Norwegian Prison System is Nonviolent and Modelled on A Good Neighbour Philosophy

There will be prison authorities in Australia which will react to this believing that you have to punish to reform rather than model functional healthy behaviour.  Australia follows a ‘revenge’ model and it doesn’t work.  Nonviolence is the solution to inappropriate behaviour or negatively modelled behaviour. Michael Moore in the first video highlights different attitudes to offending.  The US has modelled violence as a solution and it doesn’t inspire change.

In Australia I see similar prejudices as we assimilate attitudes that are zero tolerant to offenders and believe that positive attitudes such as: kindness, compassion and respect are going ‘soft’. The second video is from the Economist investigates how prisons treat prisoners and the problem of re offending and raises the same questions of ‘hard on crime’ attitudes and whether this works or not.  It is noteworthy that inmates feel the other prisoners are family.  They have nothing outside. I do not believe in making people pay their whole lives.  I believe in supporting people to find themselves and their true direction in life.  Rather than setting them up to fail as a form of hidden repression deeply embedded in the psyche of unquestioned thinking that can be viewed as ‘normal’. 

The key theme in both films is to ‘be a good neighbour’ this is about healing, responsibility and empowerment.  The key to this is if it works than consider change.  I believe in transformative peace and this means focusing on ways to experience peace through realising inner conflict and turning it around.  The Work of Byron Katie is an effective way of assisting people to change their thinking refer http://thework.com/en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IepJqxRCZY&feature=youtu.be  

The Economist video:  Can Norway help US break the reoffending cycle? | The Economist