by_whom

Headlines tomorrow

"Congressman Polis says it's okay to punch babies because pot."

Being a pow must have been a dark and terrible experience. Do you have any stories about humanity shining through, either from your captors or other prisoners?

Well maybe you should teach your grandpa how to do it if you don't want him going to the store to buy Quadruple Amputees vs Black Midgets 37

I'll say for one thing you're starting from the wrong point. A person sitting in that chair isn't thinking about how you're offering them a chance to get clean. They're thinking about how screwed up it is that YOU, another human being, are so heartless and full of yourself as to have the audacity to sit there and be a part of a system that could potentially do far more harm to their life than the drug (especially when we're talking about softer drugs like marijuana, shrooms, or LSD) that they are being prosecuted for possessing. They may want to get better, but they are angry They are angry that you're part of a system that has lied to them and their countrymen, and now you are forcing them to conform to their beliefs.

You will never win a person over to your belief system by legally and institutionally forcing them to be a part of it. You can't make a person WANT to complete the program, because you are an impersonal suit to them. Because you are part of a system that has lied to them since they were kids and they know, so what credibility can you possibly purport to have?

You may have good intentions, but being a player in the drug war has not and will not have a meaningful impact on anyone's lifestyle. If a person is going to change their choices, make "better" choices as you would say, they are going to do so through the support of their friends, family, religious community, school community, etc. Not because the law forces them to. The sooner you accept that you're starting from a fundamentally disadvantaged position (and drug prosecuter is about as disadvantaged as you can get), the sooner you can explore other avenues of helping people.

Edit: I should say that I support your desire to help people, though unfortunately I think your methods are misguided.

I'm sorry, I never really saw The Walking Dead, but I was always under the impression that zombies could walk under water since they presumably have no need to respirate.

Do you think zombies can safety float, or would they sink?