People who attempt suicide are clearly having a very difficult time in their lives. The practice of extended solitary confinement has been known to create deep psychological trauma in prisoners. So how can it make sense to punish someone with solitary confinement when they try to commit suicide?
And yet Cory Doctorow tells us that this is what has happened to Chelsea Manning. Is the US military so determined to destroy her that they would go to such lengths?
Is the US military so determined to destroy her that they would go to such lengths?
Yes. She embarrassed the state, and if there is one crime totalitarians don’t embrace it’s embarrassing them. It’s probably the only crime they don’t embrace.
Theoretically, she attempted to murder someone, so that’s why they’re punishing her. It’s complete bullshit, of course.
If they were gloriously and intelligently evil Nietzschean nihilists like O’Brien in 1984, they’d have made it easier for her to kill herself; surely there is no greater victory one can have over another person than to make them prefer death to life in a world where you have power over them.
In which case, Marcus Ranum, they make for terrible gods. I don’t think they’re really concerned about their legacy as totalitarians, which seems weird but these aren’t the Nietzschean nihilists of fiction. This is reality, they’re so much worse.
What really gets me about the treatment of Chelsea Manning is, well, the treatment of Chelsea Manning. Throughout all of this, have they not yet exacted enough retribution on her or is the final act meant to be her death?
And that makes me wonder about the US and justice in the US. It seems to all be retributive. I’m not sure I’m looking at a democratic country anymore when I look at the US …which makes me further wonder when Alaska will be exploited in ways similar to Siberia …
Mano, I don’t think this is meant to be punishment. I think this is just torture.
Is the US military so determined to destroy her that they would go to such lengths?
Why, yes, of course.
Marcus Ranum @1:
But they already got that victory: she already tried to kill herself. The fact that she failed means that they potentially get to enjoy that victory again and again until she eventually succeeds.
She was potentially facing indefinite solitary. 14 days, after having already undergone a total of 14 months in solitary, probably qualifies as good news as far as the disgusting US Military goes. :/
No, the greater victory is to make them prefer death to life in a world where you have power over them, and then use that power to prevent them from killing themselves. After all, if they’re not suffering, how do you know you have power over them?