“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Most people have experienced shame at some point in their lifetime, usually when you or someone you know does something clumsy or foolish. You feel as if you need to change or disassociate with the clumsy fool until he or she changes. But what if that feeling becomes harnessed as a consequence? A man named Edmond Aviv bullied his neighbor and her children for 15 years due to her children’s disabilities. Besides jail, community services, and counseling, the man was also sentenced to five hours of public shaming, holding a sign stating his wrongdoing during on busy Sunday. The fact that Aviv was being so excessively and unnecessarily rude for an entire 15 years is just completely ridiculous. Utilizing shame as a way for Aviv to learn from his action is a powerful way for him to learn how ludicrous his behavior towards his neighbors was. Shame is a very sensitive emotion; too little of it and it could have no effect but too much of it can lead to suicide. If the person does not think that their whole self-properties can be changed, then it can make him/her think that the only way to avoid the shame is through death. Otherwise, a change in behavior or thought process is all that is needed. Because of this, public shaming can arguably be more effective than jail time for reforming and punishing criminals. With each car that passes Aviv and each dirty look is given to him, he feels his misbehavior backlashing against him. Therefore, public shaming should not completely replace jail time but instead be used as an alternative (if it doesn’t break the Eighth Amendment) if deserved and/or jail time has proved to be ineffective.
