Should parents of recent juvenile felons be publicly exposed?
Objective: Create consequences for poor parenting.
Scenario: Bob and Elsie have three kids. One of them becomes addicted to opiates following a severe sports injury. Despite intervention, they spiral and are eventually arrested and convicted for [pick a felony].
Forget Bob and Elsie. Consider the impact on the other two kids.
Is this only for the "bad" parents? And who determines "badness"?
Wouldn't it be better to put supports in place beforehand, rather than punch down when the bottom is reached?
We have in cases of mass shootings where the parents were clearly complicit in the supply or training of the weapons used, like the Crumbleys.
My concern is that there are so many things that are felonies in so many states this becomes another way to target non-majority populations and point a finger rather than solution the root cause.
Adam Lanza killed Nancy first. It's not the 80/20 solution it appears.
Deterrence vs Retribution
Would parents act any differently if they were held accountable?
Would society act differently if they saw parents struggle and still fail with dire consequences?
There are terrible parents. We have entire systems devoted to them.
Most parents do their level best. And I say that as a kid whose mom told me to be home before the streetlights came on and had me setting up the ashtrays for bridge club after I let myself in after school.
My brother is a Trumper and we grew up in the bluest of blue families. As in, I have the dress my mom wore to Kennedy's inaugural ball blue family.
There's just no even application of this, satisfying as it seems.
We never properly addressed the issue.
Retribution for failed parenting WILL fall disproportionately on lower financial classes.
This will not move society one bit, but will reinforce the idea that the poor are dangerous to society.
@Cosmichomicide
Second and third order consequences.
Is there a solution to mitigate that effect?
Education, employment, youth programs, family support services, alternative sentencing - lots of things have better outcomes for offenders, families, and communities than juvenile incarceration.
The assumption is that "bad" parenting is the cause and fixing parents through shunning and Scarlet Ps will improve society more than childcare, healthcare, education, housing, and food.
It's the cheaper illusion of "doing something" by pointing society's finger at a convenient scapegoat.
Second example: Annette has two kids. Her husband died leaving medical debt and the loss of his income put the family living in the car while she works two jobs. One of the kids gets arrested for dealing felony weight. They told mom the extra money came from odd jobs.
Public shaming results in mom losing her jobs, the second child is put in the system.
Society "did something" and can congratulate itself on action, but the root causes remain. 🤷🏻♀️
https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/effective-alternatives-to-youth-incarceration/
You asked if the circumstances would be part of the story and that would draw attention to society's failures, presumably so we would identify them and fix them.
OK, we already know that food, shelter, education, and healthcare reduce crime and improve outcomes for children. Let's fix those.
Retribution is cheaper and serves up a dopamine hit of moral superiority while giving society the satisfaction of assigning accountability and closing the books. It doesn't move the needle.
@Cosmichomicide
Then, wouldn't that be part of the story? The failure of society to assist parents that have done all they can but it wasn't enough.
We just had a 17 y/o shoot a 49rs football player in our downtown.
What is the problem that caused this shooting?
Maybe the child thought it was OK to use a gun to commit the crime?
Should society hold parents accountable?
We currently don't.