Chris wrote this in his post about Lindy West leaving Twitter...

Speaking of getting goats (and this isn't really related but bear with me), the last couple times I've turned off comments on Slog posts before posting them, I haven't regretted it. The last couple times I didn't turn comments off on Slog posts before posting them, I did regret it. Recently, I put up a post about a family in Seattle who campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton, whose struggle and resilience brought tears to my eyes, because of the creativity and grace of the two parents and the preciousness of their two young kids, and the first Slog comment was so mean-spirited and wrong and clearly intended to horrify, harass, and embarrass the family, for absolutely no reason other than "Look at me, I can be a total jerk on the internet!" that I zapped the comment unceremoniously and closed comments on the post retroactively. Lots of other Stranger writers already have closed comments as the auto-setting on their Slog posts. Increasingly, I'm persuaded that's a good idea.

We have our fair share of assholes around here—not all of them restricted to comments (cough, cough)—but we have a lot of great commenters. There's a large group of interesting and compassionate people, for example, who comment on/have a dialogue about Savage Love every week. But we also get some great comments that inform the discourse, as they say, on stand-alone Slog posts. Here's an example: in my December 21 post about whether or not to build the new juvie—and I think we should—a commenter who works with incarcerated kids shared her perspective. It's a long, thoughtful, nuanced post:

I'm a special education teacher who works in a Juvenile Detention facility in California. I used to live in Seattle and was a Sped teacher who worked with kids with Emotional Disabilities in a large public school, and many of my students were involved in the juvenile justice system. So I can speak to the experience of working with these young people on both the ins and the outs.

First off, I will say I love my job. This is the only job that could have tempted me back into Special Education after the pulverizing experience I had working with the same population on the outs. I did that job for three years, with little support, and I ended up having a nervous breakdown.

I took this job because I saw both how disruptive detention was to my students' lives, and how difficult it is to work with them in a general education setting when they have access to drugs and chaotic home lives that everyday re-trigger behaviors that make it impossible for them to really function in school. Working with kids in a facility is fascinating, challenging, heat-breaking, and rewarding but ultimately it feels so much more productive that working with them on the outs. The kids are well-fed, well-rested, well-exercised, drug free, and (when appropriate) taking prescribed medication regularly. They are available for learning in a way that they aren't while on the outs.

What's more, the juvenile justice programs that kids are sentenced to in CA aren't just, "Lock em up, give em time, let em out." Youth offenders are often sentenced to programs that address addiction, family dysfunction, anger management, etc.The focus is on rehabilitation and reintegration with the community. This may be different in Washington, but if this new facility is being designed with reduced populations and increased access for alternative programs in mind, I would imagine WA has a similar approach to juvenile justice.

I believe in reducing prison populations; this is one reason I do this job, because I want to be part of the intervention that diverts kids from jail and I'm someone who likes to work within systems to change them. Reduction will take a multifaceted approach that addresses such areas income inequality, poverty, education, prenatal care, parenting, addiction, education, etc. And while I do believe we can drastically reduce the prison population, I don't believe we can eliminate it entirely. There are just some people who are not safe to have in society, and this has been confirmed for my by working with youth offenders.

The vast majority of juvenile offenders' lives are defined by chaos, abuse, neglect, or at the very least poor boundaries. There are some, however, who come from perfectly good homes.

My student with the most serious charge (murdering his sister) was raised in an upper-middle class home with, from all accounts, attentive and loving parents. He had all the resources of such an upbringing. His parents are white, he is mixed race and was adopted. His psychological profile is sociopathic; he admits he has no feelings or empathy. He's fine to work with, he does his work, is calm and compliant and follows the rules. I don't think he regrets killing his sister; I don't know if he can. What do you do with someone like that?

My other student who I have the most serious concerns about was also adopted and comes from a very good home. However, he is the result of a severely drug-impacted pregnancy that damaged his brain. He struggles to control violent impulses. I have absolutely no doubt that if he had access to a gun, he would kill someone (as of yet he's only caused others head trauma; I'm not sure if it lead to brain damage). He's not safe to be in society, but we don't really have the appropriate place for him.

The other thing about my kiddos is—yes, they have come from rough circumstances. Yes, they are young. But they have made choices that have really hurt other people. My students have murdered, assaulted, raped, and traumatized other people. I forget this sometimes, because I like them a lot, and I see the good and the potential in them.

So what do we do? The answer is complex and progress will take a long time. But you start by treating juvenile offenders with respect and dignity. By helping them meet their needs physiological and emotional needs. And by teaching them how to be people in the world. A newer facility might facilitate that, especially if it's designed to provide transitional services.

I would urge people who are opposed to jailing juveniles to get involved from the inside, because we need those perspectives on the inside. There are volunteer groups that work with juvenile offenders. Meet the kids. Get to know them. Learn about what they need. See them as individual people, rather than political footballs.

Skipping past a troll or two on the way to what exelizabeth had to say about youth incarceration? Totally worth it, in my opinion, which is why I don't turn comments off on my Slog posts.