Yes, I read the article. It's full of expectations.
There is the expectation that someone should be punished severely for hacking a multi-billion dollar corporation.
There is the expectation that that punishment will result in them just never hacking again.
There is the expectation that a person who is arrested and threatened will respond with patience, and not with their own violence.
There is the expectation that the well-known symptoms of Autism will just magically disappear whenever they conflict with the above expectations. If not, it's the fault of the person with Autism, not whoever set impossible expectations.
---
All of these expectations have a common theme: they are leveled at this one person. He's a teenager with Autism! It doesn't matter: we have expectations, and they have to be met.
Fuck that. I have expectations of my own.
I expect that a justice system will actually try to meet people at their own level.
I expect that a justice system will attempt to resolve mental health with treatment instead of violence.
I expect that a multi-billion dollar company will respond to hacks with the only effective method there is: strengthening their own security. Anything else is just a waste of breath.
My expectations are not being met. There's not a damn thing I can do about it, either: I'm not the one with billions of dollars at my disposal.
He is being met with treatment instead of punishment.
He stole and extorted, assaulted people, and destroyed property and was convicted of actual crimes. They did try to meet him at his level. They released him pending bail and he committed more crimes. He told the court that if they released him he would continue committing crimes. They aren’t sending him to prison though, because he isn’t mentally fit. They are sending him for medical treatment, at no cost to him, until he is determined to no longer be a threat to himself or others.
This seems far more humane than sending a mentally unwell teenager to prison where he certainly wouldn’t get the level of care that he will now.
The primary crimes we are talking about are not the violent ones. They are hacking.
You are welcome to disagree with me, but I don't believe hacking Rockstar to get a peek under the curtain should be a crime. So what if we took that part out of the story? What would change? Everything. The whole story would be completely different.
---
Call it treatment all you want. The goal has already been laid out, and it's not rehabilitation.
Have you ever been in a mental hospital? They do important work, but that doesn't change the reality of what they are. It's a prison with carpets. Trained guards are prepared, not only to detain you, but even to sedate you.
Yes, they exist for treatment, but that doesn't make them a good fit for everyone. We can, and should try other avenues first. I'm not content to throw up my hands and give up on this person. I'm not content to accept this system as the best our society can provide.
> He is being met with treatment instead of punishment.
Treatment? From the article:
> He will remain at a secure hospital for life unless doctors deem him no longer a danger.
That sounds like punishment. For indefinitely long. Without even a trial.
If this were about treatment, we'd have details about how he'll be treated and for how long and the chances of success. Instead, we hear only about his punishment and vague scare-mongering about why it's necessary.
There is the expectation that someone should be punished severely for hacking a multi-billion dollar corporation.
There is the expectation that that punishment will result in them just never hacking again.
There is the expectation that a person who is arrested and threatened will respond with patience, and not with their own violence.
There is the expectation that the well-known symptoms of Autism will just magically disappear whenever they conflict with the above expectations. If not, it's the fault of the person with Autism, not whoever set impossible expectations.
---
All of these expectations have a common theme: they are leveled at this one person. He's a teenager with Autism! It doesn't matter: we have expectations, and they have to be met.
Fuck that. I have expectations of my own.
I expect that a justice system will actually try to meet people at their own level.
I expect that a justice system will attempt to resolve mental health with treatment instead of violence.
I expect that a multi-billion dollar company will respond to hacks with the only effective method there is: strengthening their own security. Anything else is just a waste of breath.
My expectations are not being met. There's not a damn thing I can do about it, either: I'm not the one with billions of dollars at my disposal.