you don't exactly want to put an autistic child in jail.

as an anarchist, this is a question i've grappled a lot with: what about crazy people? there is no 'after the revolution', but suppose there's some success in building an egalitarian society that abolishes concepts of hierarchy, and that it fixes the distribution issue in society so that want is largely abolished, as well. being an anarchist means that you think that this reorganization of society would eliminate virtually all crime, as crime is largely a consequence of under-resourced agents making rational decisions in the unfair economic system that exists, or of power imbalances in the unwritten system of social hierarchy that governs our daily behaviours. the only crime that could exist in an anarchist society would be that carried out by the mentally ill, running the full range of development disorders (like autism or fetal alcohol syndrome) to personality disorders (like narcissism). and, the importance of this needs to be stressed, because a legal system in an anarchist or socialist society would focus solely on the question of mental illness, for two reasons: (1) it would be atheistic and pro-science and (2) there would be no reason to focus on economic issues that no longer exist. this would be the remaining explanation; trials would therefore become medical tribunals, with doctors determining the cause of the behaviour, and prescribing a cause of action - which may range from medication to, in some cases, incarceration.

but anarchists want to get rid of jails. absolutely. i don't want jails. but i don't think we can avoid institutions. because, when we've come to the point where everything else is ideal, this will still exist. people will still be born with disorders, and they will still try and harm people. we will still need to deal with this.

but, an institution is not a jail, or at least it's not supposed to be. maybe, the last bunch of institutions that we built turned into jails. but, this is inevitable under capitalism. and, perhaps, so long as we have a capitalist system, the idea of institutions should be approached exceedingly cautiously.

but, this kid ought to be in a medicalized environment. he's probably never going to get much better. and, he's a danger to everybody in the mean time.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/mom-who-quit-job-to-care-for-son-with-autism-questions-trudeau-about-national-crisis-1.3752767

jagmeet singh must cut his beard.