|
Yes, post this thread again, post it one hundred more times, post it on every forum you know, never stop posting or talking about it until Angola (prison) is shut down, children aren't sent to adult prison, drug users aren't sent to prison, and Joe Arpaio and all who follow him are out on the street. This is the most important thread.Barlow posted:Are there any responsible organizations that are doing work to change the justice system? This is an issue that I would really like to do something about but other then write to Congress and the state I'm unsure how to go about it. The SPLC does some work to try and make sure prison sentences are sane at least, but it's very difficult to do anything "about" it directly, especially in "red" states. People in such states are trained, practically from birth, to believe that criminals are the worst form of degenerates and that we don't simply kill them out of hand is a mercy. They're taught that criminals deserve what they get and more, and that The Machine is the only thing standing between the Citizen and Anarchy & Death. It is going to be a long road to hoe, changing these preconceptions. Look at what happens in superliberal New England, and consider how bad the rest of the country is. We're talking about decades of work. It must happen, but it will not be easy.
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2010 03:27
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 20, 2024 02:00 |
|
|
The numbers are somewhat deceptive there. Spartacus was able to arm his troops to a (relatively) equal level to his Roman army competitors; the US army has access to resources that a widescale prison rebellion can, realistically, never hope to attain. That said, even a statewide coordinated prison rebellion in a place like California or Texas would be astoundingly destructive.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2010 20:45
|
|
|
CH3-CH2-OH posted:While I understand what you guys are saying, I have to respectfully disagree. On one hand it is kinda satisfying thinking about prisoners breaking out and causing mass destruction as a form of vengeance against the society that has spurned them. At the same time, I don't think anything would crush the prisoner's rights movement more than a widespread, violent insurrection. Oh god, yeah, don't misunderstand what I was saying. I'm not cheering for some kind of violent uprising at all, I was just pointing out that prison riots and theoretical prison rebellions of today are hard to compare to those of the past, since The Law of today has tools that prisoners can't really get access to. That being said: mew force shoelace posted:Prisoners are US citizens with families, what would we do? call air strikes? Just look at this thread, consider public opinion of criminal offenders in this country. And then consider what'd happen if they revolted and how the government could paint that. If they're hiding among civilians, they probably wouldn't do anything "extreme", but if they're organized in a place where civilian casualties would be "light" and they're in open rebellion? You bet your rear end there'd be airstrikes, and the government would probably bet that a majority of people would support the effort to put down "an unjust revolt by vile criminals with no respect for The Flag And Constitution". And the sad part is, the government would probably be right, people would see prisoners as the villains, and like CH3 said, the cause of prisoner's rights would be set back a hundred years. I hope a widescale prison revolt never happens. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2010 02:40
|
|
|
Main Paineframe posted:That doesn't just go for jobs, either - the apartment complex I live in asks about your criminal record on the paperwork, and directs people to not even bother applying if they've got a criminal record. Having certain crimes on your record automatically disqualifies you for many government benefits and social programs; for example, being convicted of a drug-related offense renders you permanently ineligible for federal student loans or grants. In many states, felons often lose the right to even vote, sometimes permanently! In short, it's another way in which America can be compared to pre-Revolutionary France; convicts, upon being freed, may as well be given a yellow ticket of leave. It is virtually impossible for convicts to be employed once again once convicted; for many, they must break the law to survive and are thus put back into prison-slavery. It is not at all healthy for society, but a few benefit and a few others get to feel "righteous" about it, so the system continues.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2011 05:51
|
|
|
PT6A posted:Does the US have no system to apply for and receive complete pardons for one's crime after enough time has passed? I know we do it in Canada, mainly to avoid exactly this issue (and also so people aren't permanently barred from entering the US). You are assuming that a significant portion of the U.S. population don't just want to see all convicts die or be killed on principle. You assume they value compassion, at all. You should not assume these things.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2011 20:00
|
|