17 year old arrested for altering electronic road sign to display racist message

[Jedi Guy]

44. I understand the anger, absolutely.

But what separates us from them is that we don't act on emotion. We have to take a breath, take a step back, calm down. And who's coddling anyone? I never said anything about absolving this kid (or any racist) of guilt or giving them a pass. What I said was that the punishment should be proportional to the act committed.

Jailing someone for an assault makes sense. This kid didn't hurt or kill anyone. No doubt he thought it'd be funny to provoke people. The way forward here is to educate him and make him understand that even though no one was injured, his words and actions still caused harm, even if the effects aren't visible to the eye.

Racists have to be offered the chance to come back from their ways. If there is zero possibility of redemption, that discourages them from even trying to leave that lifestyle and belief system, because why bother? If you can't be forgiven for a sin, where is the incentive to stop committing it? For those who sincerely repent and make a good faith attempt to make amends, I don't see the harm in offering grace and forgiveness.