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> Imagine if every bank robber, rapist, drunk driver, etc could say...

...and receive effective therapy instead of punishment?

Yes, I can imagine it and that would be a much better world.



"Effective therapy" for which illness? Is there a bank robber virus I'm unaware of?


"virus"? There are tons of psychological and developmental issues that make it difficult for people to be well integrated in society and find jobs. It actually pretty rare to find a person in prison that had a happy life so far...

But perhaps if you expect to find for a virus you are not asking a question in good faith.


You're implying that every criminal is a mentally ill person. Some criminals are mentally ill, sure, but not all of them - and the fact that they've done a criminal act doesn't in itself imply mental illness.

Reducing criminals to psychological and developmental issues relies on the implicit assumption that it's not in human nature to do crime, but there's not much reason to think so - children frequently do things that are "criminal" in spirit, and then are punished for it by parents who want to teach them the rules of the household (and by extension, society).

Yeah, it would be really cool if the human nature was actually good and all we needed to make people good is to reach into their hearts and provide them with love and understanding... But the world simply doesn't work like that. Especially since the definition of good in this context is necessarily a sociological one.


Yes, and you should be very worried about it. If you have it you will not be able to change your behavior and you will have to rob banks all your life to thrive /s




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