the idiocy of our system - "tough on crime" and rascism in american criminal "justice"...

now that campaigns are really heating up (as if the constant campaign ever goes cool...professional politicians that campaign more than they govern is not what this nation was supposed to be) we inevitably are hearing, and will hear, about the credentials of these purported leaders when it comes to "fighting" crime (as if you can don some boxing gloves and go ten rounds with behavior society - well, certain parts of society - deems unacceptable). what does this mean? we will learn just how "tough on crime" a candidate can be. and what does "tough on crime" mean? well, of course it means unflinching support for longer sentences and a complete indifference to suffering in american prisons (although if you are a "liberal" candidate, you are expected to be horrified by the actions in american military prisons, never mind that they often mimic those found at your local sing sing). it means never having the cahones to question whether or not longer mandatory sentences really does a damn thing to lessen crime. it means ignoring the dirth of evidence that suggests that longer sentences in overcrowded and increasingly inhumane prisons actually increases crime over time...increases recidivism, increases criminal activity in the neighborhoods decimated by these boneheaded policies (see below), increases the costs on society (read - more of your money goes to preventable bullshit). but god forbid anyone say what it is obvious to anyone paying attention - the current path does not work. crime rates have increased since we went punishment happy. violent crime continues to climb. the amusing part of it is, the folks that scream about "personal" responsibility (thereby ignoring societal responsibility) and bitch and moan to no end about welfare and folks that "live off the taxpayers" are the same ones that have set up a virtual welfare system of prisons that are designed to perpetuate themselves.

being "tough on crime" has nothing to do with being smart about crime. it has nothing to do with supporting policies that are designed to lessen crime in your neighborhood. it has nothing to do with protecting society. it has nothing to do with making your life better. it has everything to do with taking the easy way out in the short-term, only to leave future generations (read me) with the bill...leaving us a society where incarceration rates are triple that of china. thats right...triple that of china. and we are supposed to be a free fucking society? please...drop the charade and say what "tough on crime" really means...a complete fucking coward unable to address the root causes of crime, because that would mean actually taking a stance that might not be popular with the people footing the bill for your campaign. it would mean (gasp) supporting the constitution in the face of morons screaming that you support child molestation and the like. it would mean being a true american. and we all know none of them are capable of that...not during election season.

and all this "tough on crime" bullshit has exacerbated the utterly obvious rascist effect of our criminal justice system. since we went punishment happy and fell in love with mandatory minimums and "uniform" sentencing practices (meaning ignoring the fact that we are individuals and not easily placed on a fucking point grid) the racism in the criminal justice system has really blossomed. nearly a quarter black men will spend time in prison. latinos are quickly catching up. incarceration rates for whites have remained pretty stable...yet the overall incarceration rate has exploded in the last twenty years. coincidence? an amount of crack, for purposes of sentencing, is assumed to be the same as 100 times as much cocaine - nevermind that they are the same drug...one is for suburban white boys, the other is for poor inner-city folks (and wouldn't you know it, they tend to be minority).

and it isn't just there. black arrest rates have gone up since we went to "war" with drugs. white arrest rates have remained pretty damn stable. funny, but drug use rates are virtually identical between races. and yes, I am saying that law enforcement is inherently racist. are there good cops out there? sure. are there asshole cops out there? plenty. is the system set up to fuck with minorities more than freckled suburban assholes like me? most definitely.

we should be ashamed at what we call "justice" in this country. it should horrify us that we spend more on putting people in prison as adults then we do educating them as children. but no "leader" would ever admit that...god forbid some right-wing assfuck calls us "soft" on crime. because who would really want to intelligently approach crime? who would actually want to attack crime in a way that is designed to lessen rates rather than increase them? then who would make money building prisons and over-crowding them?

is something wrong? you're damn right there is...