing hidden camera investigation into computer sex predators -- grown men, trolling the Web for young teenagers. This time, police are making arrests.”

Does that pass the smell test? I mean, really, does that sound like MSNBC is interested in solving the problem of sex crimes or that MSNBC is more interested in creating a climate of fear, scandal and higher ratings?

To Catch a Predator preys on your fears, preys on your emotion, preys on your logic and ensures a serious problem is transformed into cheap entertainment. If the show were a factual presentation of methods, techniques and strategies for keeping your family safe, that would be one thing. But it isn’t. To Catch a Predator is all about the chase, the titillation, and the big bust.

Although Doc Block and To Catch a Predator are criminal justice cable crap standouts, MSNBC is not the only offender.

CNN’s Headline News inflicts Nancy Grace upon us nightly.

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