Suggestions for Change in the PIC

The suggestion for the abolition of prisons is always an uncomfortable topic. We know many of the ways that prisons are hindering our society these are including but not limited to:

·Civil Rights violations

·Human Rights violations

·Disinterest in rehabilitation

·Criminalization of entire communities (mainly communities of color)

            So, now that we are able to identify the main problems, what do we do about them? Is there a way to change these things? What should we as a society be fighting for exactly? These are all good and viable questions and it is difficult to say that the system that we have right now can be reformed into a positive place for rehabilitation. So many people and organizations agree that it would be best to tear our whole prison systems down and rebuild with completely new ideals in mind. Some of the ideals I would suggest we should hold in mind when reorganizing would be:

·Rehabilitation

·Individual rights

·Moving away from the objective to make money using prison labor

·Creating a cohesive community

            I am not suggesting that I have all of the answers, but our governmental structure is set up in a way where these things are not really possible. People are invested in the individualistic ideals and so it is very difficult for people to come together for a common good because, the people with the power are always going to be lifting themselves up while stepping on the “lesser” people to achieve their goals. In a perfect world and idealistic vacuum however, we could educate everyone on these issues and make them see that it is not always about tying to achieve the “American Dream” but that realistically we must work together to achieve a common goal for the most people rather than this individualistic outlook that realistically keeps the majority of people from achieving their goals. So, my suggestion for change then is to look at these ideals and others and move away from our learned way of thinking and towards a more reality based viewpoint on the prison industrial complex.  

Resource: http://www.criticalresistancegainesville.net/article.php?preview=1&cache=0&id=58

California's Proposition 5

Links: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suneditorials/la-oew-cooley-kreit31-2008oct31,0,4173671.story

http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/11/damn_lies_shenanigans_to_stop_drug_bette

            Proposition 5 was on the ballot for California this weeks election. Although it did not pass, this was a wonderful attempt at reducing the prison population. As the article outlines, the proposition would give more money to drug rehabilitation programs and crime prevention programs to hopefully rehabilitate rather than merely punish and incarcerate.

            This article presented both sides of issue however the argument against the proposition was at the end of the article and left a sour taste in the reader’s mouth. Also, the argument for the proposition was not as strong as the argument against in terms of how it was presented. This article was published in the Los Angeles Times, which is a huge news source for many people in California.

            The argument against the proposition is that it will actually increase crime rates. They say that this proposition would allow for the sate to be more lenient on crime and especially drug offenders who are “selling and distributing drugs to our children” they say that more people would become drug dealers because the state would not prosecute them as hard. However, this is not necessarily true and evidence for this has been supported and shown in the second article.  

            Finally, the group that was most invested in this proposition failing was the people and companies involved and invested in the California Prison Industrial Complex. “All the key players [in the California prison industrial complex] are insulated from any critical feedback and they are all feeding off each other, each getting more bloated with more power and money,” Nadelmann says. “In each case it is going to be citizens and tax payers who bear the brunt of the burden of government’s irresponsibility.” (thestranger.com)

website analysis

Link: prisonindustrialcomplex.org

This website is a good start and attempt at addressing the issues presented in the Prison Industrial Complex. However, with this strong website name I would have expected it to go further in depth about what the PIC’s objectives are, what they are doing, who is affected, and why it is bad. Instead, in this website the creator (George H. Russell) speaks very strongly in opposition to the complex and calls for education and change but it is not a very informative website.

George H. Russell gives a list of companies that benefit from the imprisonment of others he says that some of these are:

1. Contractors who built prisons along with the hundreds of sub-contractors that make specialized prison beds, toilets, window bars, toilets, locks etc.



2. Food services that unload hundreds of tons of inferior food products on our prison population.



3. Clothing manufacturers who manufacture not only guard uniforms but prison uniforms as well, plus the silly garb that is given to convicts upon release.



4. Other profiteers include gun manufacturers, those who make the chemicals used to kill our citizens, casket makers for the dead ones, the medical profession tasked with keeping the condemned alive until they can be put to death, and even the P.R. operatives who lie to the press about the system and its abuses. 


            The problem with this list is that it does not include the companies that use prisoners to make and build or sell their products such as long distance telephone companies, GM, Chevron, IBM, Motorola, Compaq, Texas Instruments, Honeywell, Microsoft, Victoria's Secret and Boeing. Federal prisons operate under the trade name Unicor and use their prisoners to make everything from lawn furniture to congressional desks. This irony is sad and true simultaneously, prisoners are trapped in a system where they are subconsciously promoting their own oppression. 

video review: a corrupt criminal justice system

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJ47wqZ0xE&feature=related

This video shows an aspect of the judicial system and specifically how the police departments conducted business in a less then ethical manor. It focuses on repossessing property and money for the profit of the individual police officers and the departments in general. This sort of corruption happens everywhere but the difference between the United States and other countries is that as a public, we are ignorant and naive to what goes on behind the scenes.

For example, when I studied abroad in Argentina last semester, I took an Argentina History class. This was different from any U.S History class I have ever taken and actually was more closely representative of a Comparative Ethnic Studies class. Even though they only have less than one percent native population left because of mass genocide, they still knew that this was wrong and explained what happened. Also, they were aware of the reasons and details behind their corrupt government. I personally even paid off an argentine policeman with one hundred pesos. I’m not saying that this is right but it is better when the public is aware of the corruption rather than ignorant like we are. 

Argentina also does not have a very high prison population. There were periods in time under different military rule when the incarceration rate climbed but it was not for the purpose of stimulating the economy through prison labor. We are one of the only countries that enslaves our prison population and in my opinion this is not by accident. I think that other countries have not adopted this aspect of systematic oppression because they know that it is wrong and because their people are well educated they will not stand for such injustices. 

article review

Link: http://apha.confex.com/apha/136am/techprogram/paper_181097.htm

            This article came from the “Public Health with No Borders” and looks at incarceration in a new light. This author views incarceration as a disease that affects many people and therefore the people around them as well are susceptible to “catching” this disease as well. They argue that because of the host (people already incarcerated that they are close to), environment (area in which they live) and agents (the Prison Industrial Complex) certain people are more likely to become victims of incarceration as well.

            The problem with this is that it does not place very much, if any blame on the Prison Industrial Complex. They are more concerned with individual persons and the environment rather than why these things occur. They do not discuss why people of color and women specifically (in this article) are targeted and victims of an oppressive governmental system that is more concerned with punishment than rehabilitation. In the article they discuss options for change at the individual level and although it is important to create change on every level surrounding this issue it is not addressing the larger picture.

            In a world that is continually concerned with the individual, we need to shift our focus to the collective. No progress or real change can happen when we look purely at the individual level. When this happens it is too easy to say “but they are an exception that is not what most people have to deal with.” This is not true, often times if one person experiences something many people have also had the same hardship or feeling of oppression. Therefore, it is important to realize these things when making plans for change and education.  

awareness

Who is aware of the prison oppression in our country?

Most communities of color know that they are targeted by the police and justice systems. Most lower class people of color know what their fate in this country is and have little to no hope for breaking out of this cycle.

            If it is true that our government spends more money on incarcerating individuals than it does on higher education, something is wrong. How can this government justify this distribution of spending? It is because incarceration, especially in private prisons is often times more profitable because of the businesses that they are using prison labor to make or sell their product. These businesses that solicit prison slave labor then often times donate extremely large amounts of money to our elected officials who make budget decisions regarding prison expansion.

            This is not very well known information. It is often kept very ‘hush hush’ and for understandable reasons. Most members of congress do not want this information known. Therefore, the people who are aware of this information are the people it affects the most who often are the lower class people of color who do not have any power to change this.

             Because our national community is so stratified and through time civic engagement has become less important people have a difficult time organizing to create change. If you are not the group with the power you need many individuals in order to create any kind of change or even be heard. Therefore in order to create change especially on this issue, we need to work together to make our voices heard.