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Shame Is Worth a Try

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Shame Is Worth a Try The argumentative Shame Is Worth a Try written by Dan M. Kahan is his point of view about shaming the public rather than sending useless harmful persons to jail. This article explains to readers about different shaming punishments and the way you perform these punishments. Also, Kahan discusses the courts choices and the way they see punishment by shaming. Kahan does a good job explaining and arguing the reasons behind why shaming is both good and bad. He explains the point of views from both liberal and conservative reformers. None the less the tone he uses, the diction he presents, and the example choices keep us wanting to know more. Kahan argues in favor of the use of shame as a punishment that is, “an effective, cheap, and humane alternative to imprisonment.” He tells us to think about the times when we were punished as children, and who punished us: teachers, parents or other authority figures. What kinds of bad behavior were we punished for? What type of punishment worked best to deter you from changing your ways? You may not remember everything from an incident but do you recall being ashamed and bashed in front of other people? The tone he chooses to get the point across is both sarcastic/funny and meaningful. He oddly adds phrases here and there to further the argument by using a stern tone to explain his seriousness. His quotes, that include different shaming requirements by law, help us better understand the circumstances in which shaming is used. Like how, “if you drive drunk in Florida or Texas and you might be required to place a conspicuous ‘DUI’ bumper sticker on your car.” In some cases it is both funny for the embarrassment of others and meaningful because drunk driving is a serious crime in the matter.
His other shaming report is, “refuse to make your child-support payments in Virginia and you will find that your

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