Digital Ethics Book Project Reflection Format
 

Mug Shots

John D. Thomas

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

http://digitalethics.org/essays/mug-shots/

Mug Shots

First Impression:

I think it has something to do with criminals and their mugshots.

Quote:

"it’s quite easy to destroy someone’s reputation by posting this kind of possibly specious information online"

Reflection Proper:

Reputation is something we try to keep and it is something really difficult to get but easily destroyed. People have died to keep their reputation, the Japanese's culture of reputation is admirable, they deem respect as something really high and if once they lost their face, they will commit seppuku wherein one cuts open their stomach to let their bowels flow out as a sign that they have lost their reputation. Here in the Philippines, we were conquered by the Spaniards for more than 300 years, and one thing we learned aside from scrumptious food is respect. We have adapted our laws into Spanish law that respect must be upholded highly that if one disrespects someone, it can be a crime or if one commits something because of rage of lost of respect, he can be not sentenced. Respect and reputation is something we want to have and the article has shown us that in the United States, when one is incarcerated, he gets a mug shot, but the problem lies in that these mug shots are given to publishers. We know publishers want readers and sometimes people are not just fond of bad news and one needs a little be leisure and fun so these content writers make gimmicks like making fun of people in their mug shots. The problem is, if one has a mug shot, it does not mean he is guilty right away and this leads to another problem of reputation. So if one gets a mug shot, people think he has committed a crime and then he was defaced by the writer.

5 Things That I've learned:

The Chicago Tribune has a gallery of mug shots.

Gallery is a cash cow

New York Daily News is a news outlet

John was paid $75 for a mug shot article

Bruce Springsteen is a celebrity

5 Integrative Questions:

What is mugshots?

What is the problem with mugshots?

How can mugshot be ethical?

How can the government provide privacy regarding mugshots?

How can we prevent being mugshot-ed?