5 ms·

Their demands seem entirely reasonable to me. I'm ashamed to belong to a society in which such demands must be made, more so that they would be ignored.

• ars 16y ago
  I'm not inclined to believe things prisoners say about their conditions. So while I agree the demands are reasonable, I'm not (yet) convinced that they needed to be made or that they are ignored. (Except for the fruits/vegetables, because realistically while they may ask for it, they aren't going to eat it.)
  • gruseom 16y ago
    I'm not inclined to believe things prisoners say about their conditions. I am. There's evidence that things are far worse than we complacently imagine. For example, a year or so ago there was a shocking multipart series on NPR about what's going on inside California's prisons. Mostly we just don't want to know.
    • kellishaver 16y ago
      Do you have a link to that by chance? I'd be interested in reading/listening (whichever the case may be).
      • sudont 16y ago
        This, maybe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111843426 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1118434...
        • kellishaver 16y ago
          Thanks!
        • gruseom 16y ago
          Yeah, and this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92296114 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9229611... The piece I remember most (not sure if this is the one) was where the reporter got caught in the middle of a lockdown in a crowded San Quentin gym (former gym, now dormitory because of overcrowding). When the alarms go off, everyone has to get on their hands and knees or the guards shoot them on sight. The reporter was told to keep standing during the whole episode, and everyone in the gym was staring at her. Unbelievable moment. I thought it was in this story but the transcript doesn't contain it. Perhaps it doesn't cover the whole audio or perhaps there are more pieces in the series.
    • duke_sam 16y ago
      It reminds me of the attitudes in http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1999171 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1999171 This is a system that a very small portion of our (middle/upper class) population is going to experience. With the chances of interacting with it being that low we ignore the problem and run a numbers game that our lives won't be unduly affected by it (akin to not being too worried about being killed by a falling satellite). So the situation deteriorates because people are under the impression that if you are in prison you deserve it and ignore the damage it causes to some individuals/families who under different circumstances would have been our neighbors or friends.
  • salemh 16y ago
    I'll make this quick, and monitor to see if interest demands me go into more detail (personal experience). We do not rehabilitate prisoners. We have a ridiculous recidivism rate (60%+ depending on your data, demographic, etc). We have the highest amount of citizens in prison then any Western country. If the Mandatory Minimum Federal laws for drugs were flipped with actual State Violent crimes, we would have a much better society. I would love to see inmates having the ability to pursue a trade, learn programming, learn a skill which Trumps their felony..which is incredibly difficult. Felon's are obligated by law to note if they have been Charged with a Felony (depending on the wording, for example: "convicted in the last 7 years" you may mark NO if, it has in fact, been 8). Something that may be of interest. http://www.npr.org/blogs/talk/2008/02/getting_out_life_after_prison_1.html http://www.npr.org/blogs/talk/2008/02/getting_out_life_after...
    • joe_the_user 16y ago
      The US has the highest rate of imprisonment and the largest number of prisoners of any country in the world (including China, which does give us a run for the money...) http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/world-prison-pop-seventh.pdf http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/worl... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States#Comparison_with_other_countries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...
    • rossriley 16y ago
      There was an interesting article in Time magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00.html http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00....) that looked at the prison system in Norway, where the goal really is to rehabilitate people.
    • axod 16y ago
      If there were less people in prison, and less reoffenders, who would make all the military equipment, household appliances, license plates etc etc for free? The US would have no slaves to work with! edit: Since I'm being downmodded for stating fact: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8289 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=82... http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/slavery-in-u-s-prison-system/ http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/slavery-in-u-s-prison-sys... http://newworkerfeatures.blogspot.com/2010/02/us-prison-labour-return-to-slavery.html http://newworkerfeatures.blogspot.com/2010/02/us-prison-labo... http://www.insideprison.com/prison-industry-labor.asp http://www.insideprison.com/prison-industry-labor.asp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwT6CisM0mU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwT6CisM0mU There was also a great wikipedia article listing all the different things that inmates make. If they refuse, they're subjected to solitary confinement. The US should be thoroughly ashamed. Not that it'll ever be reported by the mainstream media.
  • Symmetry 16y ago
    We live in a society where its ok to joke approvingly about prisoner's suffering violent rape. Of course our prisons are horrible to be in.
  • weavejester 16y ago
    I don't think we should be moderating the parent comment down, just because we disagree with what he or she says. If nothing else, it makes the subsequent conversation difficult to follow.
• deleted 16y ago
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