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Stop labelling people who commit crimes criminals

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naturalplastic
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28 Nov 2017, 5:04 am

leejosepho wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
kokopelli wrote:
By definition, a criminal is someone who commits crimes.

No, a criminal is a person who has committed *a* crime without embracing crime as a career.

.

You must have made a typo and left out the word "not" between the words "is" and "a"...

No, a criminal is a person who has committed *a* crime (singular), not crimes.


So...you're admitting that your statement IS meaningless and self-contradictory?



leejosepho
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28 Nov 2017, 9:14 am

naturalplastic wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
...a criminal is a person who has committed *a* crime (singular), not crimes.


So...you're admitting that your statement IS meaningless and self-contradictory?

Not at all! Committing a crime does not mean someone is a person who commits crimes.


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naturalplastic
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28 Nov 2017, 10:07 am

leejosepho wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
...?

Not at all! Committing a crime does not mean someone is a person who commits crimes.


No, a criminal is a person who has committed *a* crime without embracing crime as a career.
=========================================================================

You wrote both of the above statements in this same thread.
How are those statements NOT contradictions?

Above (the last thing you just wrote) you are saying committing one crime does not make you a criminal.
But in the second line that you also wrote you said committing just one crime DOES make you a "criminal".
So which thing IS it?

Not trying to pick a fight. Just trying to puzzle out what you're trying to say.



Daniel89
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28 Nov 2017, 10:09 am

TheAP wrote:
I think rapists and sex offenders deserve to be labeled as such. I agree that one-time offenders of less serious crimes don't deserve to be labeled as criminals their whole lives, though.

Also, I don't think all of those epithets are bad. Some, such as "ret*d", are insulting, but there's nothing wrong with calling someone autistic or blind or poor if that's what they are (if they're okay with it). Those aren't insults, but descriptors with no value judgment attached.


Very true if a thief stops thieving they stop being a thief but if a rapist or murderer will always be a rapist or murderer.



kokopelli
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28 Nov 2017, 1:45 pm

Speeding is a crime in most places. Does that justify labeling anyone who ever speeds, even if just once, is a criminal?



kraftiekortie
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28 Nov 2017, 1:52 pm

Unless it is 30 MPH over the limit or something, speeding is very rarely classified as a misdemeanor (i.e., a crime). It is usually classified as a violation or infraction.



kokopelli
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28 Nov 2017, 1:55 pm

I think that a misdemeanor is generally a "lessor criminal act".



naturalplastic
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28 Nov 2017, 2:13 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
Unless it is 30 MPH over the limit or something, speeding is very rarely classified as a misdemeanor (i.e., a crime). It is usually classified as a violation or infraction.


Not clear as to what you are saying.

A "misdemeanor" is a "minor crime", as opposed to a "felony" which is a "major crime".

A minor traffic ticket would be a "misdemeanor". Or maybe you meant that it wouldn't EVEN be a "misdeanor". That it would be in an even lesser category (I dunno, could be).



naturalplastic
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28 Nov 2017, 2:16 pm

Daniel89 wrote:
TheAP wrote:
I think rapists and sex offenders deserve to be labeled as such. I agree that one-time offenders of less serious crimes don't deserve to be labeled as criminals their whole lives, though.

Also, I don't think all of those epithets are bad. Some, such as "ret*d", are insulting, but there's nothing wrong with calling someone autistic or blind or poor if that's what they are (if they're okay with it). Those aren't insults, but descriptors with no value judgment attached.


Very true if a thief stops thieving they stop being a thief but if a rapist or murderer will always be a rapist or murderer.


That's true. In existing common parlance if you stop stealing you're not usually called a "thief". But kill one person and you're always a "murderer", and the same with "rape" (but the article sited by the OP says that we should stop talking that way about rape, and stop calling the perps "rapists").



kraftiekortie
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28 Nov 2017, 2:26 pm

Speeding is usually "not even" a misdemeanor. It's usually a violation or an infraction, depending upon the state.

Simple assault/battery is almost always classified as a misdemeanor.

I happen to work in the criminal courts in New York City.



LoveNotHate
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28 Nov 2017, 3:06 pm

A "criminal" is commonly someone who 's convicted of a crime.


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leejosepho
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28 Nov 2017, 3:52 pm

@naturalplastic: Where someone had said "a criminal is someone who commits crimes", I am simply agreeing with the title of this thread: "Stop labeling people who commit crimes criminals" as if committing a crime automatically establishes someone in a new-found career and deserving of a lifetime label.


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kraftiekortie
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28 Nov 2017, 10:00 pm

If somebody mugs me, he/she is a criminal. I feel like labelling that person a criminal.



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07 Dec 2017, 10:48 pm

firemonkey wrote:
I think the author is serious. Can we really see a homicidal paedophile in the same light we see a homeless man that steals a sandwich and drink?
Should we really baulk at calling some people criminals?


Stealing food is a completely different deal than killing someone. I agree with that. A person who is hungry and steals food because they are starving is not a “criminal.” A serial killer is a criminal.