Although there has been a huge improvement in incarcerations in general, there are still huge gaps that need filling. I think this video does a good job of showing both sides of the spectrum. While tamer women are able to live humane lives in prison, others have to either be chained and escorted everywhere or just stay locked up in a single cell. When I watched this, I couldn't help but think that these women need more from the "correctional officers" than a babysitter. They need psychological help and other people around them to remind them that they are still human.
I definitely agree with you Erin. Most of the women in the video claimed to have some issue with anger management and one had a previous drug addiction problem. I feel that these women aren't being helped by just separating them into their own cells as a "punishment" for fighting or other misconduct. This isn't addressing their problem and when they finally leave the prison that same anger management problem will still exist. It would probably be most helpful for these women if they received some sort of counseling rather than just a "baby sitter" who just makes sure they follow some rules.
I also agree with your viewpoint Erin. There are a lot of shows nowadays about people in prison and I like to watch these. It's interesting to watch how a lot of guards just put inmates into restraints to deal with their outbursts when clearly these women need psychological help. Maybe if we were to give them this help more often then they actually receive it, it would help to lower the numbers of inmates in jails and prisons. However, there are going to be times when its good for the guards to behave like a babysitter. Some of the women aren't going to want to change themselves. Therefore, if the guards are just watching over the inmates, they can ensure that those who don't wish to change don't cause any further physical damage to themselves and to others. I think that maybe it would be beneficial to your blog topic to find and discuss some of the other improvements that could be made to correctional institutions to help them rehabilitate current offenders and keep new ones from coming into the system. Overall, I think that this was a good video to share and shows us what you are really talking about with inmates not always living very humanely. -Ali Marnon
I agree with all of you as well. One issue with prisons in general is the number of mentally ill inmates that make up the population. It is truly sad that these people are thrown into correctional facilities rather than mental institutions. From the way that some of these women talk, it sounds like they would really benefit from some time with a psychologist. Rather than just covering up the problem, this could fix the problem from the inside. By doing this, the inmates could be given some positive words and strategies to give meaning to their lives while they serve for the crimes that they committed. It's easy to forget that although these people may have committed an array of crimes, they are still people and they deserve to be treated as one. -Sarah Jump
I think that people in general have a tendency to dehumanize both women and men in prison. I definitely agree that the women in this video need much more help than they are receiving. Just because they are in prison does not mean that they are any less human than the rest of us. They still deserve to be treated with some respect and they deserve to be offered help. Just secluding them into a jail cell is not going to help them in anyway. I think that anyone in prison would benefit tremendously from psychological help and I think that it should be offered or even required in all prisons. - Ashley Compton
I saw an article where a certain prison was making the case that they should switch prison uniforms back to the black and white stripes because "Orange is the New Black has created empathy with the orange suits." They were deliberately against humanizing the prisoners, which I think is a major issue. So many people already dehumanize criminals, and OitNB has been a very progressive show, so it is disappointing to see groups that are purposefully trying to set it back. ~Alex Duncan
This video and post do a good job of bringing to light the age-old argument of punishment vs. rehabilitation. We talked about this a lot in class. I remember we had a discussion in class where we all talked about why it is we think that prisoners don't really get the education, the skills, and the empowerment to start their lives over when they get out of prison. We have a problem in this country of viewing people as less than human. Because they messed up, because they got caught doing something they shouldn't do, they are less than those of us who haven't been incarcerated. This post is proof that we need to change how our prison system works.
I also really liked Alex's point about OitNB and about how people were against the show humanizing the prisoners. I agree with her wholeheartedly that this show marks a new stage in the prison rehabilitation movement.
I definitely agree with you Erin. Most of the women in the video claimed to have some issue with anger management and one had a previous drug addiction problem. I feel that these women aren't being helped by just separating them into their own cells as a "punishment" for fighting or other misconduct. This isn't addressing their problem and when they finally leave the prison that same anger management problem will still exist. It would probably be most helpful for these women if they received some sort of counseling rather than just a "baby sitter" who just makes sure they follow some rules.
ReplyDelete-Justina Farfan
I also agree with your viewpoint Erin. There are a lot of shows nowadays about people in prison and I like to watch these. It's interesting to watch how a lot of guards just put inmates into restraints to deal with their outbursts when clearly these women need psychological help. Maybe if we were to give them this help more often then they actually receive it, it would help to lower the numbers of inmates in jails and prisons. However, there are going to be times when its good for the guards to behave like a babysitter. Some of the women aren't going to want to change themselves. Therefore, if the guards are just watching over the inmates, they can ensure that those who don't wish to change don't cause any further physical damage to themselves and to others. I think that maybe it would be beneficial to your blog topic to find and discuss some of the other improvements that could be made to correctional institutions to help them rehabilitate current offenders and keep new ones from coming into the system. Overall, I think that this was a good video to share and shows us what you are really talking about with inmates not always living very humanely.
ReplyDelete-Ali Marnon
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you as well. One issue with prisons in general is the number of mentally ill inmates that make up the population. It is truly sad that these people are thrown into correctional facilities rather than mental institutions. From the way that some of these women talk, it sounds like they would really benefit from some time with a psychologist. Rather than just covering up the problem, this could fix the problem from the inside. By doing this, the inmates could be given some positive words and strategies to give meaning to their lives while they serve for the crimes that they committed. It's easy to forget that although these people may have committed an array of crimes, they are still people and they deserve to be treated as one.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Jump
I think that people in general have a tendency to dehumanize both women and men in prison. I definitely agree that the women in this video need much more help than they are receiving. Just because they are in prison does not mean that they are any less human than the rest of us. They still deserve to be treated with some respect and they deserve to be offered help. Just secluding them into a jail cell is not going to help them in anyway. I think that anyone in prison would benefit tremendously from psychological help and I think that it should be offered or even required in all prisons.
ReplyDelete- Ashley Compton
I saw an article where a certain prison was making the case that they should switch prison uniforms back to the black and white stripes because "Orange is the New Black has created empathy with the orange suits." They were deliberately against humanizing the prisoners, which I think is a major issue. So many people already dehumanize criminals, and OitNB has been a very progressive show, so it is disappointing to see groups that are purposefully trying to set it back.
Delete~Alex Duncan
This video and post do a good job of bringing to light the age-old argument of punishment vs. rehabilitation. We talked about this a lot in class. I remember we had a discussion in class where we all talked about why it is we think that prisoners don't really get the education, the skills, and the empowerment to start their lives over when they get out of prison. We have a problem in this country of viewing people as less than human. Because they messed up, because they got caught doing something they shouldn't do, they are less than those of us who haven't been incarcerated. This post is proof that we need to change how our prison system works.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked Alex's point about OitNB and about how people were against the show humanizing the prisoners. I agree with her wholeheartedly that this show marks a new stage in the prison rehabilitation movement.
- Sarah Reasoner