The cane and the gallows

A recent case of public caning stirs troubling thoughts about how the cane and the gallows have come to occupy a deep and unsettling space in our collective psyche.

They stand as symbols of punishment, instruments through which society seeks to enforce order and compliance.

Yet, their presence demands that we confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves – not about “others” or “them”, but about our shared humanity and the choices we make. These mechanisms of punishment raise profound questions about justice and compassion.

When we choose to inflict pain or death as punishment – whether upon our children or those we judge to be in breach of questionable laws – we must search our conscience. These actions reflect on not just our laws but the essence of who we are. 

Justification for punishment 

Punishment is often justified as necessary for maintaining order. However, society determines its form and rationale.

Every time a cane is raised to punish or a gallows is constructed, we actively participate in a legacy of violence. These acts are not the product of external forces – they are ours or expressions of societal values. We must take responsibility for their existence and application instead of folding our arms and saying that is the law, that is what is ordained.

The cane, with its swift and public sting, and the gallows, with its finality, are both relics of a time when fear was the primary means of control.

Yet, we cling to them as though they are the only tools available to shape behaviour or ensure justice. What does this say about us? 

Our penal code still contains offences rooted in archaic, outdated notions of morality and order. These laws, often unexamined and unquestioned, form the basis for punishments that we implement with disturbing ease.

And so, the use of the cane and the gallows, far from being relics of the past, remain active instruments of enforcement. 

It is not enough to point to these laws as justification for our actions. The laws themselves are of our making and our maintaining. If they are outdated, discriminatory or cruel, their continued existence reflects our failure to evolve. They reflect a failure to meet the standards of humanity we owe to ourselves and others. 

When we decide to inflict punishment, we must confront the moral weight of that decision. Punishment, whether directed at a child for disobedience or an adult for violating a law, is an act with profound implications. It does not merely involve the breaking of a body or the ending of a life – it is the assertion of authority and power.

But how often do we stop to ask ourselves whether this authority is just? Do we consider the humanity of the person we punish? Or do we hide behind the impersonal machinery of the law?

When we wield the cane or lower the noose, we are not passive instruments – we are active participants in an act of violence. To deny this is to deny our own agency and to shirk our responsibility. 

Cycle of violence

By using instruments of fear and pain, we normalise violence as a tool for social control. We cannot both make violence a crime and inflict the same violence as punishment to keep order. The contradiction is baffling.

This cycle extends beyond formal punishments – it seeps into our homes, our schools and our communities. Children disciplined with physical punishment learn that violence is an acceptable response to wrongdoing. Adults subjected to or witnessing public punishments internalise the same message. 

What we perpetuate is a society where might equals right, where authority is maintained through fear rather than respect or understanding.

Meanwhile, the root causes of the behaviours society seeks to control remain unaddressed: poverty, inequality, lack of education and social disenfranchisement.

The irony is that we rush to forgive the thief who steals and destroys a nation but rush with cane to punish someone seeking the companionship of another human being. 

Our eyes peep through the keyholes of private spaces and turn away from the violations of the nation and its future.

Reclaim our humanity 

We must reclaim our humanity in how we deal with those who violate laws -especially laws that are themselves questionable.

The cane and the gallows may enforce compliance, but they do not address the deeper issues that give rise to deviance. More importantly, they diminish us as a society. 

True justice requires introspection and the courage to confront our own flaws. It demands that we replace instruments of fear with mechanisms of understanding and empathy. It challenges us to rewrite archaic laws and replace violence with compassion.

The cane and the gallows are not the actions of others – they are ours. They represent choices we have made and continue to make as a society.

These symbols of punishment force us to confront not only the humanity of those we punish but also our own humanity. To wield these tools without questioning their purpose or justice is to abdicate our moral responsibility. 

We must search our collective conscience and decide whether we wish to be remembered as a society that perpetuated violence or as one that transcended it.

The choice is ours, as it always has been. 

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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