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Alright, so I'm really curious about how y'all feel about our little "justice" system. I was under the impression that the corruption and racism of the legal system (and that applies to pre- post- and during prison time) were very well known and understood by... breathing, thinking mofos and especially POC. But sometimes I'll see posts with people
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A Less Fashionable War.
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furthermore, mamyrah was at that mtg and based on some stuff she had told me, it really seems like the prison system might really be the new slavery (well "new")...i met a couple recently ex-cons this summer doing my lil activist thing and it really was like talking to a recently emancipated slave...like on some real shit.
randomness: have you ever studied (in any capacity) anarchy/anarchism? it's interesting stuff.
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"furthermore, mamyrah was at that mtg and based on some stuff she had told me, it really seems like the prison system might really be the new slavery (well "new")"
Oh wow. You NEED to read Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis. Did I list that in the e-mail I sent you about stuff to read? 'Cause that is exactly what Angela proves in the book. It IS the extension of slavery in every way you can imagine.
"have you ever studied (in any capacity) anarchy/anarchism? it's interesting stuff."
Not really. I know very little about anarchy, but what I know of it sounds a bit appealing. I know the way it was initially presented to me (people literally running around screaming, randomly stabbing people, raping and just completely out of their minds) is no where near what it would really entail. From what I know the notion is no central government, no "authority" kinda like communism to the nth degree. Am I right? And suggestions on where I can start learning about it?
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www.infoshop.org has information on the origins of anarchy...but yeah i just started becoming interested last night ( ... )
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"but let me stop rambling because while i find it fascinating, you may not..."
Nah, actually I do too. And thank you for replying. You prompted me to read up on something that I've been meaning to for some time now. And thanks for the link. I've been glued to it.
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:::spits:::
lol, okay, I'm not gonna venture as far as to say that the justice system should be abolished. I'm self-admittedly not well read at all on the topic. But clearly, there are mofo's out there that I feel better knowing that they aren't walking the streets.
As to whether Rasool with his little weed hustle should be locked up with Jeffrey Dahmer? Or little 14 y/o Rashid being locked up with both Rasool and Jeffrey's grown asses? You know something is afoul. You know the system is not tilted in our favor. The justice system, like every other system in this country, is designed to protect people with money. Whenever something isn't designed to protect people with money it will always be aggressively challenged.
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That's pretty much why the notion of prison works. Because a system has been created where people are convinced that they are more safe because certain people are behind bars. Steph, the same type of people behind bars are out in the world right now. You're no more safe with any of them contained or not. The things that led them to do whatever it is that got them put behind bars wasn't solved by them being placed in prison.
"I'm self-admittedly not well read at all on the topic."
See and this is where your good friend Ebony comes in. lol I can recommend some books, if you're interested. You might be interested in the ties between slavery and the prison system.
Look at me, I'm a decarceration recruiter. lol
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Yeah, I realize that, but I feel a lot better knowing that the D.C. sniper's, as persons who committed the act (again and again) as opposed to just being capable of committing the act, aren't still roaming freely. I was actually thinking about your point while typing my response, but I just didn't include it. To me, prison/the justice system has been sold to the general public as a means for revenge. How else could you explain overwhelming support of the death penalty? It's like the ultimate revenge, and if it were marketed as a means to keep so called misfits off of the street... well, then why would we need prisons?
And yeah, I'm always open to book recommendations (but it will be some time before I have time to read them).
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Oh absolutely. That's a huge part of it. People are quick to let their emotions cloud rationality. What kills me is how widely accepted it is to just disregard logic for the sake of emotion. What's really crazy is that the penitentiary was initially developed as an alternative to capital punishment. Yet, here we are a century and some change later and there's still a general "moral debate" about whether the death penalty is acceptable.
"but it will be some time before I have time to read them"
Then I definitely suggest "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis (lol@ how many times I've suggested this book in the last few days). It's small (as in pages and size) and to the point. Seriously, you could read it before class each day and be done before the week is out. Well I guess that depends on how early you arrive to class.
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There's so much that I could say about it, that I cant even narrow it down at the moment. Maybe one day Ill post some of the journals and opinions that I had the write for the class.
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