My condolences to the family of the victim. ขอแสดงความเสียใจด้วยนะขอรับกระผม None should have to lose a child, a sister, a cousin, or a friend in such an act of violence. May all affected heal well from the trauma and may the victim go on to sweeter pastures great beyond.
I see it as unfortunate that such things happen, for all involved. The family of the victim will certainly suffer. It is also unfortunate for the family of the murderer/rapist, as they too will likely suffer. The youth of 23 will surely suffer. That the youth of 23 years was addicted to Ya Ba (Meth-amphetamine) is unfortunate. Contrary to what some might believe, it is important to see that the structure of prohibition itself is in part to blame for such violence in our community.
When society prohibits drugs, there are numerous painful consequences for society. One has simply to look around: 7000 dead last year in Mexico, the Billionaire head of one violent Latin drug cartel made it on the Forbes' World's Richest People list, prisons are filled with mostly non-violent drug offenders wasting important resources that could otherwise go to prosecute violent crime such as this unfortunate case of combined rape and murder, 3000 dead in three months from the failed and unnecessary drug war here in Thailand in early 2003.
Ya Ba is a drug that does much harm to the physical and mental states of those who use it regularly. It has been suggested by federal judges in Portland, Oregon, ( according to Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, USA for two terms who thinks we should outright legalize Marijuana and initiate harm reduction strategies for all others. The quote about the judges in Portland is at the 7:39 mark of this YouTube Video http: //bit.ly/8dRnYA) that prohibition is what makes people choose this dangerous drug, ya ba/ meth-amphetamine, over other safer alternatives. Essentially the laws make this drug available because it is cheap and easy to make, and it disproportionately affects the poor. Of drug addicts who do harm to others in the community, Ya Ba users are said to be some of the worst. Yet because of the illegal status, those addicted to ya ba are not likely to seek help, as it could mean they get into trouble with the law.
Drug addiction is a health-care issue, and yet we as a society have made it into a criminal issue. So someone caught on a first time offence might end up in prison, where there are often strata of abuse, from other criminals within, from guards, from the citizenry at large who are complicit through our ignorance and condemnation. Rape is reportedly very common in prisons around the world, and murder is not so uncommon too. It is also known that those abused often go on to abuse later. So it could very well be that we are currently manufacturing criminals such as this young man of 23 years in our prisons around the world through our failed drug policy.
So while I completely feel empathy for the victim and her family, and in no way wish to trivialize this individual case, and while I know that in this man's case, prison and/or death is his lot, I also know that we as citizens of this world must do something to intervene with such disturbed and sick individuals before aberrant behaviour goes to far. Prison can be a good place for violent criminals like this man. Prison is not the place for non-violent drug addicts, for they'll have to associate with the likes of his irk. Prison often hardens non-violent offenders due simply to the nature of the violent, survival of the fittest, environment. IF this man is known to be a ya ba user, it could be that he has been in and out of the prison system many times already. Perhaps he needed a ticket in as he knew not how to cope with his addiction on the outside. Could it be that this young man, and his victim, and the families and communities involved, are but the latest victims of our failed policy of punishing with violence, those who have physical and mental health issues, caused through drug addiction? Are they the latest in the long line of victims of drug prohibition? Only exhaustive research into the case, or intimate knowledge thereof, would really tell us perhaps, but it smells of deeper filth than that which is on the surface.
I only speculate about specifics, of this case, as I don't know. But I do know that massive amounts of suffering are caused through our world-wide, United Nations sanctioned, policy of drug prohibition. I think we must do something to remove the underlying causes of violence in our community. The ignorance and blind-leading-the-blind approach of drug prohibition must evolve into something more humane, lest those unfortunate, often neglected and abused, individuals who get addicted to drugs, make more of us suffer through acts of violence like this in the future.
If instead of lumping all illegal "drugs" into one group, from Marijuana - which according to DEA Judge Francis L. Young, who wrote "Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." is very safe in nature - to the most dangerous such as Ya Ba, the first defense against which we impose the criminal law, we were instead to look scientifically at the situation of drug abuse and dependency, we'd likely come up with a solution similar to what Portugal came up with early in this millennium. ( http:// bit.ly/7H1sNo and http:// bit.ly/5mQFFA for an audio about the positive effects of 7 years of drug decriminalization in Portugal )Portugal has decriminalized all drugs and when someone is caught, they are given optional therapy. Then we would see that most of the harms that come from drugs and drug addiction are not caused by the drugs themselves, but by the laws, which we as a society use to prohibit them.
Guess what? Portugal has seen a great decline in the harms associated with drug use, an example of which harm we see in this story.
So I just thought I'd share my views, as it is easy to blame individuals for their bad behaviour and punish them, though it remains impotent to cause lasting change, and it would be much more effective as a preventative measure to seek out the underlying causes and work to eliminate them. Drug prohibition, with its violent black market run by supply and demand caused through a grossly inflated price due to the prohibition, with its uncertain purity of drugs, along with complete misinformation put out through the state sponsored media as to the relative danger of various substances, is definitely in part to blame for immeasurable suffering including incidences of violence like murder and rape. Prohibition of Alcohol was an evident failure of gross proportions, as alcohol was still widely available and often abused, and uncertain purity caused many deaths and other suffering, such as blindness. Prohibition of drugs has also been an utter failure.
In Portugal, this young man likely would have received proper medical attention early on in his addiction, and then gone on to become a productive part of society. If not, at least we would have known we had tried and could see how perhaps we may have improved for the future. They have a least taken steps in the right direction.
The lucrative proceeds from illicit drugs would serve us much better as a society in the coffers of the community chest, going towards education and social welfare, rather than into the hands of violent gangs of thugs living lavishly with utter disregard for the community at large.
It is said that it takes a community to raise a child. If that child is not raised properly, as is the case with many, it is fair to say that many in their 40s and 50s and beyond are not yet fully developed psychologically and emotionally. So at 23 it is fair to say this man is a youth. A child inside is suffering, and certainly will suffer at the hand of the criminal justice system, as it certainly is effective at punishing and making to suffer. May that we only learn how to prevent such delinquent behaviours, through properly educating our youth. Teaching the respective dangers and safeties of drugs is certainly one of the tactics in our over all strategy. If we are to do away with repugnant behaviours such as murder and rape, we must look to changing the underlying causes of such behaviours and change those, and the awful behaviours then stand a chance of disappearing. Changing the way in which drug use is viewed and dealt with in society is a good place to start. Also changing the way in which education as a whole happens, is hugely important and way too vast for me to get into now.
As a society we pay exorbitantly to the judiciary for drug prohibition. Regulate and tax instead, and there would be huge dividends to put into education and treatment for any unfortunate enough to be ensnared in addiction.
I personally am against the death penalty for there are many cases of innocents going to death at huge cost and suffering to the community. So assuming he is indeed to blame for the crime, I'd hope this young man of 23 goes to treatment in the maximum security prisons for a very, very long time. Yet it is my greater hope that we as a society watch to make sure that there is effective change happening in individuals locked up and continue to evolve the methodology of incarceration to make it more effective and humane, so that when people go in, they come out better than when they went in.
May all rest peacefully feeling the safety of being immortal energy experience the mortal experience of being human. I like to ask as I drive around Bangkok on my 110 cc motorcycle. Why am I always safe and therefore, why am I always happy.
I wish anyone reading this friendliness (ไมตรี), compassion (กรุณา) , delight (มุทิตา), and even-mindedness (อุเบกขา) even when faced with madness and hate, that you may experience the law of attraction bringing you more of what you want and less of what you don't want.
Love and Light,
God Bless You,
To awaken as the Buddha within!
Dylan นายเจริญ นิรันดร นหาดก
Edited by Jarearn, 2009-11-29 13:32:10.
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