Hi all,
I thought this article about Chinese authorities shaming alleged criminals was an interesting tie in to our conversation in class last night. Part of the shaming involves publishing lists of the accused. If China is doing it, we should think twice about it. Of course, this is different than shaming the proven guilty. Or is it? The good news is that there is a movement toward stopping this practice.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/world/asia/28china.html?hp
Also, today's Globe has a list of Massachusetts' most wanted.
Interesting, Abby.
ReplyDeleteThat also reminds me of when the city posted the faces of those suspected to be involved in a gang responsible for the murder of a young boy this year (not sure if I have the details quite right, but that was the gist). From what I gathered this was seen not only as a measure to help people protect themselves, but was (according to the police) a way to scare/shame the criminals. In some ways one might argue that this type of thing has more immediate, community-based impact than publishing their names as part of a story -- very difficult to escape the response you'll get if a photo of your face is plastered in association with a violent crime around a neighborhood you've long inhabited. But whether that carries less weight overall than an article that has been published and will therefore presumably exist in some form or another on the web indefinitely, I'm not sure.