Criminal Stereotyping
Gendered Criminal Discrimination
"Back when I was in high school, in grade 11 I had this awesome social studies teacher. Really nice guy in person, and genuinely good at teaching. I can't remember how the topic wound around to it, but he eventually told us that his greatest fear was that a student would claim out of spite that he did something sexual to them, because he wouldn't stand a chance and he felt that the district would "shoot first and ask questions later" and he'd be out of a job with a tarnished reputation for absolutely no reason.
This was back in about 2007 or 2008. It was probably the first time I'd heard about this kind of thing going on. It's not new, and the way this idea is promoted is absolutely disgusting. About half a year ago I passed by the elementary school I went to on the way somewhere else, and noticed they now have signs posted before the playground banning adult males. It isn't just a ban for people who aren't parents of students - it explicitly says you cannot be an adult male near the playground. It's messed up."
Commentary: Sadly this is seen not only in school, but also in many custody cases, the men being wrongly demonized simply because "adult men cannot be trusted around children." This plays into the harsh and false stereotype of men being the main perpetrators of crimes against children, and the idea the author brings up of "shoot first and ask questions later" is one that is seen all too often in cases such as these and it is one that is extremely harmful to men effected by this stereotype everywhere.
Gendered Criminal Discrimination
"I am a black computer programmer with no criminal history who is not afraid to stand up to the Eugene Police Department, Oregon State Patrol, Lane County Sheriff. It is apparent that their current mindset is that one way or another, I HAVE to be a criminal. The fact that I am a very proud person who will not be bullied is clashing with the fact that they do not want to lose this fight to a black man. The first time was before I had my programming job. I was delivering newspapers early in the morning. Apparently, a white Honda had been stolen. From what I was told, the Honda had 4 occupants. I drive a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Not a Honda. Any reasonable person, and especially a police officer who has likely worked on more than one stolen car call should know that Honda is spelled h-o-n-d-a and not m-i-t-s-u-b-i-s-h-i. Also, I was the only person in the car. He followed me around from house to house to house to house to house (I believe it was 5 stops), and would wait for me to throw the paper and back out, and then would follow me to the next house and do the same thing. I find that to be very menacing, aggressive and over the top, especially when you are looking for a car thief driving a HONDA! I complained and let them know on no uncertain terms that I was not going to tolerate harassment, and that I was not afraid (still am not afraid) to stand up for myself. A flood of further pull overs (both riding my bicycle, and driving) has since ensued.
Commentary: It is commonly known that black men are far more likely to get pulled over for arbitrary reasons such as these presented, however, it doesn't make cases such as these any less appalling to those of us who have never experienced this kind of discrimination based solely on how we look. Everyone knows that people are always going to judge those who look different, but cases like this go far beyond that to a point where they are making blatant assumptions on baseless arguments and facts. This is a perfect example on why people need to really look at the bigger picture on why instances like these are common and need to be addressed.
Racial Criminal Discrimination
Economical Criminal Discrimination Why can rich people get away with so much more than the poor for the same crimes?
"The lawyers are the obvious answer and that’s certainly part of it. Rich defendants also have a lot of less tangible benefits in sentencing, which is largely up to the judge’s discretion (within a certain range). Judges tend to view someone with a house to go back to who has the means to take time off work and engage in some kind treatment and has no motivation to commit crimes of survival as much less likely to re-offend (and easier to track down if they do). Because judges are also part of an elite class, they are more likely to relate to and empathize with rich defendants. Abundant research has shown the ability to empathize with a defendant makes a huge difference in outcomes, possibly even more than the specific facts of the case. Also, in the US at least, being rich is very much equated with being morally deserving, because of the widespread myth that the rich “work harder” than everyone else and “create jobs.” This kind of class-ism is pervasive in the law."
Commentary: I completely agree with this view as people on the lower side of the economic spectrum often receive harsher punishments for the same crimes along with also being looked down upon far more for the same crime simply because they may be in a very bad place, due to decisions or circumstances they may not have been able to help. This is where the problem lies; in the big picture. No one wants to look at the bigger picture and would much rather write the person off as crazy or irresponsible so it is not often looked into when a person on the more poverty stricken spectrum is discriminated against on the basis of crimes.
Criminal Discrimination Based on Upbringing: Do you think someone's upbringing/past should be put into consideration if that person commits a crime? Why and why not?
"I think it depends on the crime and how aware you are that it is a crime as well as how much of a responsibility you have to know what is legal and what isn't. For example, someone drives a car and the speed limit sign is specific to the state and has multiple weird colors based on what speed you can drive. Red is 45. Green is 35. Orange is 20. If the person lived in that state, they should be a lot stricter on moving violations versus someone visiting the state as it is strange and something that isn't immediately recognizable or intuitive like theft or lying"
"No, as we all have something which can be used as an excuse if we wanted to make excuses. Yet, honest folks don't. Funny, neither do those who work hard and Excel. But those who fail always have an excuse, don't they?"
Commentary: I agree with the first one and strongly disagree with the second response, how can you ever know how people are effected by their upbringing? What may be considered a normal childhood to one person, could be harsh and abusive to someone else, this all plays into the bigger picture of not only mental state when committing a crime but mental state up until that point based on how they were brought up. The way someone is brought up is going to have a large effect on what they view as "good" and "bad" as these terms are subjective to begin with.