Machine Gun Preacher

[wil]

Quite the story....

Not just a little conflicted on some of it though....


Lots of questions it poses though....




What should be done with a drug addicted biker theif who committs assault and attempted murder?

Can he be rehabilitated?

Is he worth trying?

How do you know?

What level of violence is acceptable....ends justifies the means?

 

[Dream]

Help them find a good job that keeps them busy doing something they believe in. I know three men that were criminals who are now preachers with successful churches. I don't know if that means they're rehabilitated or what they internally believe, but it does keep them busy. It reminds me of the story of Thomas Becket. What do you think about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

 

[wil]

What do you think about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Excellent point, I suppose I should have said this is a movie currently in theaters.

 

[Scout]

Not quite sure what you mean with the "Machine Gun Preacher" title, but I certainly believe criminals can be rehabilitated. The most wonderful changes can take place in a person. In the case of drug addicts, their addiction is often a powerful factor in motivating them to commit crimes, so once the addiction is being treated, reform becomes easier.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Quite the story....

Not just a little conflicted on some of it though....


Lots of questions it poses though....




What should be done with a drug addicted biker theif who committs assault and attempted murder?

Can he be rehabilitated?

Is he worth trying?

How do you know?

What level of violence is acceptable....ends justifies the means?

I'm not familiar with the movie, but a true attempt to rehabilitate would beat sending the man to prison for a few years just to be released back into society even more hardened than he was before. Our prison systems facilitate criminal behavior. Also, there is no such thing as a lost cause (IMO).


Drug addiction more than likely fueled the bikers behavior, but drug addiction can stem from many factors. I would personally suggest a thorough psychiatric evaluation coupled with appropriate treatment, i.e. medication, psychotherapy, and a safe place for the rehabilitation to take place.


This approach may be costly, but it would beat releasing a hardened criminal back into society after a few years in our prison systems. I also like Dreams suggestion to keep the individual busy. Help accustom the individual to legitimate work. I think the old adage holds true, "Idle hands are the devils playground". If the biker makes no significant progress in rehabilitation, then perhaps it best to keep him from being released back into the "real world".


I would also suggest keeping him heavily monitored if he were released, even though he may have completed his rehabilitation successfully. Maybe a GPS type chip strategically embedded somewhere on his person would do the trick. This would keep the authorities somewhat informed of his location at all times. As is, once a prisoner is released they usually have a good deal of freedom, but I think any and all violent offender should be limited when it comes to freedom.


In the case of violent criminals, the end should justify the means without question. You give up certain rights once you violently infringe upon the rights of others. Yup yup .......


GK

 

[wil]

my suggestion is you go see the movie with the questions in mind, contemplating them while you watch...

you may have some more questions to add for others.

for me the movie was quite conflicting in a lot of ways.l

 

[Nick the Pilot]

"What should be done with a drug addicted biker theif who committs assault and attempted murder?"

--> Let them know that the people who caused them to be like this (usually their parents) have created bad karma and will have to eventually burn it off. Let them also know that they will have to burn off all of the bad karma they hemselves have caused, which them and their parents will each assigned a portion of bad karma for what they have done. (When a parent raises a child to be evil, the parent gets a lot more of the bad karma than most people realize, and the child gets a lot less bad karma than most people realize.) For example, I am thinking of Jared Loughner, who killed those people in Arizona back in January and shot U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords. No one seems to be thinking about what his father did to him, and how his father will have to burn off the bad karma for what his father did to him.

Then get them to start doing good things, partly to burn off the bad karma they have created, and partly to get them on the path to becoming a good person who does good things.

Fortunately, the idea of karma teaches that even people who do such evil things as these can and will eventually become fine and upstanding members of society that everyone looks up to and admires. Let them know they have just as much a chance at heaven as everyone else (it's just going to take a little bit longer).

One more thing: such a child needs to enter therapy, in order to release their anger at their parents for having caused all of this. Once this is done, the person is in a much better position to make faster progress in stopping the creation of new bad karma, burning off the already-existing bad karma, and becoming a good person.

 

[Gatekeeper]

my suggestion is you go see the movie with the questions in mind, contemplating them while you watch...

you may have some more questions to add for others.

for me the movie was quite conflicting in a lot of ways.l

Just watched the trailer on youtube -- Sudan -- Oh boy ! Violence begets violence, but I think it is sometimes necessary when defending ones self and those who are unable to defend themselves. It seems the movie would be difficult to watch w/o traveling a good distance. It does look like a very heart tugging movie, however.

From what I've seen, it touches on a great deal of grey area. I don't think there are many absolutes in life. I def support him helping the children, but I am not sure about him using violence as a means. With an effort such as his, perhaps the guy needs black water or some other security and defense organization to support his efforts in Sudan.

It's kinda hard to comment without viewing the entire movie <sigh>. I still think rehabilitation beats prison, and that a GPS chip should be embedded in violent criminals if released back into society.

 

[wil]

I am supporting their efforts, I have talked to his wife, he is back in Africa right now, but the movie and thoughts have me definitely conflicted.

I look forward to responses after folks have caught the movie.

 

[Dream]

I'm not familiar with the movie, but a true attempt to rehabilitate would beat sending the man to prison for a few years just to be released back into society even more hardened than he was before. Our prison systems facilitate criminal behavior. Also, there is no such thing as a lost cause (IMO).

Hail, Gatekeeper! May I come in? Long time no talk.

Yeah, I think its great you bring this up. Do you know of any senators, governors or candidates who feel strongly about this? You may recall that up until the 60's, they would often used insane asylums to house criminals together with the insane. There was some movie I watched about it, but I can't remember the name. Anyway, in the movie (based on a true story) some psychological patients finally manage to send a letter to the FL state governor using scrap paper, and to make the envelope they use oatmeal for glue. Then, finally, the governor becomes aware of the problem with the system and acts upon it. Nowadays psychological patients are not housed with violent criminals. Yay? If our governors and wardens were for so long able to put prisoners together with psychological patients, then they may be treating criminals in a way that only causes more crime. Question the status quota. Basically citizens like you and I need to get involved. We are so busy, though; locked up in a struggle to survive. Still the locked up potential in the prisons is so fantastic that if we can take some of the money being used to keep them locked up and direct more of it towards unlocking their potential, it could do a lot of good for us all. I'm not saying we should turn the bars into candy, but I agree that we shouldn't be hardening criminals into harder criminals. What's the point of that?

I wonder if we could turn prisons into a competition that reflects the competition in the employment world? I was just thinking that in prison the prisoners create a competition among themselves for respect. What if we could make that into an educational competition or some other productive competition? So a prisoner in order to gain respect would need to become more educated than the other prisoners. I wonder if that would be beneficial? On the other hand, some prisoners really aren't all that bright. In their case there would need to be some other way to compete. Ideally, the best prison would turn out hard workers who would get snapped up by companies the second they were released.