Man Robs bank for $1 to get prison healthcare

[Captain Picard's Hair]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/seo/man-polit ... rison/3453

I'm sure this sort of thing isn't new, but an act this extreme shouldn't be required for one to get an essential service. In these times, this sort of desperation will be a lot more common. Yet the game is still rigged to help the rich get richer at the expense of the vast majority.

[Tsukiyumi]

Yeah for America! We're number... what? What do you mean we didn't even place?

[Deepcrush]

I honestly don't have a problem with this. TO be honest I know an officer who had his friend punch him for just the same reason. Thirty days in lockup and medical treatment for a broken limb.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I honestly don't have a problem with this. TO be honest I know an officer who had his friend punch him for just the same reason. Thirty days in lockup and medical treatment for a broken limb.

Certainly, and the way this particular man went about this bank robbery was quite - well I don't know what the proper word is. What I have a problem with is a world which makes it necessary for a person to go to such lengths.

[Deepcrush]

It's the standard civilian approach these days. Help the criminals and other unworthy while ignoring the average person in need. I've spent two years dealing with civis and if I'm lucky I won't have to do I anymore in this lifetime.

[Reliant121]

Do I dare wave a little flag carrying the logo of the NHS on?

[Mikey]

Do I dare wave a little flag carrying the logo of the NHS on?

You could, but it would be a moot point in this context. Despite occurrences of this nature, a nationalized healthcare will never be realized in the U.S., at least not in my lifetime. Hell, we tried to institute a government-assisted healthcare without even going to a single-payer system, and look at the hue and cry which was raised against that.

[Tsukiyumi]

Right. It's not that we couldn't, it's that certain people and groups won't let it happen.

[McAvoy]

I find funny, sad, and smart all at the same time.

[Tyyr]

If I were the judge I'd slap him with a fine and not send him to jail.

[Tsukiyumi]

If I were the judge I'd slap him with a fine and not send him to jail.

I don't think that's an option for a crime like bank robbery.

Also, that would deny him medical care, and he obviously couldn't afford a fine. Is that really the reasoning there? Too poor for medical care = Screw you?

[Tyyr]

No, try and rob a bank and screw you.

[Tsukiyumi]

In this situation, it's clearly the same thing.

He would not have done that if he could get healthcare. That was the entire point of the incident.

[Tyyr]

The guy committed an illegal act. He attempted to rob a bank. His entire goal being to get arrested and get health care. If you throw him in jail you're not punishing the man, you're giving him what he wants. So instead you hand him a fine and kick his ass to the curb rather than rewarding him for breaking the law.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

The guy committed an illegal act. He attempted to rob a bank. His entire goal being to get arrested and get health care. If you throw him in jail you're not punishing the man, you're giving him what he wants. So instead you hand him a fine and kick his ass to the curb rather than rewarding him for breaking the law.

To my ears this sounds like nothing more than punishing a disadvantaged man for being poor and sick. Clearly the robbery was an act of high desperation, albeit illegal. He surely saw no other option. Yes, the law was broken (even if only by the margin of a single dollar) but negligible harm was done and there was no malice. Is letting the man die on the street a better option?

Are you suggesting that only the "haves" deserve care and the "have-nots" should get trampled on? When the latter threaten to outnumber the former (like as in some country you may happen to live in) that doesn't strike me as a healthy society.