036. - Video. - Kangaroo Court

[brokenweapon]

[Warden Filter.]

I'd like to address the concerns raised by Tim Drake in his most recent post. Namely, that I used torture on David as punishment for when he kidnapped and impersonated me for a week. I didn't.

David was not harmed or mistreated, and that can be corroborated by both another warden and another inmate. I was teaching him a lesson about the misuse of his powers; he's been unethical with them in the past. The only way to get through to him was to use a punishment that would stick. I saw no viable alternative, and if one had been available I would have used it.

And I was angry. I'm no saint, but saintliness is not in the job description.

The punishment was harsh; so was what he did. I underestimated how much it would affect him, but I will not apologize for doing my job.

Lynch me for that if you want.

Comments

[Filter]

[peektuttut]

So basically you saw your only option as putting him through hell and you're unrepentant despite recognizing that it seriously affected him.

[Disgusted noise and he's out. He will wait to be disappointed in or surprised by the other wardens.]

[Filter] u mad, drake?

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

I said I'm not going to apologize for doing my job. But I'm not aiming to change your mind, because I'm already the bad guy to you.

[Filter] mad who's mad

[peektuttut]

I'm not an idiot holding to a point, Bourne, you just haven't done anything to prove you're not.

[Warden Filter]

[most_feared]

Can you tell me why it could have possibly been traumatic for him or would that be confidential information about your inmate?

[Warden Filter]

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

It's not a form he likes. [King of the understatement!]

[Warden Filter]

[most_feared]

It's just not a form he likes? [He senses some understatement here.]

Warden Filter

[aforger]

Why not change him into something else?

Warden Filter

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

He had to know I was serious.

Warden Filter

[aforger]

I believe forcing him to stay as someone or something else would be equally serious and considerably less damaging, based on what you and Mr. Drake have said.

[Warden Filter]

[timesbureaucrat]

I don't think lynching is on the list of recommended warden punishments.

More to the point, I believe Mr. Drake's concern is for psychological harm more than physical. That said, as far as I can see David's mental state is less troubled than, for example, O'Brien's identity crisis since Miss Persson's hard work has stripped away much of his doublethink. Or Arthas after his soul was returned to him. Inflicting psychological pain on one's inmate in pursuit of graduation is not exactly novel here.

But I do wonder what sort of lesson he was supposed to learn?

[Warden Filter]

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

He treats his power as a car he's taken for a joyride - carelessly. With it, he's a sociopath. Without it, he's a normal, if messed-up, kid. Just taking it away would have been a slap on the wrist and he would have sought out more creative ways to kill me.

His lesson was that his power shouldn't be taken lightly. He used it to inflict psychological harm on me. I turned the tables. Maybe next time he'll think twice before stealing someone's identity. Or not do it at all.

[Warden Filter]

[notiaraincluded.livejournal.com]

Alright, so I've pretty much heard this other guy's argument and while I'm not convinced that you tortured your Inmate, I do wanna hear your side of this.

[Private]

I'm aware of the fact that apparently there some history with being a rat against his will, so what I wanna know is why you chose that "body" specifically.

[Warden Filter]

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

I was attacked, kidnapped, and tortured for a week while he went around wearing my face and using my body. He had to be punished and Zero wasn't going to do a damn thing. He was held for half the time he held me and a fraction of the time he spent in that form before. He was treated humanely as a rat and was checked in on by others to make sure. I have done nothing but get his ass out of trouble since the end of his punishment. That's my side.

[Private]
Partially because of the history. Partially because my other options were insect and rattlesnake. And I'd have to be an idiot to keep him around in a poisonous morph.

warden filter

[kingfor-aday.livejournal.com]

Except, and I hate to be blunt in this, if that's what you really did, it's about the equivalent to me putting my inmate in a bath of water and letting her electrocute herself. Which I actually think one of you sick ba

I think Tim's point stands. There's teaching a lesson, there's punishment, and there's stepping over a line where you're actually causing mental trauma. Which is not only counter-productive, but downright immoral. Now, I don't know the exact nature or circumstances of your inmate. But I do know that I have an inmate with significant powers - and they're damn tricky and dodgy things to deal with. But there's one thing I learned: If you abuse those powers, if you use them against them, if you use them as a matter of control or punishment, you are not teaching them anything.

Essentially, what I think you did here was abuse his powers. Which is not exactly teaching him anything about abusing them himself. It doesn't matter how unethical he's been with them in the past. To be unethical with them back at him is plain wrong. So I don't think you were doing your job at all. I think you were making him suffer.

And I don't know the entire situation. But I do know that using an inmate's power against them doesn't teach lessons. It's just damaging. There's no lynching here, but I'd like to see a far better explanation than the one given.

warden filter

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to do that to him again, if that's what you're worried about. It was no picnic for me either. And again, my explanation is I was tortured for a week while he stole my DNA, which is uniquely harmful to me. I didn't even mind the physical pain so much. It's what he did to me in using his power that was awful.

And I taught him that his power shouldn't be taken lightly. He's had the opportunity to take revenge on me since then; he's even had his powers back during the dinosaur port. He had the opportunity to kill me more times than I can count. He hasn't.

I can tell there's an expectation that as a warden, I should rise above his level of actions. I didn't. And frankly, for that offense, I couldn't. I don't expect you or anyone else to understand that.

Re: warden filter

[kingfor-aday.livejournal.com]

If you couldn't rise above his level of actions about it, then you should have had at least sense enough to step away and let someone else deal with it. Because victims should never get to prosecute their attackers - even in these circumstances - it leads to vindictive, retributive and cruel punishments. Which this was. And you shouldn't be allowed to do it, or get away with it, just because you think he's learnt something. You can learn things from being killed - doesn't make it right.

I've been tortured by at least one, if not two inmates. Killed by my own. I consulted at least three other wardens before taking action against her for that beyond her initial apprehension.

The fact remains that it doesn't matter that he's learnt something - you also abused his power back at him. That's not an acceptable form of punishment. That's misusing someone, and against themselves. I expect something to be done about it, because yes. You should risen above his actions. If you couldn't, you should have at least admitted you couldn't. I understand it's horrifically difficult sometimes, but that's why you take that into consideration when you're both the victim and the punisher. Instead of going along with something that you've admitted you essentially only did because of what he'd done to you.

Private. Video.

[some-kinda-hero.livejournal.com]

Look, while I wasn't okay with the whole gun point thing or making David think he was stuck as a rat for the of his miserable days on this thing, I do think you had the right idea. Torture is being tossed around like some hot potato and I, just, do not.....if no one here by now knows that fucking with your identity is taboo, then we all need some better communication and bonding time. It's like they're ignoring the fact that Hoffman, Slick, and David attacked you. Do their Wardens know about that, by the way?


[Public.]
Do they all know that David has vowed to kill both you and me?

Private. Video.

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

Something I learned a while ago is that losing track of time is the easiest way to...to really get under someone's skin. I should have told him. I was angry, but I was also an asshole. And I'm not a fan of that word getting tossed around either.

Claire, nobody knows about that because I haven't told them. I don't like people knowing that about me unless I trust them. Sort of like David doesn't like people knowing about his history with the rat. Too late for that second one to stay under wraps now. I don't even tell people about what I did before I came here.

I told Morrigan about Hoffman's involvement, and Flynn knows what Slick did. But you know, even though I wasn't the aggressor, I'm the bad guy now. David's a kid, and not everyone on board knows exactly how much of a sociopath he can be...even though I thought I made that obvious with that post last month.

[Warden Filter]
Doubt it.

Private. Video.

[some-kinda-hero.livejournal.com]

[Sighs.] What can I do for you? Right now.

[Warden filter.]
Well, assuming they are reading this, they do now.

Warden filter

[puzzleprince.livejournal.com]

Timothy should have attempted to speak with you privately on this matter before publicizing tenuous information, though I'm inclined to dislike you for causing psychological damage to a child.

With this extra information, I don't endorse punishment. You were harmed just as much as he was, by several people, and you've already said you wouldn't do it again. Anyone throwing around righteous expectations on the barge is asking far too much. [He snorts.]

I really don't know why we don't put up a basic rules sheet, so at least, when someone has acted out of line, they actually know they've acted out of line before the entire barge turns them into a villain. Honestly.

Warden filter

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling that's not his MO. And let's be honest - if you're inclined to dislike me, then you're far from alone.

Thanks. Good to hear a new opinion. Whether I'm punished for this or not, I get the feeling I'm going to be PNG for a while. [Shrug. It's not like people pay too much attention to him anyway.]

[Warden Filter]

[batmanschmatman]

Saintliness might not be, but knowing how to control your anger and do what's best for your inmate? Might be something you want to work on in the future. ["Might be" really meaning do it or else, of course. And while Dick isn't using a Batvoice, this is definitely a Titans leader, do not fuck with me right now voice.]

How exactly are you hoping to help this kid if you're just going to bully him into doing what you want and "learning lessons"? All you're doing is making him feel like you're the enemy here. He thinks you couldn't give a shit about what happens to him here, and honestly, if you do, it's buried pretty damn deep.

I get that what he did was traumatic, but as a warden, you're supposed to either overcome that and move on, or step down for the benefit of your inmate. Make your decision and stick with it. That's your job, not punishing someone badly enough that they're more messed up then when they came here.

[Private]

And next time you involve Costigan in something like this? You're going to have me to deal with. [Bourne you do not want this in your life. :|]

[Warden Filter] - He is really annoyed with having to repeat himself so much :|

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

I've already said I'm working on anger management. [Hoo boy, he is not a fan of repeating himself. Menacing voice also gets a resounding 'meh'.]

He made me an enemy in his head before we were even paired. And all the stuff I've done to help him out - which is not insignificant, by the way - is getting buried under something I did because I was angry and a little deranged. And I have moved on from it. I'm not going to do this to him again.

Again, I'm not a saint. Not pretending to be. Never did. The Admiral obviously wanted me for a reason - maybe it's my way of looking at the world, maybe it's my methods - but I'm not going to please everybody with how I do things. And frankly, I shouldn't have to.

[Private]

Costigan came in of his own accord. He even talked me down on the length of time for the punishment. And he's friendly with David, from what I understand. If you don't want him talking to me, then take that up with him, but I was not about to ignore him pounding on my door after that post.

[Warden Filter]

[knowsthepeople]

So, why exactly are you here, guy? Honest question. Just curious.

[Warden Filter]

[brokenweapon.livejournal.com]

That's my business.