In Tim Kaine's Virginia, one in every 46 people is in prison or on probation or parole. Violent crime is rare outside certain parts of the cities. The cities impose gun regulations in spite of state preemption law making that ... illegal. A man was recently sentenced to 26 years on a marijuana conviction. Murderers may be sentenced to 50 years and serve 5. They were abused as children and grew up poor and never had a chance. The same could be said of ME. It's a CHOICE. Damn right it's planned.
Yet, when a "drug bust" goes down, the cheerleaders-for-tyranny act like civilization has just been saved. I no longer even blink if someone says they are on parole. So few actually did ANYTHING wrong. Other than piss off the state, that is.
One of the finest groups of men I ever worked with worked for me. All but three of them were paroled murderers. Yet, to this day I have never met a group of similar size for which I had more respect. Nor, have I ever worked or associated with a group who showed me more respect and did the same for each other. The majority were black and doing everything they could to remain straight and they worked a job that was so difficult and dangerous that nobody else would take it. This was in Texas at a time when the only way to be paroled was to have a job waiting outside the walls on the day of your release. Murderers and those convicted of lesser crimes of any other color could get better, safer jobs prior to their release on parole.
I still regard that crew as one of the most pleasant experiences of my working life. These were men who only wanted to be treated like men. Until I took the job as their supervisor they had not been. We broke all records and there wasn't anything they would not have done for me. Especially after they saw me jump into fire to save one of them. But even before that, our association was very good.
Treated with dignity they never betrayed it. Neither on or off the job. They were honest to a fault, at least with me.
That was many years ago when I was a young man and it caused me to reevaluate my automatic acceptance of society's judgments. I had always thought for myself, but had accepted some things as "givens". I had a lot fewer 'givens' after that, and none that I had not determined for myself.
Sadly, even in Wyoming, the latest number is 1 in 38. In prison, jail, probation or otherwise under court orders.
ReplyDeleteGiven that there is almost no violent crime here, that means an awful lot of people are being jailed for harming nobody.
And guess who they're talking about releasing to reduce expenses? Right, the actual violent ones!! AGGG
Because the violent ones scare more of the public thus permitting the .gov to take more authority over your life during the scare.
ReplyDeleteThe ones that have hurt nobody are of no use to tyrants, they serve no purpose in making the government look like a savior.
It is an unholy alliance,and it ain't accidental.
In Tim Kaine's Virginia, one in every 46 people is in prison or on probation or parole. Violent crime is rare outside certain parts of the cities. The cities impose gun regulations in spite of state preemption law making that ... illegal. A man was recently sentenced to 26 years on a marijuana conviction. Murderers may be sentenced to 50 years and serve 5. They were abused as children and grew up poor and never had a chance. The same could be said of ME. It's a CHOICE.
ReplyDeleteDamn right it's planned.
Yet, when a "drug bust" goes down, the cheerleaders-for-tyranny act like civilization has just been saved. I no longer even blink if someone says they are on parole. So few actually did ANYTHING wrong. Other than piss off the state, that is.
ReplyDeleteOne of the finest groups of men I ever worked with worked for me. All but three of them were paroled murderers. Yet, to this day I have never met a group of similar size for which I had more respect. Nor, have I ever worked or associated with a group who showed me more respect and did the same for each other. The majority were black and doing everything they could to remain straight and they worked a job that was so difficult and dangerous that nobody else would take it. This was in Texas at a time when the only way to be paroled was to have a job waiting outside the walls on the day of your release. Murderers and those convicted of lesser crimes of any other color could get better, safer jobs prior to their release on parole.
ReplyDeleteI still regard that crew as one of the most pleasant experiences of my working life. These were men who only wanted to be treated like men. Until I took the job as their supervisor they had not been. We broke all records and there wasn't anything they would not have done for me. Especially after they saw me jump into fire to save one of them. But even before that, our association was very good.
Treated with dignity they never betrayed it. Neither on or off the job. They were honest to a fault, at least with me.
That was many years ago when I was a young man and it caused me to reevaluate my automatic acceptance of society's judgments. I had always thought for myself, but had accepted some things as "givens". I had a lot fewer 'givens' after that, and none that I had not determined for myself.