the air

As summer continues to move forward, I have no choice but to read interesting news about how the American justice system “fails” or “succeeds.” It seems that everyone has an opinion and when the moment or outcome suits them, the justice system is quite reasonable. Alternatively, the justice system is a failure if the results are not in their favor. However, my thoughts today do not circle around the validity of the justice system but instead focuses on my interpretation of a the punishing values handed down by judges.

In McHenry, IL, a 16 year old girl was denied bail because of the severity of her actions. She was charged with distributing hate flyers that went against the gay community. The judge’s reasoning was that she has a repetitive pattern of mischievous behavior. The article goes on to illustrate how other, more violent, suspects were granted bail for violent crimes that included rape and murder. So this is where my dilemma starts.

My personal political views are quite liberal. I don’t believe in religious views running a country that plays hosts to a multitude of religions. In fact, I despise any politician that invokes God as an excuse or reason to think or make decisions. Hence, in a way, I do not have any sympathy for this girl for using hate language against gays. However, at the same time, she is entitled to her own opinion as it is protected under freedom of speech. I think it is safe for me to say that she should be punished for passing out hate propaganda on school property but not for expressing her personal views. Regardless of what the article claims, the important solution that should be investigated is whether or not “propaganda” should be allowed on school properties. In my view, a school is a safe haven for ideas to be shared in a peaceful manner. That does not mean that hate viewpoints should be expressed, but rather discussed in a professional forum. However, it appears that the girl might be being punished a bit too harshly. In this case, I would have to go and claim that the judge is not being fair and is trying to make an example out of her for no good reason and I strongly believe that she will not learn her lesson in such a harsh manner.

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