NY Times article on the use of Hello Kitty armbands to shame Thai Policeunrelated Hello Kitty targets young men as next market; AP on Yahoo News
Changing Behavior...
in our world of misbehavior there is the question of what changes behavior?
what changes behavior?
do our laws change behavior?
does the threat of punishment change behavior?
is there more or less killing due to the death penalty in our society?
what can be done to change behavior?
in the world of traffic it is clear that the traffic ticket does not change behavior
people get the ticket then speed away
people may get angry if they get a parking ticket... yet they park illegally again (and again.... and again)
sure traffic cameras get people to slow down in the area where they know that these cameras exist
but this does not really change behavior except for this short stretch of road
what can be done?
what should be done?
Public Shaming?
shaming has been used in the states for drunk driving and for shop lifters in some parts of the country
maybe we could implement some sort of shaming to the scoff law drivers
a bumper sticker may not be enough
maybe there could be a light that goes on the roof of the car like those used by pizza delivery guys
red light runners/speeders/those that refuse to yield to pedestrians
when caught in addition to the monetary penalty there could be the mandatory roof light on their car
the light would warn surrounding drivers as well as pedestrians of this driver's irresponsible driving practices
maybe the shame would change the behavior
clearly people love their cars
but their cool car would not look so cool with this light strapped to the roof
or the armband concept...
imagine people getting to pin the armbands on strangers
things could read
I DROVE LIKE AN ASSHOLE TO WORK TODAY
or
I DON"T RESPECT OTHERS ON THE ROAD
or whatever
it would be great to see your boss come into the office with an armband... another armband... oh the disgrace
everyone wants to consider themselves a positive contribution to society