We Are NOT Animals!
One of our clients was recently released from prison. He had to stand before the judge in order to be released. I was troubled by the words that Billy told us the judge used when addressing him. The judge told him, “Lions and dogs are in cages. We don’t have to worry about where they are. I know where they are. I don’t want to release you because you deserve to be in a cage. And I won’t know where you are. I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you live or die.” (I paraphrased). Billy then told him that he had a purpose and he would fulfill it. The judge’s response was, “I don’t care about your purpose. I’m just being honest with you.” That was very upsetting.
Where do these analogies come from? What makes people in authority feel as if they can say whatever they want to people they feel have no recourse. We are people. We have feelings. We Are NOT Animals! Some might say that those words are only reverse psychology at its best and those words should motivate the hearer to prove the judge wrong.
The problem with that train of thought is you are dealing with people that generally have low self esteem and they don’t see any hope for a brighter future. So to heap these negative statements onto a spirit that is already broken and the fact that that person is only existing, makes no sense at all! Child psychologists say that negative words from parents will scar a child for the rest of his/her life. If that is true, many of the individuals that go through the criminal justice system came from homes where negativity ran rampant. The only thing tirades, like the aforementioned, accomplish is more despair and the individual leaves knowing they will continue to “get it how they live”.
Our words have consequences. We must understand that. Everything we say matters and will affect someone else. Why not encourage someone to do good, while stating that non-compliance with the rules and laws will have stiff consequences. Motivate. Let’s stop tearing people down and leaving them in disarray.
I am praying for that judge. My judge did me the same way. Things MUST change. We Are NOT Animals!
Where do these analogies come from? What makes people in authority feel as if they can say whatever they want to people they feel have no recourse. We are people. We have feelings. We Are NOT Animals! Some might say that those words are only reverse psychology at its best and those words should motivate the hearer to prove the judge wrong.
The problem with that train of thought is you are dealing with people that generally have low self esteem and they don’t see any hope for a brighter future. So to heap these negative statements onto a spirit that is already broken and the fact that that person is only existing, makes no sense at all! Child psychologists say that negative words from parents will scar a child for the rest of his/her life. If that is true, many of the individuals that go through the criminal justice system came from homes where negativity ran rampant. The only thing tirades, like the aforementioned, accomplish is more despair and the individual leaves knowing they will continue to “get it how they live”.
Our words have consequences. We must understand that. Everything we say matters and will affect someone else. Why not encourage someone to do good, while stating that non-compliance with the rules and laws will have stiff consequences. Motivate. Let’s stop tearing people down and leaving them in disarray.
I am praying for that judge. My judge did me the same way. Things MUST change. We Are NOT Animals!