The Jailhouse

[Bird of Prey]

The inmate I released was offensive. More so, as I recall, than the inmate I did not release. Their bursts of offensiveness are not the point. The point is their willingness to acknowledge the bad behaviour which landed them in jail, and renounce it.


My concern was with the conduct of the inmates while they were in jail.


I was trying to convey the message that people should be civil and avoid conflict. When Churak tried to bait scu and scu had enough sense not to rise to the bait, that was an important thing for me. Then, somewhere in there, scu said something about having done wrong and planning to do better. There's not much more that I can look for from an inmate. Those were my criteria for release, and he met them.

The question of sincerity is, of course, significant. I need to "believe" that the inmate means what he says.

I had two other (active) inmates at the time. Scu provided a clear and simple object lesson for them ... if they could look past their own pique and read the messages. If they wanted out, the formula was right there for them to see. In retrospect, it appears that it may have been too subtle.


Well, at last we get an idea of why things happened the way they did.

Here is my read of the situation.

With three inmates Fred granted the first one to "make nice" his freedom to set an example to those that remained. With the full knowledge that should the released inmate "slip" he would be able to "deal" with him later. If he did not slip, so much the better.
From Fred's point of view, a low risk, high reward scenario. However, it appears he did not factor in the "fallout" engendered when it seemed he was acting capriciously.
The inmate that *did* "get it" however had no credibility with Fred. As evidenced by repeated attempts to apologize, swear on whatever to "be good", anything (even proffered a petition). As such Fred did not have ample reason (from his POV) to release the inmate.
Frustrated, the inmate did *something* (off site? on site? the rumors are rampant) in a futile attempt to rage against the machine. The results are well known.

From, Fred's actions and this statement it seems reasonable that the recently terminated inmate, in reality, had no chance of redemption. Fred allowed the existing credibility issue to exact too high a standard of submission for the individual to accept. He was doomed before he began.
I've always called this kind of situation a "Kobayashi Maru" thanks to Star Trek's name for the No Win Scenario. The inmate could not win, and because of that Fred couldn't either.
To place an inmate in such a situation is cruel. With no opportunity for success, there is no motivation to succeed. In the end it is better to execute the condemned to end their misery.

It is often said that a society can be judged on the treatment of it's prisoners. If a message board is a microcosm of society, would IHUB be diminished by these recent actions?



The Bird of Prey
#board-381