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
Whoa can't wait for the "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.
Wow, that is awesome that you did an internet search. Did it happen to figure into your mind that people locked up in jail might figure they are no better off that those in "prison"? Most states keep prisons for offenses above 2 years and jails for below that threshold. So by removing jails you basically removed the lowest rung on the ladder, which would be simple possession. Would it make you feel better if you had to spend a weekend in a jail as opposed to a prison? I'm thinking not.
I should point out that Slate.com is not Fox News.
How very cosmopolitan of you! Give yourself a pat on the back from taking a break from the Sean Hannity show! Now back to reality, the arrest rate for simple possession is about 450 / 100,000. In the private prison / court / police complex this represent s a butt load of money. I mean the money you would have to work really hard at to convince people your product was really good in order to sell it. Fortunately for the prison/industrial/pig complex they have people like you who don't really give a flying "F" about the rights of other people so long as you can relax in your easy chair and watch "Cops" at night.
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?
Wow, I have never looked at it that way. I mean, by that measure we're only second to North Korean in terms of protecting our population. You're right though, it we allowed people to drive around with empty beer bottles in the back seat and let them have cannabis, lord knows what kind of mayhem would ensue! Thank goodness we have the pigs to keep us safe from ourselves.
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.
I am not for a Mexican-style government, but I do hold a country who supposedly is founded on "life, libery and the pursuit of happiness" to a higher ideal. With regards to the comparison, it seems that in Mexico you have no legal rights but the folks there are willing to grant you normal human consideration, and in the US you supposedly have legal rights and they grant you absolutely no human consideration. Pick your poison. I know for me I prefer the Mexican style to the American one.
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.
The US is a indeed a police state and if you are too stupid to realize that, forget learning anything regarding language because the police want you to stay right where you are.
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.
Nice, your kind of Americans are smug feeling that you're superior to the rest of the world, despite the fact that aided by dullards like yourself, the US has decended to probably the worst police state next to North Korea. Get over your self-important rah-rah, US BS and get real. This country if F'd up and if you don't recoginize that then you're part of the problem.
