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Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

themarshallproject.org

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Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#21

Post by bccdee »

whitemary wrote: post #12
caditinpiscinam wrote: post #8

The system is working as intended. I've seen a lot of talk recently about crime and calls for various people to be imprisoned; everyone from carjackers to right-wing vigilantes. In the midst of these conversations, please remember: prisons exist to torture prisoners. Excerpts from another recent Marshall project article: > An officer who broke his baton hitting a prisoner 35 times, even after the man was handcuffed,…

> The system is working as intended. Wrong. The intentions of the ruling class are not to oppress others but merely to protect their own interests, which is a far more difficult matter to confront. The fundamental basis of capitalism, being the state's violent protection of the right to accumulate capital, defines the predominant motives of oppression. Members of the ruling class have little choice but to expand thei…

No, that's not really accurate. Crime and punishment are part of an important narrative in American conservatism. Making prisoners suffer, especially black prisoners, is viewed as a plus, and that creates a climate where overt cruelty is condoned and even encouraged.

The article talks about Jim Crow juries, unconstitutional jury rulings where the defendant gets convicted even when the jury is split. These were created to try and stifle the voice of black jurors, and they did, right up until just a couple years ago. Sheriffs like Joe Arpaio stay in office by marketing themselves to voters as being as cruel to prisoners as possible; it's just another facet of the enduring Southern Strategy. The system is working as intended.

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#22

Post by hello_computer »

I grew up around people like this, thus I have little sympathy. They all sound terribly repentant, until teacher is gone and you look at them the wrong way.

Yes, private prisons are corrupt profit centers, and this is what voters have chosen. When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free, how could things be any other way? They are voters, not saints.

As for "The Marshall Project", another non-profit funded by the same batches of plutocratic blood-money as all the other non-profits. Why are office people so gullible as to think that plutocrats who would wreck an entire economy, or poison a whole town for a quick buck are suddenly public benefactors after passing their ill-gotten gains through a 501(c)(3)?

PS) for the downvoters: Vote as you will, but after you vote, please ask yourself: Did you go to a "rough" school? Have you lived in a "rough" neighborhood for more than a year? I am glad to accept your judgment from experience, but if you are judging from propaganda, it is time for you to stop and reflect.

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#23

Post by bjornasm »

hello_computer wrote: post #22

I grew up around people like this, thus I have little sympathy. They all sound terribly repentant, until teacher is gone and you look at them the wrong way. Yes, private prisons are corrupt profit centers, and this is what voters have chosen. When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free, how could things be any other way? They are voters, not saints. As for "The Marshall Pr…

>When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free

Do you have a source for this - that the way the prison system is handled in the US now is the cheapest way?

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#24

Post by short_sells_poo »

bccdee wrote: post #21
whitemary wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The system is working as intended. Wrong. The intentions of the ruling class are not to oppress others but merely to protect their own interests, which is a far more difficult matter to confront. The fundamental basis of capitalism, being the state's violent protection of the right to accumulate capital, defines the predominant motives of oppression. Members of the ruling class have little choice but to expand thei…

No, that's not really accurate. Crime and punishment are part of an important narrative in American conservatism. Making prisoners suffer, especially black prisoners, is viewed as a plus, and that creates a climate where overt cruelty is condoned and even encouraged. The article talks about Jim Crow juries, unconstitutional jury rulings where the defendant gets convicted even when the jury is split. These were create…

I'd go as far as to say that prisons are a profitable business, and if the prison operators or their cronies can convince the masses that stuffing prisons to the brim is a good idea, that's just more profitable business.

I don't think the prison industry or upper class are cruel for cruelty's sake. The American Conservatism is simply convenient to them. I'd go as far as to say that even voters who appear to embrace being cruel to prisoners aren't deliberately trying to be cruel, but are by and large the disenfranchised poor people with zero upward mobility, whose miserable existence is made slightly more bearable by having a class with even fewer privileges than them.

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#25

Post by hello_computer »

bjornasm wrote: post #23
hello_computer wrote: post #22

I grew up around people like this, thus I have little sympathy. They all sound terribly repentant, until teacher is gone and you look at them the wrong way. Yes, private prisons are corrupt profit centers, and this is what voters have chosen. When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free, how could things be any other way? They are voters, not saints. As for "The Marshall Pr…

>When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free Do you have a source for this - that the way the prison system is handled in the US now is the cheapest way?

Do you have a source that it isn't the cheapest way?

(Not that I wrote anywhere that it even was the cheapest way, but that voters would pay more taxes. If you think about it for a moment, you will see that these two statements aren't identical.)

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#26

Post by bjornasm »

hello_computer wrote: post #25
bjornasm wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free Do you have a source for this - that the way the prison system is handled in the US now is the cheapest way?

Do you have a source that it isn't the cheapest way? (Not that I wrote anywhere that it even was the cheapest way, but that voters would pay more taxes. If you think about it for a moment, you will see that these two statements aren't identical.)

The way it normally works is that the one making the claim is the one having to provide the source. I'll take that as you don't have a source for it then.

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#27

Post by themadturk »

bee_rider wrote: post #17
anotherhue wrote: post #4

Is there a reason, other than capitalism/entrenched interests, that the prison service doesn't have its own in house software? A non profit could perhaps assist.

I don’t understand why they can’t use, like, Word or notepad and just pass around text files or something like that. I mean, most of the people involved in the prison system have decided to work in a place where the users aren’t there willingly or able to change service providers, so I guess they would trend toward minimal competence, right? The more they can leverage software written by anybody else, the better, I g…

Well, you need the hardware that will run applications like Word and even Notepad. Those are both Windows apps, and I'm sure the tablets mentioned in this article aren't Windows devices. They include exactly the software the system allows, and stores data in exactly the way the system dictates. They're unlikely to have the freedom to "pass around text files."

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#28

Post by hello_computer »

bjornasm wrote: post #26
hello_computer wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a source that it isn't the cheapest way? (Not that I wrote anywhere that it even was the cheapest way, but that voters would pay more taxes. If you think about it for a moment, you will see that these two statements aren't identical.)

The way it normally works is that the one making the claim is the one having to provide the source. I'll take that as you don't have a source for it then.

Why would I need to supply a source for something you equivocated and/or misread?

I just remember from my readings of the county register, the prisons put these services up for competitive bid. The amount paid by the department of corrections was usually minuscule, if not zero, since the prisoners paid for these services directly out of their own earnings.

And if you dig into the article itself, he mentions the JPay tablet:

> Inmates can purchase the $69.99 tablet from a kiosk in their facility or someone can purchase it for them. To communicate with inmates, people can access JPay's web platform or get the free JPay app on iPhone or Android. To email or send video-messages, inmates and people on the outside need to purchase 40 cent stamps each time.[0]

[0] https://money.cnn.com/2015/07/23/technology/jpay-prison-tabl...

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#29

Post by woodruffw »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #20
woodruffw wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For one, there isn't a single "prison service" in the US. There are somewhere between 51 and several thousand prison and jail systems, depending on how you count. Profit extraction is one reason, and a large one. However, an equally large one is cruelty : these systems are designed to make prisoners suffer, and public accountability runs counter to that goal.

jails are also used to force plea deals. see torture island aka rikers

Right. The idea that pleas are anything except compelled when they come from the imprisoned is farcical.

Re: Writing Is My Main Freedom. One Day My Work Disappeared (2021)

#30

Post by gamblor956 »

hello_computer wrote: post #22

I grew up around people like this, thus I have little sympathy. They all sound terribly repentant, until teacher is gone and you look at them the wrong way. Yes, private prisons are corrupt profit centers, and this is what voters have chosen. When the other options are pay more taxes to incarcerate criminals, or let them run free, how could things be any other way? They are voters, not saints. As for "The Marshall Pr…

Private prisons cost taxpayers 2-3x more than a public prison. And that doesn't include the lawsuits taxpayers are on the hook for if the private prison gets sued.

Most non-profits are funded by government grants or by donations from normal people, not ex-finance bros.

Moreover, a non-profit financed entirely by a single wealthy donor is not a 501(c)(3), by definition. It is a 501(c)(4) private foundation, and there are very strict rules governing the finances of a 501(c)(4) entity. (The Marshall Project is a 501(c)(3), while it was initially funded by an ex-finance bro the majority of its funding since then comes from other donors.)

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