I plan to write a series of posts exploring ideas surrounding the prison industrial system including:
- the private prison sector
- the school to prison pipeline
- why are we criminalizing our youth
- how the music industry benefits from creating felons
As well as some more general topics like the concept of imprisonment, big business's role in punishment, and the effects and impact of institutionalization.
As I began to gather info, I quickly realized how monstrous this topic truly is - both in size and nature.
This has got me to thinking more and more about children, about society and what kind of future we are creating here - and what kind of present we were born into.
As far as evidence goes no one knows for sure why we're here, why we were "born" at this time/place to these specific parents. You could have been anyone - anywhere - statistically speaking.
SO when I look at a huge problem like the American Private Prison Industry I'm not ignoring the crimes that have been committed, I'm not trying to justify their choices or condone them - I'm merely asking myself how did it get this far?
"I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to." - Tupac
There is a lot said in this short sentence. If you don't have food or money for food - you're gonna steal to feed yourself and your children. If you can't find a job because of a lack of education, training, references or you already have felonies - well you're gonna find a way to make money because you need to survive.
So many people look down on criminals, have preconceived beliefs about the worth of these humans. How can you stigmatize and ostracize thousands, millions of human beings just because they were born into a world much different, difficult and colder than yours?
If you were born into poverty, had a family unit riddled with drug addiction and into a community with very little resources, stability or funds to help it's failing systems you would assume this was normal. You would "know" there's no way out, you would be making the only type of money you could.
All these inmates, thugs, gangsters, prostitutes, call girls, whatever - were once children... harmless children. Society shaped them into criminals. Yes, they made their own choices but think for a moment how do we make a choice?
Based on our prior knowledge, our perspective on outcomes, we compare options.
Well what if you're knowledge was diluted by a failing school system, you're possible outcomes are eat today or don't and you're comparative options are steal food, eat from a dumpster, beg for change or sell drugs?
What are you going to do? Eat or starve?
And yes, not every battle is that severe but it's a mentality of scarcity, it's the ingrained belief that there's never enough. It's live to see tomorrow and that's it. There's no long term planning, no retirement fund. There is just today: where am I sleeping? How will I eat? Keep a roof over my kids' heads.
So in conclusion as my 20 minutes are far passed over - I hope to bring to light a lot of misconceptions about prisoners and the prison system. This is such a huge topic and I don't understand for the life of me why more people are not talking about the private prison industrial complex and how we are killing the future of America.
I'm starting with the music industry and mainstream media from the 1980's to the present moment and how they've used rap, hiphop and pop to brainwash our children into thinking drugs, violence and survival of the fittest are the "best" way to become successful.
Please feel free to comment any of your opinions or if you have any interesting articles, videos, blogs about this topic that I can include over the series. I have a rough outline made but I'm still looking for more sources and references.
