010 ☺ Video ☺ How to mistrust the ones you supposedly love the most

[moreincommon]

[Warden Filter]
Steph reminded me of this yesterday – welcome back, Steph! – and I realized we hadn't had a formal discussion about what to do with Toshiko.

I know there have been threats of violence, and I think we can all agree that none of us want to see her hurt, even if we're angry with her. Therefore, I want to recommend that she's escorted by at least one warden every time she's out of her own cabin. This probably isn't going to be fun for anyone but it's for her own safety. There's also the possibility that someone under the duress she's going through might attempt self-harm or suicide, so any wardens who work with her will have to be on the lookout for that. Is there anyone who'd like to volunteer? [Please don't let Mark be the only one with his hand raised; he can't exactly safeguard Tosh in the bathroom or the shower.]

Secondly, Iris and I have been discussing a, uh, public forum with Toshiko, basically. Consider it a hearing, or at least a chance for her to explain her thought process and actions. This isn't necessarily a completely therapeutic act, although this is something I'm planning on working through with her. As a social worker, it's my opinion that the people on board who were hurt or upset by her actions deserve an explanation – sort of like the Truth and Reconciliation Committee after apartheid, although this is obviously not racially motivated. So I want to reiterate: not a punishment, but still a necessary part of the healing process.

As for an actual punishment, I'm not sure what the regular procedure is on the Barge. I know she's already served a week in Zero, although that might not have been very corrective. So... is there anything else humane and productive you can think of that might be worth exploring?

Comments

[ichoosefight]

Thanks. [ She smiles. These are stressful times, but she's being productive and so far nobody has crucified her for wanting something done. ]

I, uh... may have already arranged to have her put on kitchen duty and possibly cleaning duty, and for her to be barred from the pub. I think she should be barred from all the amenities though. At least for a while.

[moreincommon]

Worth considering, I think. Barring her from the amenities for long will probably just make her miserable and more depressed, but keeping her out of the pub makes sense. As does some of the other busier areas, at least until more people calm down.

[Private]

[yeahscience]

I guess we figured maybe she's gonna come spend some time with me. My group, I mean.

[Private]

[moreincommon]

You run the addiction support group, right?

[with_my_teacup]

I don't have ideas, but maybe some advice.

The hearing-- I wouldn't leave it open air. And that's not speaking as a warden, either. It won't mean anything to her if it's a lot of voices shouting. Small groups, small space.

And if we're gonna keep peace, every effort we take to rehab her should be matched up with a therapeutic effort for the inmates who had it worst while she was in charge. Healing up those wounds at the source is gonna lower the need for punishment.

[theonlyresponse]

Seconded.

[with_my_teacup]

...no fuck that, here are some fucking suggestions.

Start treating her like any other inmate who's got enemies from home aboard. A fucking trial, you're joking. I realize in my 'verse they kinda threw away the judicial niceties but I'm pretty sure you don't get a jury of your victims. I don't care why she did what she did, I don't care what she thinks she deserves, I care about damage control.

She used a weapon: she's plugged up and can't use the weapon? Good, done.
She did violence: she did her time in Zero? Good, done.
She did damage: she's on work duty? Good, done.

Everything else, everything else should be up to her warden, because that's what this fucking boat is for. One-on-one advocacy and rehab.

Of course a lot of inmates want her throat out, she hurt them. So how about you stop bickering about what else you want to do and get back to providing some level of palliative care to your fucking inmates, because some of them aren't in good shape right now. I'm doing what I can but let's be honest, I ain't a doc and breakfast food only goes so far. If you have an inmate, find out what you need, if you ain't paired ask your inmate friends what they need.

She stripped the inmates of their advocacy, well, go give it BACK to them so they can feel empowered some way that doesn't involve torture.

Everything else is just you trying to make yourself feel better. Wildthyme, Narvin, looking at you, stay out of her head, you know she ain't in any shape to consent to that kind of process right now.

Long tag is long

[timesbureaucrat]

On the technological side of things, Mr. Gaeta, Dr. Banner, and I completed an examination of the dataport and I shall have a report up shortly, including technological options for security measures to prevent this from happening again. That is my primary concern.

As for other punishments, I approve of the idea of a hearing, both as an opportunity for Miss Sato to explain herself and for the victims to air their grievances. She needs to hear precisely what she her irresponsibility caused, from the mouths of those most affected.

Beyond Zero and whatever punishments her warden may device when she is assigned one, the issue of punishment is difficult on the Barge. Without laws and legal courts and rules for sentencing, issues of fairness and consistency arise. It becomes very easy to appear that the unpleasant and the unpopular are dealt with more harshly than the well-loved. This is not to say that I believe she shouldn't be punished at all, quite the contrary. But I can think of two times during my stay on the Barge where wardens have done something near-comparable and received little to no punishment because before their infraction they were well-liked. There have been other instances of one warden being punished to the highest extent, including threats of violence, and another receiving barely even a murmur of protest against them despite committing essentially identical crimes.

However we punish her, we need to be willing to enforce upon everyone equally who commits a similar crime if we're to have any credibility for fairness. And there's nothing I've seen on the Barge that convinces me of the likeliness of that happening.

[Narvin loves rules and justice but is highly suspicious of Barge justice. He has been on the other side of this before.]

Gatgnol si gnol

[moreincommon]

Your research is invaluable. Thanks for looking into it. In the meantime, what would be your recommendation to prevent this kind of thing?

Giving Toshiko a chance to explain herself without direct accusations from the entire Barge is only fair on both her and their parts, I think. It's the best idea I have for satisfying the people who are still furious with her.

If it's difficult to choose a consistently fair punishment all around, would it make more sense to use a culturally appropriate punishment? As people we're not all capable of being objective, but surely as a body of authority figures we can come up with something humane, appropriate, and properly educational in this case, and work toward finding the same quality of treatment for anyone who might take a similar path as she did. Anyone who does something of this nature needs some form of correction, whether they're charismatic or not.

We can all agree that anyone who endangers the Barge needs to face some kind of consequence. ...What would be appropriate in your world, if someone did similar there?

[paradoxlol]

I don't know if a punishment should be assigned before we even know why she did it.

[moreincommon]

I agree, which is why I'd like to hold off on that decision until after Iris and I speak to her.

[with_my_teacup]

Well, I know hearing that she didn't actually mean to torture me will make it all better. I can't imagine the inmate pop will have a problem.

[requiresssacrifice]

Why should she have an escort? I've never seen any other inmate get warden guards after pissing off the entire Barge. [But he could be wrong because my memory is terrible.]

The forum's a good idea, though.

[moreincommon]

She should have an escort because we don't want the people under our protection to die.

Glad you think so.

[hunt4commonwealth]

I'll volunteer for guard duty. I feel partially responsible for what happened, since she got at least the idea for the dataport from a crew member of mine who was once here.

Maybe she should be assigned to make improvements to the common rooms. Something that gives back to the community as a whole.

[moreincommon]

Thanks for volunteering, but I have to point out that her getting an idea from someone you know does not make you guilty by association.

Fixing up the common rooms, hm? That's not a bad idea. What kind of improvements were you thinking of?

[deadly_ned]

Punishing the guilty is not my forte.

But I don't think anyone needs to be further exposed to violent attack when they're already as alone as it's likely possible to be.

[moreincommon]

Nobody should be exposed to violent attack! Especially when they're already suffering. We're not even sure how aware Toshiko was of her actions.

[burnmythoughts]

[Quietly.]

I can do some guarding.

[moreincommon]

Great! Thanks, I was hoping a woman would volunteer.

[Private]

[wedonot]

I know this probably isn't entirely fair of me, considering we seem to be the only two with any amount of qualification as therapists, but I think I should restrict my involvement to dealing with anyone needing someone to talk to after what happened. I'm not sure Toshiko would want me to be involved in her therapy even if I was willing to do it.

[Because personally involved does not even begin to cover it. B(]

[Private]

[moreincommon]

It's entirely understandable, and I've got no issue with that. Toshiko's case isn't too different than some I've seen back home. [Really the only thing that separates her case from theirs is that he was around to suffer the consequences of Tosh's frustration.] We may be dealing with quite a few people soon, especially in PTSD support. I appreciate you doing anything you can to help.

Would – would you like to talk about it? In a professional context, if you prefer.

[ Video : Warden Filter ]

[surfaceshine]

I've already been helping keep an eye on her in Zero. I'm still up for it when needed.

You might set that thing up in the conference room. It's Warden Only but that might work out in this case - easier security.

[ Video : Warden Filter ]

[moreincommon]

Great! [Just as long as you don't still want to shoot her, Dean.] The more people we have helping out, the better.

That's a good idea. No one should have access to her space when she's questioned. If anyone present wants to offer a question or opinion, they can do it via text over a communicator.

[truth_is_cold]

I'll volunteer to give her protection.

May I offer some additional information that most here might not be aware of?

[moreincommon]

Thank you.

Of course you can! In fact, you never have to ask.