No one knows better than a former resident of a Max Security prison that there are some people who simply cannot be permitted to roam free in society. There are people who are brought up to believe that if you are able to take it, you have a right to take it, whatever "it" is. In prison, the term for a rape is to, quote, "take the pussy"... it is not a term of endearment, to rapists, who are universally loathed in there, including child molesters. But the reason it's a derisive term is because most prisoners are, given the right circumstances, capable of operating normally in society; because of their background, or because of an addiction, or because of unfortunate situations that emerged, they broke the laws. Yet the latter are treated by the system as being exactly the same as the former.
That's the biggest part of the problem. You break a law, for whatever reason, and you're introduced to a system that has only one answer, and which Does Not Care. You're dropped in among the ones who actually belong there, and forced to live in what amounts to animalistic conditions. When you emerge, you're tagged as a felon and barred from safe housing, from good jobs (there are a few exceptions, if you happen to know or learn a useful trade, such as welding), and you are forever stripped of many your human and civil rights, even though the system claims this is not so. (If you don't believe me, next time you see a person being beaten for no apparent reason by officers on camera, you can bet the story will highlight the fact that the person being assaulted is an ex-convict, hinting that he must, somehow, have "had it coming".) Not only are our prisons so barbaric and cruel that doing time here in the USA is only a fraction above the conditions in some Third World countries, but we lock people up for far longer than is necessary to deter crime.
"Why is that?" You might ask. We launched the "wars" on drugs and crime during the Nixon administration, at a time when groups were agitating for changes to what was happening in our society (e.g. the hippies) and in our ghettoes (e.g. the Black Panthers), which Nixon took as a Major Threat To Western Civilization™, as he saw it. Just give everyone you see with certain mind-enhancing chemicals 30 years, and next thing you know, all the leaders of the movements you loathe are silenced, along with many of their followers and potential recruits. The authorities use the mass incarceration system to systematically suppress groups which don't make our WASP society comfortable... that's why you see even good cops turning into members of the Badged Thugs Gang, when they go into poor neighborhoods, or deal with people who aren't WASP-approved groups. In order to promote the Drug Wars, they have systematically dismantled most of the protections afforded to you by the Constitution, such as the safeguards against illegal search and seizure, in a way that means the wealthy with good lawyers can still count on the Constitutional protections but the rest of us are screwed.
This is why the USA has such a large prison population. We have left entire parts of our citizenry without real hope, in rotten-out areas of our cities and heartland, and then locked up anyone who veers from The One True Path™ for far, far longer than any reasonable person (or any other country other than somewhere like Russia) would deem necessary to "pay back society" for the crime. We treat nonviolent lawbreakers and violent regenerates the same way, resulting in scarred humans coming out of the prison by the hundreds of thousands each year, resulting in what amounts to a permanent underclass (especially since the children of convicts have a 70% likelihood of becoming felons, themselves), due to generational/inherited wealth and privilege gaps. We try to "carpet bomb" the problem with violent police tactics to repress the "troubled" areas, making the distrust of the system and of the police even worse-- this puts the cops in danger (even the good ones) and causes the corrupting factors to skyrocket for even the best officers.
The simple fact is that probably one in four people in prison REALLY NEED TO BE THERE, but the other 3/4ths really don't, or they could pay for their crimes in about a dozen other ways. But that sort of solution does not serve those in power. Until there are enough of us who have friends, family, etc, who get to see the hidden side of the justice system (or more accurately, who see enough to realize that shows like Law & Order are propaganda and outright lies), and demand REAL change, we're going to keep being an embarrassment on the global stage, and in violation of international law on the treatment of prisoners. And the cancer that is eating our urban cores will keep growing and metastasizing with each generation that is born into that trap.
But on the bright side, if you invest in the Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE symbol: CXW) or in prison service companies like Aramark (NYSE symbol: ARMK), to name a couple of examples, you too can profit from the suffering of your fellow human beings.
That's the biggest part of the problem. You break a law, for whatever reason, and you're introduced to a system that has only one answer, and which Does Not Care. You're dropped in among the ones who actually belong there, and forced to live in what amounts to animalistic conditions. When you emerge, you're tagged as a felon and barred from safe housing, from good jobs (there are a few exceptions, if you happen to know or learn a useful trade, such as welding), and you are forever stripped of many your human and civil rights, even though the system claims this is not so. (If you don't believe me, next time you see a person being beaten for no apparent reason by officers on camera, you can bet the story will highlight the fact that the person being assaulted is an ex-convict, hinting that he must, somehow, have "had it coming".) Not only are our prisons so barbaric and cruel that doing time here in the USA is only a fraction above the conditions in some Third World countries, but we lock people up for far longer than is necessary to deter crime.
"Why is that?" You might ask. We launched the "wars" on drugs and crime during the Nixon administration, at a time when groups were agitating for changes to what was happening in our society (e.g. the hippies) and in our ghettoes (e.g. the Black Panthers), which Nixon took as a Major Threat To Western Civilization™, as he saw it. Just give everyone you see with certain mind-enhancing chemicals 30 years, and next thing you know, all the leaders of the movements you loathe are silenced, along with many of their followers and potential recruits. The authorities use the mass incarceration system to systematically suppress groups which don't make our WASP society comfortable... that's why you see even good cops turning into members of the Badged Thugs Gang, when they go into poor neighborhoods, or deal with people who aren't WASP-approved groups. In order to promote the Drug Wars, they have systematically dismantled most of the protections afforded to you by the Constitution, such as the safeguards against illegal search and seizure, in a way that means the wealthy with good lawyers can still count on the Constitutional protections but the rest of us are screwed.
This is why the USA has such a large prison population. We have left entire parts of our citizenry without real hope, in rotten-out areas of our cities and heartland, and then locked up anyone who veers from The One True Path™ for far, far longer than any reasonable person (or any other country other than somewhere like Russia) would deem necessary to "pay back society" for the crime. We treat nonviolent lawbreakers and violent regenerates the same way, resulting in scarred humans coming out of the prison by the hundreds of thousands each year, resulting in what amounts to a permanent underclass (especially since the children of convicts have a 70% likelihood of becoming felons, themselves), due to generational/inherited wealth and privilege gaps. We try to "carpet bomb" the problem with violent police tactics to repress the "troubled" areas, making the distrust of the system and of the police even worse-- this puts the cops in danger (even the good ones) and causes the corrupting factors to skyrocket for even the best officers.
The simple fact is that probably one in four people in prison REALLY NEED TO BE THERE, but the other 3/4ths really don't, or they could pay for their crimes in about a dozen other ways. But that sort of solution does not serve those in power. Until there are enough of us who have friends, family, etc, who get to see the hidden side of the justice system (or more accurately, who see enough to realize that shows like Law & Order are propaganda and outright lies), and demand REAL change, we're going to keep being an embarrassment on the global stage, and in violation of international law on the treatment of prisoners. And the cancer that is eating our urban cores will keep growing and metastasizing with each generation that is born into that trap.
But on the bright side, if you invest in the Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE symbol: CXW) or in prison service companies like Aramark (NYSE symbol: ARMK), to name a couple of examples, you too can profit from the suffering of your fellow human beings.
A Christian told me: if you were saved you cant lose your salvation. you're sealed with the Holy Ghost
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
