Eric Anderson, Why good people stand by and let bad things happen, The Globe and Mail
In this Article Eric Anderson discusses the bystander effect which is how people do not react and help when something wrong is taking place. People will stand by and watch a girl be raped and not do anything. People will also stand by and take pictures of a man who has fallen into the sub way tracks right before the train comes. As the article discusses further the bystander effect can be positive. Anderson says that the more dangerous a situation is and the higher the consequences are the bystander effect seems to disappear an uses flight united 93 as an example.
Scott Simon, Some Judges Prefer Public Shaming To Prison, NPR Weekend Edition
Scott Simon and various guests speak about alternative punishments to prison and their purpose. The reason Prison was created was to shame people and it is known now that prison just makes criminals do more criminal acts and is ineffective. An alternative to this would be public shaming such as shoveling manure or sleeping in a dog kennel. One of Simons guest Turley says that these undermine the “character of justice” because the people that public shaming is usually done on are people who would not go to jail in the first place. In the end most people agree prison and punishment need to change but outlandish punishments are unnecessary and could be dangerous to society.
Molly Fosco, Is Our Obsession With True Crime MorallyIrresponsible? The Huffington Post
Molly Fosco Speaks about how people are obsessed with true crime television shows. Viewers are obsessed with the examination of the human mind and how these killers are so similar but so different from normal people. Fosco suggests that the reason we are obsessed with the true crime is because we are interested in how the criminal justice system works and its flaws.
Episode Analysis White Bear
The main character of this episode wakes up and does not remember who she is. She then goes along with her day as hunters try and kill her and she is just watched and recorded by the public as she is chased and tortured by the hunters. Victoria is the main character and is actually being punished for a crime she committed. Her sentence was to go through this experience everyday to punish and shame her for her crime. Although Victoria did not actually commit the crime she is being punished for she recorded it and is probably more guilty of the bystander effect than being an evil person. Although the consequences of the little girl being killed were so high Victoria probably did not act because she had no group around her. Also, since she was not actively committing the crime she disassociated with responsibility with it.
The way Victoria was punished was not only to torture her and make her feel the terror the girl must of felt but also humiliate her by parading her around the streets after the day was done. The public shaming part of the punishment seems to be ethically okay because she remembers who she is and is reminded what she has done. The day where she is chases around is not ethical and should not be aloud. Since she does not remember who she is, she is should not be considered the same person as before and is being tortured for no reason.
Discussion Questions
Should people guilty of watching a crime be just as guilty as the person committing it?
Is Victoria actually being punished if her memory gets whipped everyday?
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