John R. Platt ([info]plattcave) wrote,
@ 2008-02-29 08:41:00
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1% of American adults now in prison
100% of American policies now officially in failure.

1 in 100 adults now in prison

2,319,258 Americans behind bars in 2008, most of any nation


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[info]realthog
2008-02-29 07:03 pm UTC (link)

But, John, it gets even worse than that. Here's what I've just this moment been reading in Isaiah Poole's blog at http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/one-nine-conservatisms-strange-fruit:

One in 100 is bad enough. One in nine is a full-blown national tragedy — one aided and abetted by conservative ideology.

You know, if you've read today's headlines, that the "one in 100" figure represents the percentage of American adults now serving time in prison, according to a study by the Pew Center on the States. That figure confirms America's position as the world's No. 1 jailer.

But set aside that figure for a moment. The real number that should shock and appall us is the one in nine figure, as in one in every nine African-American men between the ages of 18 and 34 are in prison.

Let that sink in. Perhaps think of where you live, and think of the young men who are working everywhere from fast-food restaurants to law offices, or who are crowding college campuses. Think of the men working out in the gym or playing on the football field or basketball court. Then imagine what would happen if you snapped your fingers and, suddenly, one in every nine of them disappeared. Think of the disruption to families and communities that would result. Think of the lost talent and the missed opportunities that would inevitably follow.

That is what has been happening in the African-American community for years, and the conservative movement has only had three responses: ever-more punitive and racist sentencing practices, cuts in programs that would help change the social and economic climate in African-American communities, and sanctimonious finger-wagging.

It is time the conservative movement was called to account for this.

Basically, it strikes me that we're letting a lot of rich middle-aged white dudes perpetrate a sort of everyday murder against obscene numbers of poor young black dudes.

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[info]plattcave
2008-02-29 08:58 pm UTC (link)
My god, it's almost venturing on genocide.

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[info]realthog
2008-02-29 10:08 pm UTC (link)

That's more or less it.

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