Shame is a bad thing IMO. It's basically self-deprecation as a result of peer pressure.
The thing is, peers aren't always right. In many cases the masses impose their self-centered views on arbitrary topics. It's not always about something as self-destructive as hard drugs, or even self-destructive at all.
You might live in a highly religious community but have LGBT+ feelings. You might wish to enjoy playing games though your community feels those are for kids. You might like particular kinks that others are frowning upon.
Feeling ashamed because of others' judgment in those cases is purely self-deprecating and holding the person back from truly finding themselves.
In many cases resistance to shame is a great thing and promotes diversity. Avoiding hard drugs is not even a matter of shame but the lack of realisation that a person is destroying themself.
There is good shame and bad shame. If you murder someone, then you should rightly feel shame. If you are gay, then you should not feel shame. Shame can work both ways.
With murder it's not really shame you should feel but sadness and regret about what you did to someone else. Those feelings target the victims directly, not society as a whole which has very little to do with this.
Of course if someone commits premeditated murder, they are well beyond shame being an influence on their behavior anyway. There are much more forceful consequences like a prison sentence that they also ignored.
I cant help but feel the golden rule gets you most of the way there, treat others as youd want to be treated. Of course tgere will still be gray areas on the edges, but debating whether you should beat someone for being gay shouldnt be an ethical conundrum.
The thing is, peers aren't always right. In many cases the masses impose their self-centered views on arbitrary topics. It's not always about something as self-destructive as hard drugs, or even self-destructive at all.
You might live in a highly religious community but have LGBT+ feelings. You might wish to enjoy playing games though your community feels those are for kids. You might like particular kinks that others are frowning upon.
Feeling ashamed because of others' judgment in those cases is purely self-deprecating and holding the person back from truly finding themselves.
In many cases resistance to shame is a great thing and promotes diversity. Avoiding hard drugs is not even a matter of shame but the lack of realisation that a person is destroying themself.