The Largest Prison Strike In US History Enters Its Second Week [9/16/16]
Web Publication: The Intercept, by Alice Speri
The expansion of slavery
If you are a ‘law and order’ type, you’ll be inclined to pass this story off as “they get what they deserve.” However, it has important implications beyond the immediate right and wrong of civil punishment. I’ll just list them:
- This story has stayed well out of any and all major news outlets. Why?
- The implications of literal slavery, while possibly debatable, are not readily dismissible, particularly in light of the racial component of incarceration in the United States.
- In as much as the Black Lives Matter type movement(s) are currently front and center in the public concern, it may be just a matter of time before these protests spill over into one another.
- Why the ‘law and order’ people should not be so quick to dismiss this: What happens if another demographic group is tapped to keep prisons at maximum capacity by capricious application of criminal laws? This story illustrates possible ulterior motives.