liveonearth | Entries tagged with prisons

Randy Blazak is a PhD from Emory University with a specialty in hate crimes. Specifically he studied racist skinheads (he doesn't say just "skin heads" because you can shave your head without being a racist). He's a professor of sociology at PSU where his intro class is opening people's minds, and a professor of criminology at OU.

His talk for the Freedom From Religion Foundation on 1/15/18 was entitled "With Odin on Our Side; The Role of Religion in Right Wing Extremism." I didn't understand why he said Odin in the title until the end of the talk, but it has to do with the fact that an ancient Viking religion is being propagated in our prisons. I'm going to take the information from his talk and put it in chronological order, and flesh it out with links to articles around the web, trying to make sense of the times.

At the end of his talk Blazak summarized that there are two profiles for violent haters; sociopaths, and lower level thinkers. Sociopaths, or more specifically people with antisocial personality disorder, have no qualms about injuring or killing others because they have no conscience. These are the people we need to imprison long-term. Lower level thinkers are simply regular folks who joined the cause because they were alone and needed to belong. They weren’t philosophical about it, they were simply vulnerable. These are the people that we need to help.

( Timeline and Links behind Cut )

This documentary is well worth seeing. It explains how the 13th Amendment did more than free the slaves, because it had an exception that said criminals could be imprisoned. A massive cultural effort ensued to criminalize blacks, and our so-called "criminal justice" system was not sufficient to protect them from powerful white men determined to keep them down.

A Netflix documentary (called 13TH) shows us is just how easy it is to criminalize a previously enslaved population. This history is ugly, and the present is not pretty either. The percentage of our populace that is behind bars far exceeds that of any other nation, and the percentage of that imprisoned mass that is black or brown in skin color is also ridiculous. There is definitely something wrong.

13TH was directed by Ana DuVernay who has quite a resume.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_DuVernay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13TH_(film)

( What I learned so far (we haven't finished watching the documentary) )

I read today about the California prisoners who've gone without food for 45 days now to protest the practice of keeping people on solitary for a year or more. A judge decided that the prisons can force feed them. This is barbarism. Their rationale is that some of the fasting prisoners have been mislead. I almost expect to hear the Shrubism: "wrongheaded" applied to the prisoners. But it is our practices of incarceration that are wrong.

First of all, it is entirely inhumane to keep any person locked away in solitary for any time at all. We are not designed to be all alone, and left all alone for too long almost any human will loose their mind. A whole year in isolation is enough to make a very sane and functional person completely mad. It is very reasonable for prisoners to protest against this practice with every tool they have.

Second of all, even prisoners should have the right to refuse food if they want to. Everyone should have the right even to end their life if they so choose, especially adults. After all, if a person cannot decide what to do with their life, is it their life at all? This kind of prison practice makes capital punishment look humane.

I didn't hear about these women until today. Perhaps you've already heard. Pussy Riot a Russian punk rock band who performed an anti-Putin song in the "main cathedral" of the Orthodox Church. Now they have been held in "pre-trial detention" for months. It is expected that they will serve years of jail time for the offense, which was, in a word, a sacrilege.

I don't know about you, but if someone did this in my sacred space, I would be offended. I don't mean that Russia's powers that be (government and church in cahoots) should be able to imprison people for years over this sort of behavior. I think not. I personally relish hearing the words Pussy Riot in the news, and am glad that women there feel powerful enough to do this. Putin's continuing reign is a far greater blasphemy than the most raucous of punk rock in a cathedral.

In spite of my sympathies for their causes, I would be totally pissed if somebody made this kind of noise in my sacred place. Blast that crap at the river? Get OUT. I understand anger, and suppression, and the need to eliminate Putin. And I understand the outrage against their methods. Too bad the punishment is so out of proportion with the offense.

Here's the NPR story: http://www.theworld.org/2012/06/anti-putin-punk-rockers-pussy-riot-to-stay-in-jail-await-trial/

Twenty eight percent (28%) of US households are now just one person living alone. This is the most ever. These singles are the biggest spenders, contributing 1.9 trillion to "the economy" each year. (According to The Week 2/10/12 which is in turn quoting Fortune magazine)

And another factoid from the same source: the number of US prisoners age 65 and over has increased 63% between 2007 and 2010. I guess we're keeping them put away so long that now they need more medical care, and it's becoming an issue. The total number of prisoners has been flat for that same period.

Morality is moral
only when
it is voluntary
--Lincoln Steffens, journalist

I could (yet can't) break out of this prison for drunks
I did not come here of my own accord, and i cannot leave that way
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
--Rumi

Texas GOP Official Platform Calls for Imprisonment of Homosexuals and Supportive Heterosexuals
http://jaysays.com/2010/06/texas-gop-official-platform-calls-for-imprisonment-of-homosexuals-and-supportive-heterosexuals/

( reaction )

He was elected governor of Illinois in 2002, and in January 2003 suddenly the inmates got a new diet. Soy protein is cheaper than meat and diary, so the state could save money by feeding it to the prisoners. If meat is served, it is mixed with about 2/3 soy protein. Of course the Department of Corrections is costly to run. And Archer Daniels Midland (soy supplier) was a major contributor to Blagojevich's campaign. But is it really fair to feed prisoners a food-substitute that is increasingly demonstrated to be have toxicity, as well as being hormonally active?

The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/us/11gitmo.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Glaberson&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

This is the story of a Sudanese man that we have detained who points out American hypocrisy and plans to boycott his own trial in protest. He is correct in his assessment, and yet the judge and government representatives dismiss him as "unstable," as "very distressed, frantic almost." The Government lawyer wants him evaluated "before he makes any statements," i.e., before he is permitted to speak. Perhaps he will say something that rings so true that everyone around will have to admit it.

This one is worth a careful read. Here is an intelligent man whose mind is still free, in spite of American efforts to brainwash him. Perhaps he can help us all become aware of the ways in which we are brainwashed.

( Here's some of what the ACLU has to say about Guantanamo: )

Pelosi has told Shrub we should boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in China to protest their poor human rights record. Merckel (Germany) and Sarcozy (France) are already planning to boycott.

( more )

I thought I posted a link to Naomi's article earlier, but couldn't find it, so here it is! This is the same lady from the utube clip (previous to this entry).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/ten-steps-to-close-down-a_b_46695.html

( here's the full text )

I have been following president Hugo Chavez ever since he made that remark about smelling sulfur in the air after a Bush visit to his turf. Not surprisingly, the US corporate media writes him off as a madman, and the reporting is skewed to hide the fact that he is popular in his own nation and around the world. But what I had not realized is the extent to which the CIA has operated in the past, and is operating now, in Venezuela trying to upset Chavez's cart. Here's some info about the recent constitutional referendum, with links to articles about CIA activities.

http://www.libertytreefdr.org/democracyNews.php#news56

Here are a few articles from the proposed constitutional revision that was not passed:
Article 21: Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and health.
Article 64: Establish adequate housing as a right for all Venezuelans.
Article 87: Create a social security fund for Venezuelans who are self-employed or employed in the informal sector.
Article 90: Decrease the workweek from 44 hours to 36 hours.
Article 103: Mandate that all public education, up to and including university, be free of charge.
Article 272: Require the penitentiary system to orient its work towards the full rehabilitation of prisoners and to respect their human rights during incarceration.

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Page Summary

Blazak on the Role of Religion in Hate Crimes in the US
13TH (documentary on netflix) Amendment and the Prison-Industrial Complex
Hunger Striking Against Solitary Confinement
Pussy Riot in a Cathedral
More Americans Live Alone Than Ever Before
QotD: Morality
QotD: Drunks
Can the GOP in Texas be this blind?
Blagojevich Switched Prison Diet to Soy Protein
On Freedom by Hafiz (13th century Sufi poet)
Cops Against the War on Drugs
The Truth About Guantanamo
America, Land of 1% Incarceration
From Democracy to Fascism in 10 Easy Steps!
Venezuela update

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Entries tagged with prisons

Blazak on the Role of Religion in Hate Crimes in the US

13TH (documentary on netflix) Amendment and the Prison-Industrial Complex

Hunger Striking Against Solitary Confinement

Pussy Riot in a Cathedral

More Americans Live Alone Than Ever Before

QotD: Morality

QotD: Drunks

Can the GOP in Texas be this blind?

Blagojevich Switched Prison Diet to Soy Protein

On Freedom by Hafiz (13th century Sufi poet)

Cops Against the War on Drugs

The Truth About Guantanamo

America, Land of 1% Incarceration

From Democracy to Fascism in 10 Easy Steps!

Venezuela update