Shame Essay

843 Words4 Pages
Shame Analysis Dan M. Kahan argues in his piece “Shame Is worth a Try’ that shame should be used because “it’s an effective, cheap, and humane alternative to imprisonment” (574). If you are the kind of person who searches for articles with just emotional appeals, than look no further this is the article for you. When it comes to logical and ethnical appeals, Kahan falls short on the totem pole. He fails to prove his points because his examples are misused. He does not acknowledge that shaming sentences could also have effect on the offender’s family. He uses materials that not only does not fit his topic; it goes against his original argument. He never addresses how shame may not be affective. Kahan argues “Shame clearly does not harm as much as imprisonment” (576). He then gives an example of a woman who chose to post an article in the newspaper saying she purchased marijuana with her children in the car, instead of doing jail time. This example poorly supports the point he is trying to make due to the fact that, he only states how the mothers imprisonment could affect the family. I guess the issue of long term effects on the mother as well as the children due to shaming sentences escaped his mind. When a judge sentences you to be imprisoned for a specific crime it remains anonymous to those you do not tell, but shaming broadcasts it to the public. This can cause public stigmas that can be hard to get rid of or ignore. For example, a lot of people read the newspaper, so the majority of her neighbors and parents in the school will be aware of the injustice she committed. This can not only be harmful to her reputation, but it can be detrimental to the social life of the children. Parents will not want that kind of negative influence around their children. Also, children can be cruel and may ridicule those children because the parent made a stupid mistake. When
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