How far you take your morals/sense of justice?

[MadKitten]

Now, the traditional setting for moral versus law is when a close one is morbidly ill and the only medicine for it is illegal and so forth: would you get it or not...But i would like to strain you minds a bit and see how far you can take yourselves. Lets throw another situation; a little more tricky. This is something that includes drugs.

* A (young) person is curious and decides to try maybe... cannabis and ecstasy
* Person doesn't get hooked and is neither interested, but gets arrested right away
* He/she gets criminal record
* He/she servers the punishment, but is left with with suspicions of being a dealer and criminal record

As we all know criminal record affects persons life as well(in worst cases) close ones who may not get in trusted position because of this relation. Now comes the tricky part:

*An official from that department is wiling to remove the criminal record so that person has free future again. But the person needs to bribe official with either sex or money(most of this persons fortune).

Bribe is against this persons morals, but so is that that his/her actions have unnecessary impact on his/her life and others; especially since his/her action was onetime act.

What is right and what is wrong? What would you do?

 

[Tellenbach]

The law is wrong and the official at the department is wrong. Work to change the law and report the official.

 

[chickpea]

I'd rather die than have sex with a cop.

 

[prplchknz]

I could be pretend to be a saint, but reality is I'd have sex with him. in the present it's wrong in the future it helps me out so yes I'm willing to be immoral in order to be ok finacially.

 

[LadyLazarus]

I wouldn't have sex with him but I would give him the money, what good will my fortune be when I am in jail? I'm not the type that does well in jail, I'm too young to become someone's jail bride or whatever.

Besides, those floors are probably filthy! He can have the money!

 

[MadKitten]

The law is wrong and the official at the department is wrong. Work to change the law and report the official.

This is an healthy thought of an individual who is not directly in this situation. I agree. But with current law this type of situation is still possible. And the person in the eye of the storm has very little power to change it.

E: also if you picked the choice "something else" it would be interesting to hear what that something else is?

 

[prplchknz]

i'd never have sex or pay money even if it would prevent me from ending up in the gutter---bullshit most people would if their livilyhood depended on it

 

[Tellenbach]

But with current law this type of situation is still possible.

This is why one never wants to empower the government for any reason. Victimless crimes should at most be subject to a small fine. We encounter the situations that you describe because the government is too big, too powerful, and bored. The criminal justice system is more of a work creation program (for public employee unions) than a true justice system that protects the public.

 

[MadKitten]

This is why one never wants to empower the government for any reason. Victimless crimes should at most be subject to a small fine. We encounter the situations that you describe because the government is too big, too powerful, and bored. The criminal justice system is more of a work creation program (for public employee unions) than a true justice system that protects the public.

Agreed with 100%

E: to the original question: i came to think of something else as well. What if person who is in this position is actually virgin. How would you feel about that?

 

[wildflower]

* A (young) person is curious and decides to try maybe... cannabis and ecstasy
* Person doesn't get hooked and is neither interested, but gets arrested right away
* He/she gets criminal record
* He/she servers the punishment, but is left with with suspicions of being a dealer and criminal record

As we all know criminal record affects persons life as well(in worst cases) close ones who may not get in trusted position because of this relation. Now comes the tricky part:

i need more info, not that that would likely change my answer. first, why is there a suspicion of being a dealer? is this also noted in the person's record? sorry, i have no clue about these things. also, is all this (pot & ecstasy) a misdemeanor or a felony? i guess my answer would be to fight it in court if there is inaccurate info on the person's record that is going to affect them, like being a dealer. if it's just that they broke the law and got caught well...actions have consequences.

eta: just out of curiosity i googled this. possession of ecstasy isn't always a felony but even if it is in my state (CA) one can do a 1 year treatment program and then be on probation instead of having the felony on your record. so, i'd be off the hook even if i did something so stupid.

 

[MadKitten]

i need more info, not that that would likely change my answer. first, why is there a suspicion of being a dealer? is this also noted in the person's record? sorry, i have no clue about these things. also, is all this (pot & ecstasy) a misdemeanor or a felony? i guess my answer would be to fight it in court if there is inaccurate info on the person's record that is going to affect them, like being a dealer. if it's just that they broke the law and got caught well...actions have consequences.

eta: just out of curiosity i googled this. possession of ecstasy isn't always a felony but even if it is in my state (CA) one can do a 1 year treatment program and then be on probation instead of having the felony on your record. so, i'd be off the hook even if i did something so stupid.

Ah. Now i do have bit more insight knowledge about these type of things. First, in my country(i'am from high security country) the police has record completely made for criminal suspects. Meaning that even if you haven't done anything you may end up there just because you seem suspicious(one single official can decide how suspicious you are). And suprise suprise, it can affect in your life without you even knowing it(not getting certain job, having some of your private things examined, being stopped at the toll when you travel; especially in drug case you may start having these).
So in this case, if it seems so you may end up to that suspect record under the label "possible organized crime member". Also in my country there should be arrangement to treatment for these people, but i know that this happens rarely.
So in the criminal record you may get accurate info of what you did. But in the other records there can be anything.
All this is wrong in my opinion, but ordinary citizen cannot access to the other records and see what has been written from him/her.



And i still hope those who answer the poll "something else?" would explain what that would be.

 

[Flâneuse]

Realistically I would either do nothing, or bribe the official if I knew it would actually work (that I wouldn't get into even more trouble).

However, the noblest course of action is what Tellenbach said: report the official and try to change the law.

If everyone in situations like this did the easy thing instead by choosing to participate in corruption instead of pointing it out, it would make it more unlikely that the legal system would change for the better anytime in the near future. But of course, most people don't want to make an immediate personal sacrifice towards achieving an outcome that seems potentially unlikely, in the (possibly distant) future, requiring collective effort, and having an uncertain and complicated path to being realized.

 

[MadKitten]

Realistically I would either do nothing, or bribe the official if I knew it would actually work (that I wouldn't get into even more trouble).

However, the noblest course of action is what Tellenbach said: report the official and try to change the law.

If everyone in situations like this did the easy thing instead by choosing to participate in corruption instead of pointing it out, it would make it more unlikely that the legal system would change for the better anytime in the near future. But of course, most people don't want to make an immediate personal sacrifice towards achieving an outcome that seems potentially unlikely, in the (possibly distant) future, requiring collective effort, and having an uncertain and complicated path to being realized.

I personally feel that in this case sacrificing ones own future for uncertainty is not smart. I think that fighting for the better future is for those who are not in the claws of government. Once the person is not in immediate threat from the all mighty then maybe he/she can have the strength to point out mistakes and also admit them to him/herself.