So in an alternate Universe and you could " walk a day in their shoes"

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

So say we are in an alternate Twilight Zone/ outer limits universe where they have virtual sentences by the court such as the episode of the outer limits "the sentence" :

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0667983/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

So in this universe Racism is illegal, instead of harsh prison sentences for racist crimes, racists will be sentenced to be the other race. This will not harm them physically, is only temporary, they will just be sentenced to whatever the judge deems appropriate to be the person's race, sex, gender, class, they were racist against, not in a prison, but in a real life setting that is either real or simulated but seems real.

They will just experience what it is like to be similar to the other person.

Do you think this would change their idea of what other races, genders, sex is like for better or worse?
Expand their understanding and relatability and compassion to others? or would it be more like having a cancer patient telling another cancer patient " I never missed a days work when I had cancer neither should you!"? Yes that happens too.

Would it be effective to have someone be able to see the world through different eyes?

NOTES:
*Yes this could apply to any race, gender, class, sex ect.
*It would be possible for them to choose between this or a much harsher longer sentence in prison or what not, so there is the possibility of choice of sentence.
*They would know this would be temporary, unlike people who have to live through things for their entire lives without a choice.
* Being another Human is not like being an alien or animal, they are just being another person for a brief period.
* IF they are sentenced to be opposite sex/ gay/straight/Bi/ Trans, no they would not actually be having sex with people. That is not a requirement to sexual attraction, sex or gender. It would be more in how people treat them than what they have to actually do.
* It is not just about being discriminated against,it is about relating to them and understanding that they are not all that different than themselves.
* This does not involve knives, torture, abuse or permanent mutations, they will know this is temporary and they will know they will be back to themselves when they are done. This only allows them to experience what it is like to be someone else for a brief period.
*Yes this German woman turning herself black, the outer limits, and some racist jerk being an ass to people gave me this strange idea. I am not condoning or suggesting mutilating people in any way.
http://cw33.com/2017/06/27/white-women-uses-tanning-injections-to-turn-black/
*Hopefully this can not get too weird! XD

 

[Saelune]

I dont know if it would, but I would hope it would because I want to think that people are mainly bigoted out of ignorance rather than being inherently bad people.

But my optimism is limited these days.

 

[Thaluikhain]

To an extent, there are people that need smacking over the head with the knowledge that other people are other people.

But many would find some other reason to hate, assuming they gave up that one.

 

[the December King]

If I was a criminal, I don't think I would ever allow this to happen to myself, if I had a choice at all in my sentencing. I do not think I would want to be changed in any way.

Granted, I also can't see myself committing a racist crime. And this is another reality- I mean, I might feel different about the punishment if I was aware of it from an early age, as a deterrent to committing crimes.

But then again, if racism itself is a crime, then maybe I have some inherent prejudices that I am not aware of, that might get me punished?

Could it not be seen as a form of mental torture, to be trapped as something you fear (in the traditional sense, like a phobia)? I suppose there would be a choice.

Interesting question!

EDIT: I wasn't attempting to dehumanize any people by referring to a phobia of a race or orientation as something feared- it was just a typo.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

What happens to the person's mind that they become for a day? Do they have to trust that their life isn't being actively messed up by whoever has control of them? Or is it a process of merely changing the body of said criminal?
What if the criminal in question decides to hide indoors for the whole period so they experience no human interaction? And how would the sexual orientation part be known to other humans if said criminal has complete control over their actions?

Aside a few unknown details like those, it would be an interesting experiment. I believe here in the UK there was a programme a few years back that tested race swapping with public volunteers who were made up and filmed throughout a day to see how their experiences differ, with their thoughts on it all. Can't remember what it was called, but the results were indeed showing a notable difference for all involved.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

I don't know, I don't think this would work. Let's say you take a violent KKK member and put him through a program where he gets his ass beat for being 'black' I think his take away would be 'but I'm not black, they deserve this beating, not me"

There are probably better ways to forcibly instill empathy. One that I just thought of is you poison this KKK member, put him in a room with the antidote in a locked box, and give a black guy the key. Make him convince the black guy to save his life

 

[FalloutJack]

I think tons of people would miss the point. The reason The Twilight Zone punishes such people in their twist fashion is because they kinda' deserve it.

 

[Vanilla ISIS]

What if the sentenced person would be changed and the sentence would actually be better than his real life?

 

[demoman_chaos]

So you are saying BLM/ANTIFA would be made white so they can see what it is like to told by the BBC that they can't even apply because they are the wrong color, and that they are somehow guilty of "crimes" their ancestors likely didn't even commit and need to pay reparations and probably should just kill themselves over?

Or is this just a punishment white people would get (because they are the only once capable of "Racism" and having a punishment just for one race doesn't count as racist because anti-white bigotry is a good thing we should strive to have as much of as possible).

 

[Mau95]

Do you think some people with body dismorphia would start committing specific crimes to come closer to the body they feel they're meant to have?

 

[sageoftruth]

So you are saying BLM/ANTIFA would be made white so they can see what it is like to told by the BBC that they can't even apply because they are the wrong color, and that they are somehow guilty of "crimes" their ancestors likely didn't even commit and need to pay reparations and probably should just kill themselves over?

Or is this just a punishment white people would get (because they are the only once capable of "Racism" and having a punishment just for one race doesn't count as racist because anti-white bigotry is a good thing we should strive to have as much of as possible).

In a thread about the effectiveness of forced empathy, does such a question really matter? If it helps, then feel free to assume that yes, Antifa will get the treatment as well.

 

[sageoftruth]

One thing I'm wondering about is just how complete the transformation would be.

It is like Quantum Leaping into another's body, or would mental traits be inherited as well.

If I had to switch with a deranged hobo, would I still be able to think and speak like someone with a college education and a white collar upbringing?

Either way, I imagine it would help a lot. Personally, I wish I could do it for just a day or two. Experiencing the troubles others face firsthand would be far more educational than constantly hearing about it secondhand.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Possibly?

I mean there are people who are total Ahole in that whatever life chaning experience he or she may had experience, he or she can still disregard it and carry on with his or her business before that happened! Quite literally not giving a danm about it.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I'm not sure how it would help ... besides, I'm sure said technologies would be more so used to get a new body. I mean, racism is awful, and should be admonished ... but if it's a choice between suffering your chemo and getting even a temporary respite, people might be inclined to make that gamble of seeming as if an awful human being to get some extra breathing points.

Or more so, you might find people in wheelchairs saying to authorities; "Totally was a bigot ... now preferably in mid-twenties and not suffering from multiple sclerosis, please."

Honestly, the hope would be that this technology finds its way to public health sector first and foremost...

 

[votemarvel]

I'd love to try it. I could see it being an interesting experience being transformed into a woman for the day.

Problem is I see it ending up like Dollhouse where people just end up using the technology to give themselves new bodies when they get old.

 

[Satinavian]

It is not actually possible to change peoples race, sex or sexual orientation.

If it was actually possible, i would imagine that all those things would become far less important to build an idendity around and peopla would change them anyway all the time. Being a certain race would be a fashion statement, not anything more, 80% of all people would be a race they are not born as. People would probably be less willing to change sexual orientation but would certainly try out being another sex. And maybe soe would like the change and stick with it. I know i would experiment a lot with various opportunities if such a magic existed.


But ignoring this fantasy setting and coming back to the real world : Yes, you can tan people, but race is not just how dark the skin is. You can't change eye color or bone structure as easily and even nose or lip jobs are not easy or riskless. Usually the result would look weird. Also, as you only change the look but all aquaintancees of the person know the real race, the experience would not being remotely like actually being some other race. And it doesn't help with prejudices at all. If someone believes, a certain race is lazy, dumb and agressive... how would looking like that race would change anything about that ?

For gender ... honestly how should that work ? Criminal women having to wear false beards and criminal men having to use a purse ? There is not a single thing in my wardrobe a woman could not wear and not a single activity in my scedule a woman would not do. If i were punished to be a women i guess i would shave more often and use the other bathroom and female grammar and ... that's it ?

And sexual orientation : I am not married or in an active relationship and that has been the case for some years now. I would guess 95% of people i know don't know my real sexual orientation because it basically never comes up. How would "living like i had another sexual orientation" even look ?