========== Fred Stevens K2FRD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "sail4free, I think you took Tom's post in less than the light sense in which it was posted." ========== It's big of you to defend him. Do you know him well enough to do that? I work every day with four convicts who are within their last year or two of being managed for maximum profit for the system -- much like farm animals. Perhaps this intimate exposure doesn't allow me the luxury of a cavalier attitude toward the suffering of others. When someone says they LOVE the sight of those striped uniforms picking up trash along the highways, where is the "light sense" in that? These young men have spouses and kids they love and miss and ache to hold and comfort. Their lives are a freakin' mess but somehow they get up every day and go to work for someone like me for $3 a day. They smile and have good attitudes and eat mountains of shit from prison guards and other prison staff just to get through another 24 hours and hopefully get to have a life again some day. They haven't done anything I haven't done at one time or another. Many of the things they're doing serious prison time for NOW weren't even against the law when I was their age. And if they were against the law, you didn't go to prison if you got caught. People haven't changed. Only the laws have changed. And they need to be changed BACK! ========== (Man, I can hear it already, "What does this have to do with boondocking?") Absolutely nothing; say it again. ========== FRED: "While there are certainly problems with the Federal and states' penal system, and in the means by which they are filled, it wasn't necessary to debase Tom for a casual observation and statement in which he was neither bragging nor gloating." ========== It seems to me he WAS saying, "Look at these two states; they're doing it "right" -- complete with chain gangs!" We have to remember that at least 80% of these guys are NON-violent offenders. They aren't there for rape, murder, or child molesting. They're in prison for DUI, insurance fraud, bad checks, identity theft and often times possession of very small quantities of drugs. Do you realize there is a mandatory federal prison sentence of 5 YEARS for possession of 2 grams of crack cocaine (about the same weight as two pennies)? It goes way beyond "problems." Amnesty International says our system of "justice" and incarceration in this country is "beyond repair." I don't know that I "debased" Tom for his loving observations -- but should we just tolerate unlimited ignorance; keep turning the other cheek and chanting, "Gee honey, I'm sure he means well?" ========== FRED: "BTW, do you have a real name or do you prefer to reside within the anonymity of a username?" ========== I have a "real" name and I do prefer to use the same username I've used for years on the net. A simple Google search will provide more information about me than you're likely to ever use; it's not like I'm trying to hide from anything or anyone. I think my username says more about me than my given name ever could -- besides you might be related to me and I wouldn't want your half-baked conclusions about my radical nature to cause you to write me out of your will. But I must observe I find this particular "challenge" common among those who seek to marginalize someone or discredit them. I'm not saying this is what YOU are doing. You don't have to take it personal -- that's always optional. ========== FRED: "Everyone else participating in this discussion, the sub-discussions, and the sub-discussions have been using their christian names." ========== Do you seek to alienate all non-christians with that reference? Because -- presumeably -- NONE of them have "christian names." And since when did what "everyone else" is doing ever have the slightest impact on what I should be doing? They're not me. I'm not them. They do what makes sense to them. I do what makes sense to me and if everyone stays calm -- nobody gets hurt. ========== FRED: "Also, BTW, my native New York state has county jails in 56 of its 59 counties (three counties have arrangements with adjacent counties). Seems the numbers of county jails nor the numbers of prisons in counties isn't any indicator of anything beyond the manner in which each states' department of corrections is established and operated." ========== I didn't realize we were talking about county jails -- most every county has one of some form or another. I'm talking about state PRISONS and when a state (Florida) has at least one PRISON in 78% of its counties, I think that is worthy of mention. And when another state (Texas) has 115 of them, I think that is worthy of mention too. The numbers are indicative of a rapidly expanding national "prisoners for profit" trend which should be extremely troubling for all of us but, apparently, most people couldn't care less (as long as THEY aren't the ones in prison). Therefore it is imperative that those of us who DO care have to care even more to make up for those who can't allow their comfy little lives to be troubled by such negative facts. ========== It is clear that in addition to our military industrial complex, we now have a prison industrial complex in this country -- a group of individuals and companies so wealthy they are able to purchase political influence to change public policy to increase their profits with no end to this madness in sight. And the conservatives who began this fool's game called "war on drugs" during Reagen's first term are laughing their bloated bellies all the way to the bank. More than anything else, this change in public policy has given us the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Over two million of our citizens are currently in prison -- many on trumped-up charges -- many gals because their husband's or boyfriend's stash was found in the car when they got stopped and were the only one in the car at the time. It's a national disgrace and something we all should be aware of. The police are NOT your friends. And the only thing they'll turn on quicker than one of us is one of their own. (I have websites where you can read all about the boys in blue who have been wrongfully convicted by their former comrades -- names, dates, places -- many years of their lives lost forever for something they didn't even do. Often times, those who lied and convicted them were promoted because of their ability to turn in one of their own. When these former officers are acquitted -- years later -- the vermin don't loose their promotions and the minds of their prosecuting attorneys and judges remain unchanged.) ========== A few more facts for those whose comfort isn't threatened by the truth: ========== We are the nation that has imprisoned a million non-violent drug offenders in the last decade. (And anyone in the know will tell you that "rehabilitation" has absolutely zero priority in our current prison system . . . they are no more than warehouses . . . where violent predators are mixed with innocent men and guards stand by while an estimated 12,000 involuntary sexual acts (sodomy -- rape) occur every day. What kind of rage might that instill in your heart? Think some innocent might have to pay the price for what happened to you some day? So we have to ask, "Why are these men and women in prison? They hurt noone other than themselves. Are we protecting them from themselves? Can we afford to do that?) ========== Private prison investors are jubilant about an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would bar any inmate from suing a privately run prison for civil rights violations. ========== Stocks of private companies that build and operate prisons for governments have zoomed as high as 300 percent in anticipation of internment camps and new prisons. ========== Even China, with one party rule and a population that is 4.5 times larger than the US population, has 30% fewer total prisoners than the US. China's per capita rate is a small fraction of the US rate. ========== sail4free ========== We'll never forgive. We'll never forget. Fight the rich, not THEIR wars! Vietnam Veterans Against War ========== Do you dare to feel responsible for every dollar you lay down? Are you going to make the rich man richer or are you going to stand your ground? Hear Woody speak out at: http://www.voiceyourself.com/03_thoughtsfromwithin/03_movie.php ==========
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