--- Nick Arnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip> > To bring it back to the conversation at hand, it's > the difference between > denying that something like rape is related to > legitimate needs and denying > any opportunity to meet those needs. Society can > pretend that such crimes > have no basis whatever in legitimate needs, which I > think has to change > before we can begin to address such problems > successfully, which would begin > to end the denial (failure to offer) of treatment as > an alternative or in addition to incarceration.
I'm having trouble with this, including precisely 'what' and 'why,' but I'll try to delineate. I am unable to see that "something like rape is related to legitimate needs" - I can see for stealing, and drug use, and even 'crimes of passion' like a man finds _his_ woman with his best friend and goes berserk -- but *not* premeditated heinous crimes like rape or torture. (You didn't mention the latter, but I'm using it as another example of behavior for which I see no excuse whatsoever.) Food, clothing, shelter, comfort, "feeling good," escaping from intolerable pain or loneliness, depending on the loyalty of loved ones -- these are all needs I can relate to as a fellow human, although _how_ one gets them is an issue. Even in certain child abuse cases I can see that the perpetrator is seeking affection/acceptance, albeit in a completely wrong and unacceptable way (such that if there isn't an underlying curable/controllable medical condition, incarceration/permanent separation from society is justifiable IMO). What "legitimate needs" in our culture* are met by rape or torture? I will allow as 'probably understandable' horrific behavior that occurs when children are subjected to unrelenting brutality, as in the case of child-soldiers who are taken out of their homes and forced by adults to participate in heinous behavior. But in our culture rape (and torture) are clearly labeled "wrong" "bad" and even "evil," so that no mentally competent adult who's watched a week's worth of TV can claim not to know that these behaviors are illegal and unacceptable. Rape is not really about sex, from what I've read, but perhaps more about control - and there are plenty of ways to exert control without force. ( As for torture - no clue.) *There are cultures which still practice "bride capture" instead of 'courtship,' but that is not acceptable behavior here, and hopefully won't be 'there' either, in the near-future. Or am I misunderstanding what you meant? Debbi __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
