When writing a response to a classmate, it is fine to offer kudos to them for raising a point or using data you didn’t. However, in order to make that response meaningful, be sure to explain exactly what it was you appreciate and then detail why it is worth noting. Additionally, a meaningful discussion may build upon a classmate’s post by saying something like, “Your post reminds me of the conflict perspective which emphasizes the role of conflict between economic classes in society….” Be detailed and write a little more than you think you probably need to write. The goal is to spur further conversation!
Student response below:
- It was very surprising that The United States has about 2.3 million people imprisoned. It was interesting to find that the United States has the most incarcerated people per residence and by number. This number of people is more than all American war deaths combined. As a psychology major, I am inclined to think “Why is this a statistic?”, but this is sociology, not psychology. Secondly, I never knew the difference between punitive and preventative strategies. One example that stood out to me the most was the example of domestic abuse in a home. The punitive strategy, in short, was to arrest the husband (the example abuser) on every occasion. Domestic abuse arrests come out to be $13 billion per year. The preventative strategy, however, is putting the wife (the example victim) into transitional housing with free childcare to create stable independence.
- The comparison of the number of incarcerated people to war deaths puts in perspective how drastic the issue really is. This really changed my view about how serious the issue of crime and incarceration is in the United States. Previous to seeing this website I never truly thought about people who were in custody and in prisons. I’ve always just thought that people got what they deserved and that’s the justice system. I never really thought about preventative solutions. Realizing that this is actually a huge and serious situation is definitely the first step to treating the different issues. If people can’t realize that this is a problem, then the problems will never be provided with solutions. Regarding the example of the husband abusing his wife, if this was a policy, it could drastically decrease opportunities for trauma for the victim and children. This could literally change lives.
