Problems on the U.S. Side
- Thread starter tmotsinger
- Start date
jerry
Guest
Last edited:
jerry
Guest
Silva from the honest Libertarian Right(Mr. Moore) to the commie left (well, me) the complaints about the militarization of the American Police,the growth of the prison industry (America number one in incarcerations baby!) and the general stomping on our constitution over the last 10 years because 21 Saudi bus boys with box cutters scared a unprepared George Bush into going all Mussolini on the world (yep us included) then the smartest guy in the class (Obama) takes over and sucks up to the same war and prision machine and here we are....America the unfree where big brother isn't just watching he's got his hand in your underwear!
jerry
Guest
Funny!!!!...over the last 40 years thanks to the war on drugs every black man,Mexican -American and anglo counter-culture type have gotten or just missed being nailed by the state with a drug felony.It's a hard row to hoe having a felony on your back in modern America.
I hope you're not referring to the filmmaker.....
jerry
Guest
no a philosopher/fisherman on this forum with really bad taste in literature (The Fountainhead)
Oh got it. Yeah I tried to read The Fountainhead once. Just once, mind you.
Kenny
Guest
Yep, even some of our right wing "conservative" friends on this forum could be consider outlaws. Right Stuart?..
playaperro
El Pirata
I don't ever comment or say much on here, oh well, after reading this thread are they selling mushrooms in sonora?
Kenny
Guest
Then you must be posting during blackouts,:coldone: you have 1,891 posts.
Silvia
User is currently banned
As entertaining as this discussion has become it is now the proper hour of this fine day that we were blessed with to go to one of our fine mexican eating establishments we will be seated in an hour having one of our favorite dishes taquitos with two big scoops of guacamole piled high on each of three of them with rice and the finest beans in all of NM you may think of us in said hour if we I can find the time in this sunny day I upon return I will attempt to address some of your concerns that is assuming that as some of you members refer to these individuals that are protecting us all pigs don't take us to the NM prison now our lunch early dinner awaits us please think of us in said hour
mexicoruss
Lovin it in RP!
I read it four times and am still confused............
rockyptjoe
Guest
My humble attempt at "readability"! :rofl:
Ordinarily I stick with my resolve to use this forum solely for recreational and educational purposes related to Rocky Point and surrounding areas, but just for a couple of minutes I'm going to jump up on the soapbox DMAC recently abandoned and put some points on the board for people who prefer their rants seasoned with facts and logic
I'm always hearing our prisons are overcrowded because people who are otherwise innocent are being incarcerated for minor drug possessions. I just now searched the internet for government statistics on that subject and found them elusive, but I did uncover this article from Slate.com. Five myths about prison growth. - Slate Magazine. In prisons, not jails, 50% of inmates are there for violent crimes and 20% are there for property crimes. Only 20% are in for drug offenses, and these are mostly for distribution, not mere possession. The median time served for a prison inmate in the U.S. is 2 years. The principal impact of drug laws on increased prison populations is the role of prior convictions in determining sentencing. When a dirtbag breaks his girlfriend's jaw or pulls a knife on a store clerk, a prior arrest rfor drugs will make it more likely, and sometimes mandatory, that he will receive a prison sentence instead of probation with counseling.
I should point out that Slate.com is not Fox News.
Another thing I'm always hearing is that Americans are incarceration-happy because we've locked up a greater percentage of our population than any other country on the planet. But if you look closer at this subject, you should see it as a source of pride since it reflects a government that endeavors to protect its people regardless of race, ethnicity or wealth. Much has been made of disproportionately higher arrest and incarceration rates for blacks and Hispanics, but that overlooks the fact that most crime victims suffer at the hands of members of their own race or ethnic group and thus are the principal beneficiaries from arrests and incarcerations of criminals from their own neighborhoods. If America's criminal justice system ignored crime against minorities and the poor, arrest and incarceration rates among minorities and the poor would surely drop sharply. Would that be a more progressive approach?
In discussions of crime in Mexico, I often see references to the "impunity rate," meaning the percentage of reported serious crimes that go unpunished. In Mexico the impunity rate is always reported at around 95-98% depending on the time period and entity reporting it. In other words, if you commit rape, murder or robbery in Mexico, the odds you will ever be punished by the law are 2 to 5%. Statistics are similar for most Latin American countries. (I've tried to find out the impunity rate in the U.S. and European countries for comparison but can't find it. I'd be grateful if someone digs it up.) I believe a major reason for Latin America's high impunity rate has to do with Latin America's philosophical orientation toward government in general and criminal justice in particular. It seems that in Latin America, government officials' concept of law enforcement is ensuring that the government is being obeyed. Protection of the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for the average citizen doesn't seem to be a priority, possibly because the citizens who matter most to the government are hiring their own private security forces anyway. I'm encouraged by the demands of Mexico's citizens for better protectionfor the average person against gangs, kidnappers and serial killers, but I fear that the government will dismiss their protests and demands as just another element of the white noise that Mexico City's incessant protests and demonstrations have become.
My intention is not to say the U.S. is good and Mexico is bad, but I would encourage everyone to reflect on what we truly have here in the U.S. Some will always want to characterize the U.S. as a police state. That's fine, except that since English is routinely taught to school children throughout most of the world (excluding Mexico), people from all over the world may be reading this stuff and wondering how much of it can be believed. I wanted to offer some clarifying remarks.
And to DMAC, I would suggest that you keep right on challenging those police states wherever you find them, preferably by asserting in Mexico the inalienable rights you feel you have to possessing guns and in the U.S. your right to possess drugs. Then, when you can find internet access wherever you end up next, write us a comparison of what happened in the two cases with respect to knowing the charges against you, availabilty of competent legal counsel if you cannot afford it, swift and speedy trial, presumption of innocence and professionalism in the corrections system. We Americans always aspire to self-improvement, and your thoughts will be invaluable to us.
I'm always hearing our prisons are overcrowded because people who are otherwise innocent are being incarcerated for minor drug possessions. I just now searched the internet for government statistics on that subject and found them elusive, but I did uncover this article from Slate.com. Five myths about prison growth. - Slate Magazine. In prisons, not jails, 50% of inmates are there for violent crimes and 20% are there for property crimes. Only 20% are in for drug offenses, and these are mostly for distribution, not mere possession. The median time served for a prison inmate in the U.S. is 2 years. The principal impact of drug laws on increased prison populations is the role of prior convictions in determining sentencing. When a dirtbag breaks his girlfriend's jaw or pulls a knife on a store clerk, a prior arrest rfor drugs will make it more likely, and sometimes mandatory, that he will receive a prison sentence instead of probation with counseling.
I should point out that Slate.com is not Fox News.
Another thing I'm always hearing is that Americans are incarceration-happy because we've locked up a greater percentage of our population than any other country on the planet. But if you look closer at this subject, you should see it as a source of pride since it reflects a government that endeavors to protect its people regardless of race, ethnicity or wealth. Much has been made of disproportionately higher arrest and incarceration rates for blacks and Hispanics, but that overlooks the fact that most crime victims suffer at the hands of members of their own race or ethnic group and thus are the principal beneficiaries from arrests and incarcerations of criminals from their own neighborhoods. If America's criminal justice system ignored crime against minorities and the poor, arrest and incarceration rates among minorities and the poor would surely drop sharply. Would that be a more progressive approach?
In discussions of crime in Mexico, I often see references to the "impunity rate," meaning the percentage of reported serious crimes that go unpunished. In Mexico the impunity rate is always reported at around 95-98% depending on the time period and entity reporting it. In other words, if you commit rape, murder or robbery in Mexico, the odds you will ever be punished by the law are 2 to 5%. Statistics are similar for most Latin American countries. (I've tried to find out the impunity rate in the U.S. and European countries for comparison but can't find it. I'd be grateful if someone digs it up.) I believe a major reason for Latin America's high impunity rate has to do with Latin America's philosophical orientation toward government in general and criminal justice in particular. It seems that in Latin America, government officials' concept of law enforcement is ensuring that the government is being obeyed. Protection of the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for the average citizen doesn't seem to be a priority, possibly because the citizens who matter most to the government are hiring their own private security forces anyway. I'm encouraged by the demands of Mexico's citizens for better protectionfor the average person against gangs, kidnappers and serial killers, but I fear that the government will dismiss their protests and demands as just another element of the white noise that Mexico City's incessant protests and demonstrations have become.
My intention is not to say the U.S. is good and Mexico is bad, but I would encourage everyone to reflect on what we truly have here in the U.S. Some will always want to characterize the U.S. as a police state. That's fine, except that since English is routinely taught to school children throughout most of the world (excluding Mexico), people from all over the world may be reading this stuff and wondering how much of it can be believed. I wanted to offer some clarifying remarks.
And to DMAC, I would suggest that you keep right on challenging those police states wherever you find them, preferably by asserting in Mexico the inalienable rights you feel you have to possessing guns and in the U.S. your right to possess drugs. Then, when you can find internet access wherever you end up next, write us a comparison of what happened in the two cases with respect to knowing the charges against you, availabilty of competent legal counsel if you cannot afford it, swift and speedy trial, presumption of innocence and professionalism in the corrections system. We Americans always aspire to self-improvement, and your thoughts will be invaluable to us.
tmotsinger
Eating Newbie Gringo Taco
All I know is I got thrown in a US jail for having 4 pieces of trash in my truck. On the bright side, I couldn't see the rest of Ajo from in there...
funinthesun
Guest
Amen audsley! DMAC enjoy your guns and dope. You know that old saying if you go looking for trouble you'll find it? I hope you find it.