летний семестр...

Начался летний семестр. В зависимости от решения, которое я должна принять в течение трёх ближайших недель, он либо мой предпоследний, либо... последний. Размышлизмами по поводу бренности всего сущего я займусь как-нибудь попозже, а пока расскажу о первой домашке в этом семестре =)

Предмет уголовное право, который мы должны пройти за 6 недель (10 лекций дважды в неделю по 3.5 часа и два экзамена — серединный и конечный ). Лекторша эта у меня уже была, прошлым летом как раз. Beth Bailey, cтервь редчайшая, читать дальше

Ну так вот, из-за того, что летний семестр короче и такой спресованный, мы на первой же лекции уже писали контрольную и домашка тоже уже есть. Домашка, кстати, интересная.

Даны 15 ситуаций-преступлений. Надо в зависимости от собственной моральной системы координат расположить их от самого страшного и неприемлемого до "более-менее ничотак" и написать фразу-другую обоснуя. Как их буду расставлять — пока не знаю. Но вот вам чуток писчи для ума, предложения в комменты приветствуются

15 ситуаций. Перевод местами корявый, но вроде всё понятно боль-менее15 ситуаций. Перевод местами корявый, но вроде всё понятно боль-менее

1) Вооружённый 14-летний Харольд грабит магазин спиртного
2) Лора дала продавщице 5 баксов, а получила сдачу как с десятки, но ничего не сказала и ушла
3) Женщина лёгкого поведения Рэйчел предлагает потенциальному клиентy свои услуги
4) На скорости объехав машину, остановившуюся на перекрёстке на жёлтый свет, Кен вдаряет по газам и проносится через перекрёсток на красный
5) Дэн паркуется в зоне для инвалидов, хотя ни он ни его пассажиры не имеют проблем со здоровьем и разрешения на данную парковку
6) Чтобы получить деньги на очередную дозу, наркоман Майк чуть ли не силой пихает героин всем желающим/способным заплатить
7) Том и Джерри не геи, но живут вместе как пара (в некоторых штатах однополые союзы в разной степени официализированы, прим. моё), чтоб получить соцпакет и страховку
8) Сильвия вытаскивает у кого-то из кармана бумажник, в котором 150 баксов и три действующих кредитки
9) Эд отказывается платить налоги, потому что он не согласен с политикой американского правительства
10) Пэтти поймали в баре в Джексонвил Бич с двумя унциями марьванны (50-60 г)
11) Дороти поймали в баре в Джексонвил Бич с двумя фунтами марьванны (почти 1 кг)
12) Вербально, но при этом довольно агрессивно, Роб пытается склонить Эмбер к постели после того, как он её сводил в ресторан и кино
13) Завод сливает токсичные отходы в реку, убивая этим рыб и окружающую растительность
14) Пьяный Ленни превышает скорость в школьной зоне, сбивает 7-летнего ребёнка и не останавливается (да, я сказала, что пока не знаю, как что расставлю, но это — безоговорочный лидер)
15) Студент Винс видит, как его лучший друг крадёт 300-баксовые часы из магазина, но не стучит на него

Что-то как-то так Потом напишу, что решила я и что решили уже в группе (она нас разобьёт на группы по 3-5 человек и надо будет всем прийти к консенсусу, во весело будет )
Уполз занимаццо

UPD
Вот мои варианты с обоснуем. На инглише. Если чего непонятно — спрашивайте, переведу
многабукаф14) Lenny gets drunk, hits 7 year-old child while speeding through a school zone and does not stop.
I can bet anything on the fact everyone (or the vast majority at the very least) chose this as the most heinous thing on the list. My own rationale for it is that any kind of crime against children is worse than anything else in the world. A crime against a child, in my opinion, is also worse that even the same crime against a grownup (be it killing, raping, or anything else) because adults have better developed cognitive abilities and they can cope with things better than children, whose brain and psyche have not developed well enough, so an incident like this can destroy their lives forever

6) Mike is a narcotic addict who pushes heroin to anyone who will buy in order to finance his habit.
Drugs are the scariest thing out there. They make a person lose his/her ability to think and reason, give up his/her right to free will with his/her own hands, lose his/her humanity… And one of the worst things is pushing the addiction on someone else, especially doing it aggressively. It is not only ruining one’s own life and the lives around him/her, but it uncontrollably spreads this “disease” further, like circles on the water, encompassing a larger and larger range. However, I do not believe in American hype of the infamous “war on drugs”, because the only thing it did was fill up prisons that are bursting at the seams right now. Drugs are scary, but they need to be treated besides being sanctioned.

11) Dorothy is caught with two pounds of marijuana at a bar in Jacksonville Beach
I think, not a lot of people will put this as high on the list, because the common perception is that marijuana is not that dangerous, but the rationale for this is the same for me as for the previous item. Clearly, a person with two pounds of it cannot argue it’s only for personal use. So if this is for sale, it again means pulling other people into it, including those “on the fence” who might have never tried the thing absent the opportunity but who may do it if the opportunity is present. As for mj’s harmful effects, besides killing brain cells and making people… um… stupid (let’s call things their names), it also causes dependence, even though many may deny it. And dependence means further diversion of time and finances from something useful into something harmful, and this is all the reasoning we need.

13) A company pollutes a river with toxic waste from factory, killing fish and vegetation
I don’t mean to be a tree-hugger (or whatever it is called), but a situation like this is very dangerous. If the pollution is serious enough to kill flora and fauna around, it will also harm people, and this is nothing to sneeze at. The river will bring those pollutants further into other bodies of water, where it may be used for household purposes and for drinking, which translates into serious problems for the nearby population. And for me, any issues affecting people’s health and well-being are far more serious than the loss of some material possessions.

1) Harold, age 14, robs a liquor store at gunpoint
Simply because of the fact a gun is involved, the crime ranks pretty high. However, in this case, the seriousness of the crime does not translate into harsh punishment for me. This kid needs help first and foremost, and harsh punishments will only make the situation worse (e.g. if he is incarcerated with adults, he will only learn new tricks of the trade and/or become a victim of extreme abuse). So yes, the crime is serious (guns, drugs – and yes, alcohol is a drug, no matter what people want to call it -, robbery), but this kid probably does not know better because all crime is all he has seen. He needs to be mentored, taught wrong from right, and ordered to do community service to experience “the other side”.

9) Ed refuses to pay income tax because he does not support U.S. government policies
This is pretty high on my list for one simple reason: by not paying taxes, people only hurt their peers and, ultimately, themselves. They do not realize that agreeing with government has nothing to do with it. What does have everything to do with it is supporting retired people who have worked all their lives, building roads and bridges, and so forth. If more people refuse to pay taxes, the government will have to make this money up someplace else, be it introducing toll roads, or increasing the sales tax, or cutting education (yeah, that will help everyone), or something else... One way or another, everyone will have to pay up, and I’d rather have 10-15% shaved off my paycheck than have roads that will ruin my car or have more gangs in the street because schools can only afford to give two classes a day instead of four, so the kids have nothing else to do.

4) Ken pulls his car around the car in front of him, darting through the intersection and running a red light because the car in front of him stopped at the yellow yield light
I know, law is supposed to be free from passion and emotions, but I hate people like that! These 10-15 seconds he may have saved will most likely catch up to him on the next traffic light anyway for one thing, and for another, for crying out loud, what may be so serious as to allow endangering the lives of many people?

10) Patty is caught with two ounces of marijuana at a bar in Jacksonville Beach
Some may argue an addict only harms himself, but we have already discussed in class the burden of hurting even one person (be it by oneself or by someone else) on the society and namely taxes and taxpayers. Next time she will switch to something serious, contract hepatitis from a reused needle, and guess who will pay for her treatment… Also, I have mentioned above how scary it is when people are not able to reason, so many things may happen in the changed state of mind that a person might never do in real life, be it lowering moral boundaries or outright engaging in crime.

8) Sylvia pickpockets an individual’s wallet containing $150 and 3 valid credit cards
This is stealing, and it is bad no matter the amount, point blank. It may not harm anyone physically, so it is relatively lower in this list, but it is still a crime that still hurts. After all, we do not know whether these $150 were meant to be spent in gambling or be donated to cancer society or whatever, so we’ll give the owner the benefit of the doubt while reprimanding the thief.

12) Rob aggressively verbally pushes and tries to pressure Amber into sexual activity after taking her out to dinner and a movie
I do not mean to put the blame entirely on the women (I do know forcible rapes happen even if the woman showed no indication whatsoever that “she was asking for it”), but in general, it is hard to coerce someone into something if the person really does not want it, even subtly in the back of her mind.

7) Tom and Jerry are not homosexuals, but live together as thought they were married in order to obtain “significant other” benefits, such as health insurance, for Jerry.
Yes, this is fraud. Yes, this will steal the benefit from someone who may really need it more. But when I think of single mothers who do not know how to control the lower part of their body and keep having 10 kids from 10 different men and then demand benefits, these two men do not seem that bad. It’s all relative, as one great scientist said…

15) Vince, a college student, observes his best friend shoplifting a $300 watch but does not turn him in
I guess, this will sound all too un-American, but I do not believe in ratting on people. Yes, in this country “aiding law enforcement” is very encouraged, but telling on people is wrong in my book. Of course, stealing is absolutely wrong in my book as well, so what I would do is by persuasion or force convince my friend not to make this stupid mistake, but I would not turn him in. In worst case scenario, he would not be my friend any more, but again, it is his conscience that has to deal with it, and I am not the hand of Nemesis to deliver punishments left and right.

3) Rachel, a prostitute, approaches a client/man for purposes of offering her services.
Placing the item so low does not mean this is something I see as acceptable for myself. However, I do not abstractly see a problem with decriminalizing prostitution at all: it vastly reduces crime (be it police “covering” for them in exchange for money or even pimps shooting at each other because of territorial disputes), keeps everyone concerned safer (mandatory medical checkups, information about protection, etc.), and because it has always happened, happens, and will happen anyway, we might as well make some money on it (taxes) and make it less dangerous than simply label it and do nothing about it.

5) Dan parks in a handicap zone and he is not, nor are any of his passengers, handicapped.
I personally don’t mind walking a mile or two a day for one simple reason because it is healthy and makes you feel good. I cannot say I despise them, but I truly do not understand and do not approve of people trying to park as close to the store/mall as possible to save themselves extra 20-30 steps. This is ridiculous! However, in the grand scheme of things, this is not something to go berserk over, and let this wrongdoing be on the conscience of those who do it.

2) Laurel leaves a store with change for a $10 bill after she realizes she gave the cashier $5 bill.
I think the majority will agree on this being the least serious offense of all the above. $5 will not kill or harm anyone that much (of course the logic changes if every customer decides to walk out with extra $5). However, placing it on the last spot does not mean it is in any way shape or form acceptable to me personally. Yes, I do take pride I have never taken an extra penny in change at the store or any other “service” place, and if I was undercharged I always made a point to tell the cashier about it. It is just wrong. What if that $5 deduction from the cashier’s paycheck means one less pack of prescription medication for his/her old mom, or one less lunch for her little kid? We really have to think about things like that…

летний семестр...

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