Still Can't Think Of A Snazzy Title

To begin, I would like to express my feelings of disturbance toward the film we watched in class called, "White Bear." The film kept me guessing from beginning to end, and, while it did a fantastic job of holding my attention, I was horrified for the majority of the picture. This movie sparked an interesting discussion today in class. The question most discussed was whether or not the "White Bear Justice Park" would be considered morally right or not. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing moral about the entire idea of a park where tourists can come to watch the shaming and torture of an individual day in and day out. Some argued that the terrible crime she was guilty of justified the actions against her, but I frankly don't see it that way. The crime she committed, while it was awful and unimaginable, does not allow for her to relive the event from the other side day after day. Even though her memory is wiped at the end of each day, in a very painful manner I might add, the psychological and physical torture she endures repeatedly is without a doubt inhuman. While she did commit a very similar crime, flipping the script and putting her through a nearly identical experience makes those putting her through no better morally than her. To mentally and physically torture an individual, whether for punishment or not, for any amount of entertainment is frankly disturbed and immoral. This is removing one's humanity by treating one as simply means to an end.

 I think a question we need to look more closely at would be, "In regards to whether punishment or rehabilitation is necessary, did the person make a sane, conscious decision to commit a disturbing, violent crime?" In class, we discussed a situation where a minor committed a murder, and what punishment/rehabilitation should they receive. In such a case, a minor would benefit more from rehabilitation than punishment. Younger, not fully developed individuals may have biological reasons for poor decision making, and therefore deserve a more "benefit of the doubt" approach. That, in my opinion, goes for any individual who has committed a crime while not in a sane, conscious state of mind. For example, individuals with certain mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, would not usually be considered to be sane in all of their decision making. This must be taken into consideration when there is to be a decision between punishment and rehabilitation and the severity of either.