THE PUNITIVE SOCIETY--How Criminalizing Childhood Reflects Harsh New Reality

[patrickmurfin]

            A recent NEW YORK TIMES article by BOB HERBERT, SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE, examined a growing but under reported phenomena plaguing the country-the criminalization of childhood.

I have been alarmed for some time by the trend to call the cops over what was once considered either trivial childhood mischief, an ordinary part

Comments

How Criminalizing Critics Reflects Harsh U*U Reality

[anonymous]

Robin Edgar discovered in December 2000 he could be arrested and charged with disrupting a church service (a blighter and the stub of a half baked sermon) even though he had not stepped on "church" property.

The defenders of this nonsense repeat the same mantras, often word for word, when asked about such policies in the press. “If he wants to rejoin the church, he's got to stop what he's doing.” we are told “We can’t allow any disruption to the religious environment.” Zero tolerance policies are often cited as if they were handed down by U*Us from Montreal and not enacted by nervous church boards at the direction of sign-stealing lawyers. Thus no independent assessment on a case by case basis can be made and the guy with plastic picket signs is treated no differently than the known rapist with a "Glok" under his frock; the guy without so much as a medicated throat lozenge in his wallet gets equal treatment with the dangerous psycho killer off his meds. . .