There is a good lesson in this article that is getting lost in the debate. The lesson is don't go around committing armed robberies. You are screwing your family. More specifically, you are punishing your mother.
Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
111–120 of 132 posts
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the police going to do about your being mugged? I find it interesting that out of three examples, you happened to list one where the police can't possibly intercede without already being there, and your calling only serves to start a pretend hunt for lost property (hint: finding your stolen laptop is not their top priority), but will serve as justification if they want to rough up some local tough later. Aga…
This is one of two things that I find upsetting about US the most. The fact that you don't call the police when you need it, and also(and more importantly) that a lot of people wouldn't call an ambulance unless they were literally dying. It's stupid, and I cannot even fathom not having friendly police or worrying about the bill for an ambulance.
That's the sort of world we grew up in, stateside. Not sure how it is everywhere else in the world.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
>My comment was meant specifically to point out that even when trying to list reasonable times to call the police, the person only seemed to get 2/3 being times the police would actually help the situation in any sense. Did the thought ever cross your mind that the police may be able to get security footage from a nearby storefront to identify the assailant or that they might be able to give you a ride home after you…
> Did the thought ever cross your mind that the police may be able to get security footage from a nearby storefront to identify the assailant I'm aware that police do this when investigating crimes. However, this is also a source of misidentifying people, which often ends poorly. Young, black, and in a yellow shirt? Must be the first black guy we see in a yellow shirt! I find it unlikely that your call is going to le…
So given the option, you don't want their intervention if you're getting attacked?
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
If there is a rise in reported crime in a certain area, a good police department will increase patrol around there. Sure, you can say that it won't always happen but it actually does happen. Call the police to report a crime. Pick another method of protest.
So the only proposed benefit of calling the police when you're mugged is that they have another source of information about where muggings are happening, to compliment others and help inform their police distribution? That seems a) unnecessary because they have other channels for the same information, and b) easily replaceable by a one-way interaction, eg, throwing the fact at them without providing an official state…
"routinely" is weasel words - how frequently are we talking about here?
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is one of two things that I find upsetting about US the most. The fact that you don't call the police when you need it, and also(and more importantly) that a lot of people wouldn't call an ambulance unless they were literally dying. It's stupid, and I cannot even fathom not having friendly police or worrying about the bill for an ambulance.
That's the sort of world we grew up in, stateside. Not sure how it is everywhere else in the world.
For most people it's that you are only familiar with what you grew up with. I was lucky enough(I guess) to grow up in a country where calling for an ambulance was a no-brainer, never ever seen a single medical bill for anything, and also where I've personally called the police about problems I've witnessed - all interactions with officers were polite and I wouldn't hesitate to call the police again. That's why it's so hard do understand for me that there are places like the US where it's not the case, and calling for an ambulance can put you in massive debt - it's just upside down when I think about it.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are the police going to do about your being mugged? I find it interesting that out of three examples, you happened to list one where the police can't possibly intercede without already being there, and your calling only serves to start a pretend hunt for lost property (hint: finding your stolen laptop is not their top priority), but will serve as justification if they want to rough up some local tough later. Aga…
This is one of two things that I find upsetting about US the most. The fact that you don't call the police when you need it, and also(and more importantly) that a lot of people wouldn't call an ambulance unless they were literally dying. It's stupid, and I cannot even fathom not having friendly police or worrying about the bill for an ambulance.
The ambulance thing is a genuine risk in the US, but you're probably getting a very skewed view about American police.
The vast, vast majority of American police are friendly and helpful to the average citizen. I've called the police about all sorts of things and had professional interactions each time. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I needed to, and I live in a city with a reputation for iffy cops. In my personal experience, that's not how it's been.
Of course, I'm middle class and white. When I had long hair and drove an old car, my experiences were somewhat different, but not that bad even then. Enough, though, that I can imagine if I was a different race or economic class my experience would be different.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
The decision makers are civil service types who are basically accountable to nobody. The Deputy Superintendent of Corrections Administration doesn't give a hoot. Corrections officers have strong unions with ironwood support from their legislators, so it is very difficult to get the executive branch in most states to care about anyth that pisses the unions off.
Why would prison guard unions be in favor of ripping of prisoners with ridiculous fees?
They use usurious feed to find prison expenses.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#118They also operate the e-mail system that can be used to send e-mail to/from inmates (using a JPay tablet, of course). You have to purchase 'stamps' . For e-mails .[1] 1: http://www.jpayinc.com/email_videograms.html "One stamp corresponds to one 6000 character message (about the length of one handwritten page), or one attachment." "JPay’s correctional email service is faster than regular mail, with inmates usually rec…
I'm curious whether they'll be accepted into the next round of YC.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#119The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.
On a more constructive note than "fuck the police", the ACLU has been fighting this fight for some time now:
https://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform https://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/aclu-national-prison-p...
Regardless of whether you're inclined to give them your money/time, their site is worth reading to get an overview of the specific issues here.
Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's the sort of world we grew up in, stateside. Not sure how it is everywhere else in the world.
For most people it's that you are only familiar with what you grew up with. I was lucky enough(I guess) to grow up in a country where calling for an ambulance was a no-brainer, never ever seen a single medical bill for anything, and also where I've personally called the police about problems I've witnessed - all interactions with officers were polite and I wouldn't hesitate to call the police again. That's why it's s…
Not only can calling an ambulance put you in massive debt, which it does (not merely "can") in America, but interacting with the police is almost unanimously unpleasant in my personal experience. (Report a handgun discarded on the side of the road, get harassed because you don't carry photo ID every time you leave the house on foot, etc.)