I think I'd rather spend 3 years in solitary (given adequate books, ability to write, etc.) than in general prison population. I accept that I'm probably an outlier, though.
Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
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Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#72People often ask the hypothetical of what sorts of behavior we consider normal today that people in the far future will regard as barbaric or bizarre. Our prison system is probably near the top of that list, for a variety of reasons. Not least of which is the sheer size of the prison population these days due to the war on drugs. Even more significant is the widespread societal belief that prison experience should be…
I'm kind of glad that this is your perception. This should be everyone's perception of prison. You should have an extreme necessity to keep your ass out of prison. You should be scared absolutely shitless of prison, so much that you play exactly by the rules to keep yourself from ever going there. Our prison system does a pretty good job at driving this perception home. Prison is not a rehabilitation center. If it we…
if this view was correct, then surely countries with even harsher penalties for breaking the law, such as even worse prisons or death, would have less crime than the united states, right?
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#73People often ask the hypothetical of what sorts of behavior we consider normal today that people in the far future will regard as barbaric or bizarre. Our prison system is probably near the top of that list, for a variety of reasons. Not least of which is the sheer size of the prison population these days due to the war on drugs. Even more significant is the widespread societal belief that prison experience should be…
If the prisons were focused on fixing the root problem in the criminals, as if they were some sort of refuge for edification, conditioning and correction then a large body of the homeless would commit a strategic crime in order to get there so they can at least get three meals and an opportunity to move up in the world from rock-bottom. Like slavery in the 18th century, prisons are a necessary evil to punish people w…
Yeah.
There's a guy currently in solitary confinement serving time for felony hacking. The hack? Executing GETs against a public API. He got a 41-month sentence for that.
By any definition that's just crazy.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm kind of glad that this is your perception. This should be everyone's perception of prison. You should have an extreme necessity to keep your ass out of prison. You should be scared absolutely shitless of prison, so much that you play exactly by the rules to keep yourself from ever going there. Our prison system does a pretty good job at driving this perception home. Prison is not a rehabilitation center. If it we…
> Prison has to be scary. It has to strike one as the number one place that you do not want to go. It's the other ultimate consequence, along side of death. I can't imagine this world if it wasn't. Prison is not a deterrent. If it was, you would see prison population decline over time. Instead, it has grown quite significantly and in a racist way (black men are massively overrepresented and sent to prison).
I think it's likely this is not because of the prison as much as it is the laws which determine what crimes are punishable by prison sentences, and the people who enforce and judge on those laws.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#75The nature of America's prison system is driven by the fact that middle class white people vote for politicians and policies that put poor black people through a cruel, inhumane and all-too-usual system of torture and deprivation. Is unusual sadism a national characteristic? I do not want to think so, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#76Here's a link to the prisoners' contact information, if anyone wants to send letters.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/prisoners-contac...
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm kind of glad that this is your perception. This should be everyone's perception of prison. You should have an extreme necessity to keep your ass out of prison. You should be scared absolutely shitless of prison, so much that you play exactly by the rules to keep yourself from ever going there. Our prison system does a pretty good job at driving this perception home. Prison is not a rehabilitation center. If it we…
> Prison has to be scary. It has to strike one as the number one place that you do not want to go. It's the other ultimate consequence, along side of death. I can't imagine this world if it wasn't. Prison is not a deterrent. If it was, you would see prison population decline over time. Instead, it has grown quite significantly and in a racist way (black men are massively overrepresented and sent to prison).
Just because prison population is rising does not mean that people are choosing to go to prison. The criminal justice system is choosing to send more and more people to prison for offenses that would not have incurred prison time in the past.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#78A very sad read and the comments are even worse. This sort of thing so clearly crosses the line in to inhumanity. I appreciate that some/many of these inmates have committed awful crimes but it seems that this particular system offers no opportunity for rehabilitation and is focussed solely on punishment. I forget where I read it but I believe that there is a correlation between the severity of the punishment and it'…
This is not punishment, this is revenge. Punishment is a corrective action, this breaks them even more. By the way, this is extremely dangerous - to paraphrase Nietzsche: in solitude, whatever you bring with you grows. Do we really want whatever they're bringing to grow?
I agree. A cruel and vengeful society breeds yet more cruelty and vengeance: The evident evil of the machinations of the state becomes a cancer that twists and sickens our collective conscience.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#79I think I'd rather spend 3 years in solitary (given adequate books, ability to write, etc.) than in general prison population. I accept that I'm probably an outlier, though.
Understandable - but from what I understand, your givens aren't typically given.
Re: Solitary in Iran Nearly Broke Me. Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
#80People often ask the hypothetical of what sorts of behavior we consider normal today that people in the far future will regard as barbaric or bizarre. Our prison system is probably near the top of that list, for a variety of reasons. Not least of which is the sheer size of the prison population these days due to the war on drugs. Even more significant is the widespread societal belief that prison experience should be…
I'm kind of glad that this is your perception. This should be everyone's perception of prison. You should have an extreme necessity to keep your ass out of prison. You should be scared absolutely shitless of prison, so much that you play exactly by the rules to keep yourself from ever going there. Our prison system does a pretty good job at driving this perception home. Prison is not a rehabilitation center. If it we…
> You should be scared absolutely shitless of prison
Or from another point of view what makes prison less scary than the outside world? Everyone knows prison is unpleasant yet that doesn't appear to stop the increasing numbers each year.
> Our prison system does a pretty good job at driving this perception home.
If this was a performance review they should be fired.