Harassment: Gordon the Moron's New Weapon Against Crime

Down on our little allotment Nosher and I never cease to be amazed at the capacity for silly ideas that Gordon the Moron and his Assistants in Idiocy display.
The latest one - announced to a stupefied Parliament by Wacky Baccy Jacqui Smith (our Home Secretary who smoked dope in her youth and now believes it causes brain damage...) - involves the Police and institutions of Government harassing anti-social individuals until they conform to the standards of conduct expected in a civilised society.
And so, as we relaxed in our deck chairs in the shade cast by Nosher's old shed, having worked in the baking sun for a few hours, we debated the merits of official harassment as a reformative measure over a glass or two of Nosher's excellent parsnip wine.
'Is there any scientific evidence that harassing wrong-doers actually reforms them?' Nosher asked by way of opening the batting.
'Not sure there is' I replied 'and whilst I'm not, in principle, against making the lives of anti-social scumbags difficult, the methods used should reflect the moral principles society expects them to live by, and have a reasonable chance of success. I'm not sure either criterion is satisfied with this proposal.'
Nosher appeared to contemplate this for a while, as we watched the Blue Tits feeding off the fatballs we'd hung from a nearby Silver Birch tree.
'But even so' Nosher said 'the Police aren't really keeping on top of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour as it is, and if they had to spend their time harassing all the anti-social scumbags there are around these days they'd have to neglect other, perhaps more serious, criminal behaviour. It is a stupid idea which smacks of political posturing by Gordon the Moron and Wacky Baccy Jacqui.'
'And then there's the issue of what effects this harassment will have' I suggested 'for example, resentful alienated individuals whose lives are made difficult by authority-figures in an arbitrary manner are hardly likely to become good, upstanding citizens as a result. They may conform, but their resentment and alienation may simply go underground and find expression in more devious and perhaps more destructive activities. This not a formula for the successful reform of anti-social individuals.'
Nosher pursed his lips, then said:
'I really can't see the problem with instilling some discipline in children while they're at school. Good habits of conduct along with a little moral training when young last a lifetime. But our social culture is now so morally degraded that such an idea would be howled down by all the bleeding-heart liberal do-gooders. Instead we are now going to harass deviant individuals so that they hide their deviance and become even more enthusiastic about subverting the values of civilised society.'
'You may be right' I replied 'in any case, ASBOs haven't worked because they're not enforced (no prison places), so I suppose this is the equivalent of Gordon the Moron clutching at straws.'
'He's a man of many straws' said Nosher.
More from www.overthegardenfence.blogspot.com soon.
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