Punishing the Poor

Just days ago, there was this question that was proposed to the general public. The question asked was, should parents be responsible for their children’s actions? With all the juvenile crime happening, someone has to pay, so the argument goes. It would seem to be a cut and dry argument, but for a few overlooked facts, things could indeed be different when considered at some length.
Firstly, it seems most of the delinquents are often of aboriginal descent or more broadly, minorities: And they are often poor. When the jails hold, particularly, large numbers of aboriginals, it would seem such tactics could swell the ranks further. The forgone conclusion to me seems to be that the jail that houses young aboriginals, will now hold their parents or guardians with them.

Elementary, poverty breeds social ills. I would think the first order of business would be to rescue some of these people from their dire existence. The rich get richer, and the have-nots get hungrier. Material things do create a circumstance where differences in what one possesses becomes a proving ground or a system that blindly classifies people. Beyond that, people are generally the same. Say what? Yes, the person who has no car, is the same as the person who has many cars. But even though that is a truant, people would rather live with an imagination. So in that lala land of differences based on what one owns, we have inadvertently created boundaries between people, and moreover the ways in which we deal with them can even become accepted laws.
Consider the Jim Crow laws in the south, Apartheid, Reserves, or certain legislated acts of exclusion.
They certainly never worked and never will: and moreover to make two laws is clearly unjust. I would be strongly against any law that punishes poor people, or anything that distinguishes one segment of society to be dealt with differently.

It is wrong to punish the poor, because of their circumstance. Unless you have made some serious efforts to help them, and those corrections are then applied, I would think further punishment should be held off.
What happens if such a thing went through? Clearly more bureaucratic red tape will be left to placard the rabble; then these other issues in place will likely avert any honest efforts that might actually bring change.

Maybe what we really need is more compassion for our fellow man. In the great quest to amass should we not think twice about how we deal with one another? Especially if we reside in the same neighborhoods. Social progress will never come where there is a two tier system: Where more bureaucratic rope is put in place as justice. Real and lasting change must get to the roots rather than treat the symptoms.

There is a fork in the road and until we go back and deal with things at that particular junction, we wouldn’t be coming up with things that will further divide our society. Grant it, it may take some forethought and it may even need some input from those involved. But we may be rewarded with a thorough and just plan.