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Comment by misiti3780 | Hacker News Reader

It depends on what kind of a of crime though right, something as innocuous as using pot or other drugs, sure, it's easy to say that should have a second chance --- but if you spent 10 years in prison for a bank robbery, you're probably are not going to get hired at a bank after the background check comes through, and I think that makes sense.

I absolutely believe in second chances, but I understand humans have biases also.

On a side note, if you ever want to read a great book that will probably give you empathy for all drug addicts (if you dont have that already) I recommend "Chasing the Scream" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZM4ANM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...

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>but if you spent 10 years in prison for a bank robbery, you're probably are not going to get hired at a bank after the background check

I kind of find this example hilarious. It‘s not like people rob banks out of passion. They probably were in dire straits at the time and saw no other solution.

Now this person uses her time in jail to get the education necessary to work in a bank and you wouldn‘t hire her (providing them a steady income and thus financial security) out of fear they would come and rob their colleagues?

EDIT: I agree with you of course, it DOES depend on the crime. Think: pedophile working in ...church

>They probably were in dire straits at the time and saw no other solution.

So what happens if they get in dire straits while working at the bank with far greater levels of access to all sorts of financial information?

What if that happens to any other employee? How many of them have experienced that before to know that they wouldn't have done the same? How many of them have been in those positions and did commit crime, but didn't get convicted? Having someone with criminal experience can also provide value as they would know what what to look for to find others who would do the same. Frank Abagnale Jr. being the extreme example of this.

I'm not saying they should never be hired, I'm saying that you cannot discount human bias, and unfortunately a lot of the time the person working at the bank will toss that resume. That is just the reality we live in.

> I'm not saying they should never be hired, I'm saying that you cannot discount human bias, and unfortunately a lot of the time the person working at the bank will toss that resume.

It sounded more like you were advocating for them not being hired. "Humans have biases" could be read as referring to the applicant or the employer. I think many are reading it as referring to the former, when you intended the latter.

> That is just the reality we live in.

That is the culture we live in. There is a lot of behavior we take for granted as inherent when it's really learned. Look at Germany and Japan for example to see perspectives on working and employment that don't align with ours. If different countries can have different cultures, can't we strive to improve our culture instead of simply giving up because "That is just the reality we live in"?

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