When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Monday, November 04, 2002
The Black Commentator - Briefs - Issue 15
1.On its face you can see there is racism going on, you just have to look a bit farther to tease it out. I view prison as a way of containing the non-employed people who are needed only occasionally in the economy. Other countries have different systems, such as inviting in 'guest workers' for limited periods of time.
2. Drug use and sale, the crimes most committed by poor people with little economic opportunity, is judged far more harshly and chased down more consistently, than domestic terrorism, such as that practiced by the Aryan brotherhood and similar white hate groups.
3. During war time (such as the Vietnam war) the black prison population falls dramatically. Black men are instead syphoned off and sent to die at someone else's hands.
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
Media Compassion for Hussein's Prisoners
The Black Commentator - Briefs - Issue 15
If Hussein's prisoners did, indeed, number 150,000, Iraq's incarceration rate was one out of every 147 Iraqi men, women and children. At any given time, 1.3 million Americans are behind bars - by far the highest rate in the industrial world. However, 6.6 million Americans are either imprisoned or otherwise under supervision by the correctional system, most of them on probation or parole. And of those on parole, 40% will go back to prison for violations. More than half of those on probation have been convicted of felonies.Twenty years ago, when academics cared about such things, some studies were done on racism in the criminal justice system. They concluded there was none- that the court system treated black and white alike. I see several problems with this conclusion:
The American "gulag" dwarfs Hussein's: one out of every 44 Americans of all ages and races is under some kind of correctional supervision, more than three times the Iraqi incarceration rate. (Iraq does not have a probation or parole system.)
1.On its face you can see there is racism going on, you just have to look a bit farther to tease it out. I view prison as a way of containing the non-employed people who are needed only occasionally in the economy. Other countries have different systems, such as inviting in 'guest workers' for limited periods of time.
2. Drug use and sale, the crimes most committed by poor people with little economic opportunity, is judged far more harshly and chased down more consistently, than domestic terrorism, such as that practiced by the Aryan brotherhood and similar white hate groups.
3. During war time (such as the Vietnam war) the black prison population falls dramatically. Black men are instead syphoned off and sent to die at someone else's hands.
Palema
7:23 AM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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