https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/19/not-acceptable-un-expert-condemns-sentences-given-to-just-stop-oil-activists

Michel Forst, UN-Berichterstatter zur Aarhus-Konvention, hat die europäischen Regierungen aufgefordert, Klima-Aktivist:innen zu unterstützen statt sie zu kriminalisieren. Die zunehmende Repression gefährde das Erreichen der Pariser Klimaziele und Demokratie und Menschenrechte in Europa. Forst erwartet, dass Protest und direkte Aktion zunehmen, weil die aktuelle Politik vieler europäischer Regierungen die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu globaler Erhitzung, Biodiversitätsverlust und Umweltverschmutzung nicht respektiert. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/28/european-nations-must-end-repression-of-peaceful-climate-protest-says-un-expert

Positionspapier von Michel Forst: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/UNSR_EnvDefenders_Aarhus_Position_Paper_Civil_Disobedience_EN.pdf

Even in cases where one apologizes for offences which don't break existing rules and the apology is accepted by the transgressed, the social ostracism doesn't end. This is a part of the indeterminate length of the social sentences that transgressors suffer.

What exactly are these unwritten rules? In some cases they may be examples of institutional power wielding influence in cases where people aren't giving the full benefit of humanity and consideration to others. Some may call some of these instances microaggressions or social constructs similar to them.

Putting people beyond the pale creates isolation, public shaming, loss of income, loss of profession, and sometimes loss of personal identity and psychological worth. The most insidious problem of all is the indeterminate length of the "sentence".

For wealthy people like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Kevin Spacey, they're heavily insulated by the fact that at least they've got amassed wealth which mitigates some of these issues. In these cases the decades of extracting wealth through privilege gives them an unfair advantage.

There are now apparently enough cases of this happening, it would be interesting to watch the long term psychological effects of this group to see if these situations statistically effects their longevity or if there are multi-generational knock on effects as have been seen in Holocaust survivors or those freed from slavery.

Call to action on a project to examine sentencing processes

Victoria Kim on Twitter: “South Korea really bringing the hammer down on quarantine violations. 27-year-old man who twice left mandatory self quarantine, with two days to go until the end of his 14-day isolation, has been sentenced to four months in prison. First covid-19 sentencing, per @YonhapNews” / Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://twitter.com/vicjkim/status/1265092589931229185

so why is everyone talking about getting rid of mandatory minimums? This makes it sounds like they've already been gotten rid of