Of Remorse
I have spent this weekend watching a series of prison documentaries.
This is what I do with my time; while normal people socialize and go out
on Friday and Saturday evenings, I am holed up in my room watching YouTube video after YouTube video
about prisons and correctional facilities dotted across the United
States of America, burying my mind in the details of the lives of people
who do not know that I exist. It is fascinating.
So, I just watched a documentary called Crack House USA; it documents a drug sting operation carried out in 2005 where federal agents planted hidden cameras in a drug house run by a gang of young men in Chicago, Illinois. Six weeks later, the operation was over and the men were arrested, charged and given severe sentences; the longest being for 42 years and the shortest for 25 years. The documentary follows the families of three of these men (Duck, Montrell and Bradford) who still reside in the Chicago area; their mothers, sisters, grandmothers and children.
You can tell from the interviews and the conversations that these young men are deeply remorseful for their actions and that they acknowledge they did wrong and made bad decisions. You see from the interviews with their mothers and grandmothers that their environment had a huge impact on the course of their lives, the activities they got involved in, and the friends they chose to hang out with; Duck and Montrell's mothers were both crack and heroine addicts at the time they were raising their sons. The remorse from the imprisoned men and their families is evident and poignant.
But I was wondering if the remorse they feel is because they were caught, charged and given such heavy sentences. Are these men apologetic because they will spend a large portion of their lives in prison? Duck will not be released until he is in his sixties; is this why he is sorry for his actions? Bradford told his son over the phone, "Make sure you stay in school and get an education. It's the only way to become successful." While this is true, I wonder if he sees the importance of education now only because he is presently behind bars.
Is this the purpose of prison? To make you feel guilt and remorse of your actions? If their drug house had not been bugged with cameras and microphones, would these men be remorseful or would they still be on the streets of Chicago gang banging and making money off the drugs they sold?
Why do we feel remorse? Is remorse always linked to the consequences of our actions? If our wrong actions didn't have negative consequences, would we still feel guilt?
What do you think?
So, I just watched a documentary called Crack House USA; it documents a drug sting operation carried out in 2005 where federal agents planted hidden cameras in a drug house run by a gang of young men in Chicago, Illinois. Six weeks later, the operation was over and the men were arrested, charged and given severe sentences; the longest being for 42 years and the shortest for 25 years. The documentary follows the families of three of these men (Duck, Montrell and Bradford) who still reside in the Chicago area; their mothers, sisters, grandmothers and children.
You can tell from the interviews and the conversations that these young men are deeply remorseful for their actions and that they acknowledge they did wrong and made bad decisions. You see from the interviews with their mothers and grandmothers that their environment had a huge impact on the course of their lives, the activities they got involved in, and the friends they chose to hang out with; Duck and Montrell's mothers were both crack and heroine addicts at the time they were raising their sons. The remorse from the imprisoned men and their families is evident and poignant.
But I was wondering if the remorse they feel is because they were caught, charged and given such heavy sentences. Are these men apologetic because they will spend a large portion of their lives in prison? Duck will not be released until he is in his sixties; is this why he is sorry for his actions? Bradford told his son over the phone, "Make sure you stay in school and get an education. It's the only way to become successful." While this is true, I wonder if he sees the importance of education now only because he is presently behind bars.
Is this the purpose of prison? To make you feel guilt and remorse of your actions? If their drug house had not been bugged with cameras and microphones, would these men be remorseful or would they still be on the streets of Chicago gang banging and making money off the drugs they sold?
Why do we feel remorse? Is remorse always linked to the consequences of our actions? If our wrong actions didn't have negative consequences, would we still feel guilt?
What do you think?
I think we only feel remorse when we see the result of our bad action / decision. But the food thing is that at least some people are remorseful and some change from this feeling, and grow into a better person.
ReplyDeleteyes, exactly. at least people feel remorse. and that remorse spurs them to becoming better
DeleteI beg to differ because you generalized it,without being aware of the implications remorse only applies when one is captured doing the wrong things and does not have a plan B or least expect he/she would be caught. There have and always will be people breaking the law to make huge profits from their actions. With no specific examples; cast your mind on the financial markets, every time we hear stories of a rouge trader who knows how much he stands to gain by breaking the law but also know how long he will be in prison for to enjoy his/her ill gotten money when released. That's a person who can never be remorseful because he has a plan B and was still caught. People know the result of their actions before they go into it that's why we all are secretive in nature when engaging sensitive activities; we even keep things from the people around us when we do good only to share it when the result is well received. Bottom line- A remorseful person is not aware of the implications of his actions until he/she is caught i.e. child or teenager not an ADULT.
ReplyDeleteso it goes back to; people are only remorseful when they are caught, otherwise, they have no remorse for their actions? and this mentality in itself is a sign of 'immaturity'?
DeleteI think there are two types/kinds of remorse. One when you are caught and the other when you privately realize even without being caught, the consequences of your actions and change your ways.
ReplyDeleteIn the former, it is easy to argue the remorse only comes because you are seeing the consequence or bcos you have been caught. I believe it's not so black and white. People can get roped into things without ever sitting down to think it through, getting caught or found out bring with it that jarring (Even amongst this group, a sub group exist. Of those who are remorseful for being caught and those who regret their action even if they know it was wrong all the way).
True and untainted remorse is however of the latter, those who change of their own accord, without being caught, i think?