
Q&A with Mike Kimelman: How prison changes you - ca98am79
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102623598
======
delish
[the interviewer asks why didn't he take the plea deal]

> [Because] I didn't think I broke the law, and if I wasn't willing to stand
> up and say that, how could I look my children in the eye and tell them with
> a straight face they should stand up for the right thing, or the underdog,
> as I try to teach them to do.

This is why I don't moralize at other people ever, and why I think the law is
a poor substitute for morality. I believe him when he says 1) that he didn't
think he did anything wrong, and 2) that the choices in front of him looked
different that how they looked to third-party observers.

It's stupidly easy to tell someone, "You should have [taken the plea deal|not
done that in the first place|...]." But I think people say those things to 1)
distance themselves from their interlocutor and 2) say something that feels
good to say, but is useless (not actionable at this point!), obvious dreck to
hear.

Of course I'm not faulting the interviewer for asking the questions in this
case; the answers were enlightening.

Marshall McLuhan had a great quote against moralizing: "Don't ask whether it
is right or wrong. Instead try to figure out what is going on!"

------
Red_Tarsius
I'm happy Kimelman got the best out of it. It's nice to read experiences that
don't involve any kind of intimate assault.

The system is designed not to _re_ habilitate, but to _de_ humanize the
inmates, while guards often support the lowest forms of behavior.

