Public shame can teach someone a valuable lesson. In the NFL, the Miami Dolphins had an incident where a player quit do to the fact that he was being harassed by one of his teammates. In defense, the other player stated that it was just locker room talk; however, this bullying also took place over text. The player is now being publicly disgraced for being raciest and harassing one of his teammates. In doing so, it makes him learn his lesson on what he has done and suffer the consequences of his actions since now everyone refers to him as a bully.
In reading the two essays “Condemn the Crime, Not the Person,” by June Tangney and “Shame Is Worth a Try,” by Dan M. Kahan people will see both sides of public shame. The essay that does not support this claim is the one that was written by June Tangney. In contrast, the essay written by Dan M. Kahan supports this claim by stating how it can be an effective form of punishment. It can be argued that public shaming is an efficient form of punishment for minor crime offenders do to the feeling of public humiliation and loss of self-worth act as a deterrent.
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Public shaming can be an efficient form of punishment and should be embraced. It is a judicial punishment imposed on a convicted criminal that includes humiliation instead of imprisonment. June Tangney in her essay writes, “A number of social commentators have urged America to embrace public shaming and stigmatization as cheaper and effective alternatives for curbing a broad range of nonviolent crimes” (Tangney 570).
This is true; it is a much less expensive form a punishment, for incarceration costs are escalating. Also, public shaming is a great way to have nonviolent crimes dealt with in an efficient manner.
People do not want to be publicly shamed for it ruins their reputation. If someone had to drive with a bumper sticker saying they got a DUI, they will be mortified because everyone who sees them is going to look down upon them. Public shame is meant for minor crimes only as in a DUI or a guy soliciting prostitutes. When people are publicly shamed they are looked down on in society which causes them to be humiliated. Humiliation is one of the key factors in public shaming. It is what makes this form of punishment so effective. Humiliation is the emotion someone feels when their social status has decreased.
Shame is private when someone feels as if they have done something wrong. Public shame is when others now know of the crime in which a person has committed which then causes a loss of stature or image. Kahan mentions in his essay about “A series of studies by Harold Grasmick, a sociologist at the University of Oklahoma, suggests that the prospect of public disgrace exerts greater pressure to comply with the law than does the threat of imprisonment and other formal punishments” (Kahan 576).
People do not want to be humiliated for it will break down their self-worth.
With using the technique of public shame it would cause humiliation which would make the criminal conform to the law, for they do not want to keep being looked down upon in society. Some may seem their reputation as one of the most important aspects in their life. By having their reputation messed with, it will soon make them have a loss of self-worth. They will feel as if they are not even a person in society. Tangney mentions a good point on how humiliation may cause this feeling, “Such humiliation is typically accompanied by a sense of shrinking of being small, worthless, and powerless, and by a sense of being exposed” (Tangney 570).
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By having someone feel not apart in society they certainly would learn their lesson. If the criminal feels as if they are not a part of society and only looked down upon, they will certainly not want to commit the crime again. After all, they lost the respect that they once did have. People depend on their reputation for their everyday lives, for instance, their job. As mentioned before, the Dolphin football player is now looked down upon, for everyone in the media is referring to him as a bully, which may ruin his career and have the Dolphins not want him on the team next season.
Of course however, public shaming is not meant for every crime. Public shaming is not appropriate for every crime. Reason being, society does not want a man who murdered someone to just be punished with public disgrace, it is unsafe. Public shame is for minor crimes such as, drunken driving, nonaggravated assaults, embezzlement, small-scale drug distribution, larceny, and more, that would usually just receive some short imprisonment time. Kahan makes a good point about how many of these crimes take up most of prison, “There’s obviously no alternative to imprisonment for murders, rapists, and other violent criminals.
But they make up less than half the American prison population” (Kahan 575).
Many of these minor crimes that are imprisoned are just taking up a lot of room, and not as cheap as public shaming. By making this the punishment for all these crimes, it will save money, make space for far worse criminals, and it would have a serious effect on the person who committed this minor crime. They will feel as if they are an outcast in society, by having everyone know what they did will make them not ever want to commit the crime again because they will never want to put themselves in that situation again.
Nevertheless, some may see public shaming as an ineffective and unfair punishment to do. Tangney argues that it does not motivate constructive changes in behavior. Also, shaming someone often makes them more likely to repeat their crime. However, if the criminal ever wants to feel a part of society again then they will most likely not commit the crime again. She also mentions that shame brings in the feelings of guilt, and to stop someone from having a bad defective behavior is by helping them feel as if they are helping society by doing community service to relieve the guilt of their past crime.
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On the contrary, it is as if the criminal can just pay off their crime by doing some community service. That does not stop them from doing it again. By shaming someone it will be imbedded in their brain that it is frowned upon in society. Also, Kahan brings up a good point, “Those who served prison time are also a lot less likely to regain the respect and trust of their law-abiding neighbors…Given all this, it’s hard to see shame as cruel” (Kahan 576).
Shame clearly is not as humiliating as imprisonment.
Neighbors will soon forget the crimes that were just publicly shamed, but most likely will not forget if you served jail time. Furthermore, to publicly shame a criminal is an efficient way to punish them for their crime. Public shaming promotes humiliation and loss of self-worth, but that is what makes it so effective. It makes the crime offender to never want to be put in this position is society again. It is humiliating, but to be imprisoned is even more. Public shaming should only be meant for minor crimes.
Minor crimes make up most of the prison population; it could really save money by using public degrade as the form of punishment instead. It would also allow for more prison space for more serious crimes. Overall, public shame allows someone to realize the crime they committed is looked down upon, and makes them feel like an outcast, in doing so making them not want to commit the crime again. People do not want to feel worthless, and not a part in society. Public shame should be enforced in our society and will really benefit people in the long run. Work Cited
