Empathy is defined as “understanding, being aware of, being
sensitive to, the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another.” Simply put, it means getting it when someone
is hurting. I’ve written before about
the millions Governor McDonnell spent investing in the “Compass” computer
questionnaire which, in 120 questions, allegedly measures an inmate’s
likelihood to recommit. I say allegedly
because, as with any psychological profiling tool, you can – or should – see what
the proper answer is.
Our grant for IT certification uses results from the Compass
test to screen candidates. You must be “college
eligible” (in other words, possess a high school diploma or GED) and you must
score high on the compass recidivism risk indicator scale. On a ten point scale you must have at least a
“5”. Most of our candidates score 8, 9,
or 10.
The compass test measures self-awareness of things like
personal responsibility, violent tendencies and anger issues, and empathy. Candidates for our grant are pre-screened
using their compass results. Likewise,
every inmate in the system during their annual review is tested. Results are tracked year upon year.
I’ve taken the test two consecutive years and registered “1”
both times. In bold lettering with green
color the screen indicates “low risk of re-offense” in ten measured
categories. The two young guys I spoke
to both took the Compass last week as part of their annual reviews. One is a recent grad of our IT program set to
go home in October. The other is a
current student set for release next February.
Both came back with scores of “9”, highlighted in bold red. Both, for perhaps the first time in their
prison lives, were worried. “Is this accurate? Does it really matter?”
It does, I tell them, and here’s why.
Typical question: “You
see a person crying. Your initial
reaction is:
(1) Much
concern
(2) Some
concern
(3) No feeling
one way or the other
(4) Some
scorn/ridicule
(5) Much
scorn/ridicule
Empathy tells you when you see a person crying, your initial
reaction should be at least some concern.
Both these guys chose “4”. So I explained
to them how empathy, a “social conscience” means feeling emotionally connected
to my fellow man. Here are their
responses:“What if it’s a chick on her period?”
“What if it’s a guy acting like a bitch?”
“Why isn’t “3” the right answer? Why should I give a shit about some guy crying?”
And I couldn’t get them to understand you care, you
empathize, you feel, because we are social and we have a conscience. They looked at me with blank stares.
Prison does not make people lack compassion, kindness, or
empathy for others. But it does allow
negative, anti-social behavior to fester.
Caring, compassion, and kindness are signs of weakness in here. They are exploited and ridiculed. The system, rather than teaching and
fostering empathy, allows just the opposite to fester and grow like a
virus. It is this highly toxic Petri
dish of ignorance, and violence, and despair that takes lives in and spits them
back out. And nothing, I fear that DOC
is doing, is combating the problem.
What’s the answer? I
don’t know. I just know prison doesn’t
make a person empathetic. And without
empathy our social compact cannot survive.
Ignorance and violence will win out over compassion, mercy and
justice. Something is missing. This system is not the answer. And I think the reason I couldn’t sleep is
not because of these guys. It’s because I
realized the folks out there don’t care enough to demand more from their
representatives. No person with a social
conscience can think the corrections system is just. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see
much empathy to overcome this sick system.
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