conversations_with_the_self_vol2 Kurama "Ok, why exactly is prostitution illegal again?" "It isn't illegal everywhere. And in the places where it is, I'm guessing it's outlawed cuz of easy transmittal of STDs, and uh...actually, that's all I got." "And give me a break, you don't have to solicit a hooker to get AIDS or something. If that's the reason, they should outlaw all unprotected sex." "That wouldn't be a very fun world to live in." "No, it wouldn't. Besides, how is it illegal to sell something that belongs to you? It's perfectly fine to be promiscuous, but when money comes into the equation, it's a legal issue? If I want to sell my TV, I don't see the cops trying to send me to jail for it." "A TV is nowhere near the same thing as your body though." "It shouldn't matter, it still belongs to me." "You sound like this is a personal thing. Were you picked up for soliciting?" "No, I wasn't." "....Were you the prostitute?" "Would you shut up? It's just something I was thinking of." "Uh huh, whatever you say." "I'm serious here! Look, even if you take it further, then pornography should be illegal too. It's the EXACT SAME THING, except what? It's filmed?" "I guess." "So if I were to buy a hooker, have sex with her, and film it, I wouldn't be arrested if I got caught in the act? Oh officer, this isn't prostitution, it's porn. See, we're filming it." "I think it has to be like an actual porn film studio production for it to count though." "Which is still bullshit, because porn stars are doing the same thing prostitutes on the street do. Except porn stars get paid a lot more for it. Did you know in Sudan, if you get arrested for prostitution 3 times, you get the death penalty?" "Are you serious? That seems a bit harsh." "It is! Especially when you consider Hungary, where prostitutes are taxpaying citizens. They have their own union and everything. It's perfectly legal there. Probably encouraged in school too." "I can't imagine it being anything other than awkward for little Jenny to bring her streetwalker mom in for Career Day. But maybe that's just the environment I was raised in." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What does prison actually accomplish?" "A lot, the last time I checked." "Well, I mean yeah, but I mean what does it accomplish for the people that they haven't caught yet?" "If you were an aspiring criminal, the thought of prison wouldn't force you to have second thoughts about that?" "I guess it would. But I'm a coward at heart. I'm not trying to deal with prison and the uh..." "Prison rape?" "Yeah, that. That's a big problem for me." "It is for a lot of people. I think that might be more effective than the actual confinement. Hell, just forget the jail itself. Tell people they'll be gangraped if they're convicted of a crime that would have otherwise sent them to jail. That'll cut down on crime." "My original point, if I may..." "Please, go ahead." "The people that don't give a damn about jail, or are smart enough to know how to not get caught...what's stopping them from going on a killing spree?" "...Nothing, I guess. Conscience, maybe?" "I'll ignore that one. Anyway, this problem stems from a form of negative reinforcement. Avoidance conditioning, to be exact. Skinner came up with it. Basically, the threat of something bad happening is what stops us from acting on our baser instincts." "Baser instincts? Why does that sound like you're calling people animals or something? It sounds primitive." "It is primitive. No matter how much we evolve, all we do is suppress those instincts because they wouldn't be...acceptable in a civilized environment. Cavemen used to kill each other for food." "I don't recall ever having the need to kill someone for some food." "That's because we live in a different time now. But even so, do you think homeless people don't walk past a nice house and think about killing everyone inside, either out of bitterness and spite, or to steal?" ".........." "Also, how well does jail really deter crime when you have homeless people deliberately committing small crimes around Christmastime so they don't have to sleep outside in the cold? They get a bed and food; both being things they DIDN'T have before, because they...I dunno, threw a brick through your window." "What exactly are you getting at?" "I'm just wondering out loud. Negative reinforcement has some issues, but it's all we have now. I admit that. I just think about how positive reinforcement would work. Like if people could be promised something for being good." "Oh, that's funny. Let's give all the good little boys and girls cookies if they don't become crazy serial murderers." "I know how it sounds, but Christianity's kinda trying it with their whole heaven thing. But then they went and fucked it up with hell on the other side. It's eternal paradise if you're good, but eternal torment if you're bad. Positive and negative reinforcement in the same mythology." "So do you think there's a way it could work? On Earth, I mean." "I was thinking something like the government giving you something if you have a clean record by the time you reach a certain age. But that does nothing for when you're past that age." "Would it be money or something? They could give you installments every 10 years or so, as long as you keep your record clean." "Yeah...but then you have the fact that you're paying people to be good citizens. I suppose if the money's enough, it could work for some people..." "But if you're dealing with someone still that doesn't care, they're gonna do it anyway. We'll need prisons either way." "Exactly. Another thing, though. Prison's reactive. Someone actually has to die or suffer before we can do anything about it. There's no pre-crime unit like in Minority Report." 080719 ... unhinged . 200126 what's it to you? who go blather from