buywithme | 155 - Video - Prefect stop you are not Howie or Sam

[Video clicks on, and you get a nicely framed shot of a young man, with a nice, neat suit, and ridiculously well coiffed hair. Hello Wardens and Inmates! Brothers and Sisters! Comrades ~~and Consumers!]~~

Comrades... Without wanting to sound accusatory, there have been a lot of discussions lately, about problems between wardens and inmates, and questions about what wardens can and can not do, and... honestly, some of these hypothetical questions should not be things that any of us are in doubt about.

If you are a warden, then killing an inmate, any inmate, should be your absolute last resort.

If you are an inmate, then at the very least you should not feel as if your life is in danger from a warden.

[Prefect's EXTREMELY SERIOUS FACE is extremely serious right now. He is kind of talking to you here, Buffy.]

Sadly, there will be exceptions to these. There will be situations where the decision will have to be made as to whether killing a dangerous inmate is the only way to prevent a great deal of harm, and unfortunately there have been, and will be, situations where wardens abuse their powers and neglect their responsibilities.

I don't think the problems we have right now are of that great a magnitude, however, I do think that the warden community has a collective responsibility of care for the inmate community, which it is very easy to neglect. Especially if you've got a tendency to devote all of your attention to your own inmate, and no one elses. [This is not a dig at anyone, he is 100% talking about himself here.] What this means is that no matter how good a job we are doing as individuals, there will still be inmates who are suffering unnecessarily, who see what we are trying to do here as being undermined by a small minority, and through these things, who lose the opportunity of a second chance that they've been brought here for.

[He clears his throat, clearly getting to the point at last:]

So, that brings me to the purpose of this post.

If there are any inmates currently on board who have serious concerns or complaints about the conduct of specific wardens, then I want to ask you to bring them forward. You can make them public, or I'd be just as happy to hear them privately.

The reason why I want to hear them is because while we don't have any specific authority over one another, and while I couldn't go out by myself and punish anyone for whatever they've done, or threatened to do to you? I would really want to take steps to protect you from that person. Whether it's by confronting the person who has threatened you, or by making sure that you have somewhere secure to stay, or... anything else that's within my capabilities, really.

[He reaches off Camera, and lifts up a small safety deposit box, with a slot on the top. Those who have been here for a million billion years may find it somewhat familiar...]

Now... What I'm talking about here are pretty specific and urgent circumstances, Comrades, but I'm aware that there will be other problems, and that they may continue to arise in the future. Because of this, I will be officially re-instituting the Complaints and Suggestions box. If anyone has a problem, and they either aren't comfortable coming to me in person, or if they can't find me immediately? Then from now on you'll be able to find this outside my cabin. That's outside room five, on level four.

And... to those who've only recently arrived? Welcome to the Barge, I'm sorry things have been a little hectic lately. My name is Prefect.

[And with that said, he gives a small, polite smile, and clicks off the communicator.]

[ooc: YES, PREFECT HAS PUT THE SUGGESTION BOX BACK UP. FEEL FREE TO TROLL THE EVER LOVING HELL OUT OF IT.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Perhaps a start would be to make the decision that because it is wrong, you wouldn't do it again? And that you don't want to do it again. Saying that you'd probably repeat it, is just like saying that there's no point in trying to change, and it's a stance that really doesn't hold up here, Comrade.

Maybe you would do it again, but if that's so, let it be because your emotion overrides your morals and reason. Don't go into any situation expecting to do this.

What could it have to do with torture?

He was torturing him when I found them.

And didn't he stop?

Of course he stopped. He died.

No. What I meant was, did you kill him to make him stop, or did you kill him after he'd surrendered himself to you?

Or, hell, Comrade, did you kill him because you were overcome with anger, or did you do it because you needed to prove a point to Iago?

...

I'm sorry, forget it. I'm not your warden.

You are my friend, and I have kept many thoughts to myself lately. I would not speak of this to you if I did not appreciate your counsel.

...I was angry.

Then don't dress it up as something you did as part of your duty to him. You were angry and you killed someone, and... honestly, it's hardly worse than the things some wardens here have done, and it doesn't necessarily compromise their ability to do their jobs as wardens.

But if you know that it's wrong, then you shouldn't stand by having done it. You shouldn't just accept that you would do it again because they do deserve better than that from us.

For certain crimes, I do not think that we can do enough, Prefect. Not with the rules we have.

It is one thing to say that revenge, or to avenge someone else that has been wronged in a particularly terrible way, is evil. It is another thing entirely to put into practice, and I do not have an easy answer for myself or anyone else.

And was killing him enough? And do you think making him suffer made him repent? And for all you've said about what a warden must do for his inmate, do you really believe that it was your responsibility, or your right to decide what was enough to treat his crime? Or how best you could punish him?

There was someone else here who had his file, who knew every inch of his life, and if you honestly believe that we are assigned by the admiral with purpose and deliberation, someone who was better suited to know how to respond to what had been done.

You chose the easy answer. Where blood demands blood and your inmates pain, and your anger, were paid in kind. When you say that what we can do here is not enough, what you mean is that we can not cause enough suffering to punish someone for that, but it is a narrow view of this place to believe that's the only correct way to answer such terrible crimes.

You were wrong, and it was not your place to make that decision.

Edited 2012-05-27 17:00 (UTC)

Have you found yourself in the same situation before?

No. And I don't necessarily think I'd have acted differently to you.

I just don't think you can defend that action.

Perhaps no one is ever meant to.

Have I told you that it happened to me? ...I know I never mentioned it in my book.

Perhaps I don't think that you should be accepting it then.

And I'm sorry, Comrade, you hadn't. But that doesn't change anything.

You should always accept the things that you have done, Prefect.

You know what I mean, because I've said it at least once before in this conversation. There's a difference between making a mistake and trying as hard as you can to never do it again, and making a mistake, then saying that you'd do the same thing again even if it's wrong.

If you believe that it's wrong, then you should resolve yourself not to do it again if the situation ever arises, and if you honestly don't want to change the fact that you think you'd do it again, then don't bother paying lip service to the idea that you actually think it was wrong.

155 - Video - Prefect stop you are not Howie or Sam

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