The Detention Industry is Cruel and Un-American
THE INSIDIOUS AND DEPRAVED AND VAMPIRIC NATURE of the detention industry is a topic I cover here regularly. Latino convicts are now the largest ethnic population in the federal prison system, and all due to the criminalization of immigration that Bush brought upon us and that Obama, so far, has yet to dismantle or substantially reshape.
THE INSIDIOUS AND DEPRAVED AND VAMPIRIC NATURE of the detention industry is something I write about a lot here, and have for a while. I harp on it, and I underline it when the immigration conversation gets too happy happy joy joy on itself by throwing parties just because the White House mentions immigration in a meeting and organizations send out press releases that Errrthang Gonna Be Okay Nao. (Needless to say, I’m well-loved for this type of reaction.) Hey, I’m happy for the small things, but I find it despicable that the US deems it morally plausible to take working families and turn them into fodder for the Prison Industrial complex’s shiny, new, ICE-caked arm. The results of the persecution keep tumbling in, and they are not pretty. Latino convicts are now the largest ethnic population in the federal prison system, and all due to the criminalization of immigration that Bush brought upon us and that Obama, so far, has yet to dismantle or substantially reshape. Further, the criminalization of this issues has led to a malaise of philosophy, a smear upon the lens of those of us who speak spanish or have spanish names or who might otherwise look or sound “undocumented” and thus, criminal. Violence and race-based murder are the predictable results of this type of vilification. So when activists (especially those not in the cross-hairs due to being non-Latin@) pshaw those concerns…I honestly feel it is a hostile statement they make.
That’s why this video of a one-minute speech by (non-Latino) Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) on the need to reform the Detention Industry brings me some degree of pleasure. It’s great to hear this basic sentiment, and from the mouths of politicians speaking on the record. More of this!
Tags: Hutto, Jared Polis
Posted in Borders, Criminal Justice System, Democratic Party, Human Rights, ICE, Immigration, Latinos, Prison for Profit, United States Politics
INCARCERATING PEOPLE “FOR PROFIT” IS IN A WORD….WRONG!
Even if one does not ask or pretends not to see the rope and the flashing red flag draped around the philosophical question standing solemnly at attention in the middle of the room, it remains apparent that the mere presence of a private “for profit” driven prison business in our country undermines the U.S Constitution and subsequently the credibility of the American criminal justice system. In fact, until all private prisons in America have been abolished and outlawed, “the promise” of fairness and justice at every level of this country’s judicial system will remain unattainable. We must restore the principles and the vacant promise of our judicial system. Our government cannot continue to “job-out” its obligation and neglect its duty to the individuals confined in the correctional and rehabilitation facilities throughout this nation, nor can it ignore the will of the people that it was designed to serve and protect. There is urgent need for the good people of this country to emerge from the shadows of indifference, apathy, cynicism, fear, and those other dark places that we migrate to when we are overwhelmed by frustration and the loss of hope.
My hope is that you will support the National Public Service Council to Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP) with a show of solidarity by signing “The Single Voice Petition”
http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html
Please visit our website for further information: http://www.npsctapp.blogspot.com
–Ahma Daeus
“Practicing Humanity Without A License”…
yes yes yes…more of and more time for… what Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) is saying. the prison industrial complex is a huge factor in the resistance to realizing immigration reform.
the economic design model for prisons includes the guaranteed income from non violent offenders (aka productive people in our society), such as immigrants.
unfortunately it is not only the for profit prisons that keep people imprisoned unjustly, as it is but a symptom of the problem.
it is our attitude, our perspective as much as it is…
prisons, corrections, and the related supply businesses, services, and related financial markets, etc., that keeps this country caught up in one of the most outrageous ongoing actions against humanity of all time; that of incarceration 2.3 million people in prisons and jails throughout the united states. there can not be that many people deserving of this inhumane treatment. and it is inhumane.
sentencing policy guidelines also constitutes a provision for a predictable financial flow chart. for profit is a conflict of humanitarian interest in some arenas.
reforming our criminal/justice policies is imperative for reform in other areas that need fixing to raise the bar for humanity in our country, such as immigration reform.
i will sign the petition william.
get rid of ice
get rid of the dea
get rid of joe arpaio.
get rid of homeland security…for example.
redirect this money into single payer health care, working for peace treaties, housing, a healthy food system…that which benefits, not that which destroys…like f22’s?
i don’t know it seems simple enough to me. real change will necessitate and demand more creative humane solutions, instead of these agency’s continuing to be a part of the problem that is at the core of the self destruction of what could be a great nation.