Posted by
Andrews on Sunday, October 12, 2008 8:10:07 PM
I found a
terribly one sided post about a poor Guantanamo detainee "nearing insanity" due to "isolation". Now, as he has contact with his jailers and interrogators, I am not sure that it quite qualifies as "isolation", but I have to say, what the essay describes doesn't sound all that terrible. In fact, it doesn't sound all that different from a maximum security prison. So, if the fellow is nearing insanity, I have to say he wasn't all that tightly screwed together to start with, as it doesn't sound like he is actually suffering some sort of horrible detention. (Also, I do know that prisoners are provided with reading materials and other diversions, even those in isolation. And, given my life some days, being kept in isolation with only good books for company actually sounds like a blessing, not a punishment...)
What makes this worth mentioning, and what troubles me is not the article itself, it is the usual leftist claptrap. What bothers me are the comments. All the young socially conscious types who talk about the "monsters" who would "do this horrible thing". I worry about this not so much because of the Guantanamo detainees, that will be settled in November, either Obama will free them all, or McCain will, both are unpleasantly soft on terrorist prisoners*, so I don't worry about Guantanamo.
What troubles me is this hyperventilating over every trivial act at Guantanamo is breeding another generation like that of the 1960's, which sees locked doors or limited menus in prison as inhumane abuse. I worry we are creating another generation which buys into weekend furloughs, work release, free education, and other silly ideas of prison reform. After we finally managed to get over some of the worst of the 1960's ideas and get a few sensible individuals like Joe Arpaio, I am worried all this hyperbole over Guantanamo will create another set of youngsters who think Willie Horton's problem was that he had to come back to jail after only a weekend furlough.
-----------------------------------------------------------
* Sorry, but it is true. I am still voting for McCain, but he has allowed his media obsession to overcome common sense on this and has basically called harsh language torture. He has sold out for a pat on the head from the MSM on the subject of detainees. However, Obama is so much worse on so many topics that this one stupidity is not enough to cause me to reject McCain. The lesser of two evils is still, well, less evil.
-----------------------------------------------------------
POSTSCRIPT
When I first saw this headline, I almost wrote a very short post, replying to the title "Guantanamo Bay documents say detainees near insanity". My comment "That's great news, I thought they were all already there."