That’s the exact right answer – the private prison industry benefits enormously from the massive over-incarceration (due to misguided drug policy, racism, laziness, and more), to the point of billions of dollars per year.
I am shocked and dismayed it is even that high.
Why? Because people are far more complicated than little boxes you can just shove them into. I feel that you paint with a very broad brush. Many of these political issues are based upon misconceptions and not just on malice. However, if there is a general reaction to people of a certain region and a certain belief that they are a certain way and there is no reason to consider them or care about them even thought they have different opinions than you then it is doubtful that they will change their point of view.
I would like to add this citefrom the pew research center to show that perhaps people of one area or religion do do necessarily all agree, and they may have beliefs and feeling that are contradictory.
Because it did a good job of prolonging the Great Depression?
A New War of Poverty because the Old one went so well?
But they ARE all in one little box. I live in a small redneck town. The lack of diversity in thought here is stifling.
I agree. I do. Most of the people around here are good people, when you leave out the small town political mentality. I agree it is based largely on misconceptions. But. I don;t care. People are responsible for their own thoughts… what, I guess, you are referring to as conceptions/misconceptions.
Sympathy? Sympathy aint got nothing to do with it. It is both IMHO informed self-interest and out of the same concept of “we are all in this together” (those I like, those I dislike, those I agree and those I disagree with, all) that I begrudge some on points right of me sometimes for having too little of.
You are a liberal or progressive Democrat I presume? Are you happy that the odds of Democratic (let alone progressive) control of Congress is virtually nil and that one “good” day voting in a Trump or a Cruz together with that GOP lock on Congress could spell dialing back progress many decades? Sort of odd your expression of don’t give a hoot about people dying of suicide and drug use and such if they are GOP and rural while I am sure being very upset that some in that demographic don’t give a hoot about the urban poor or those with AIDS.
Indeed the demographic of Black voters is very different than the demographic of less educated White voters and votes very differently. Including I am sure matched for education level and for income, likely even for rural/urban location and for degree of church attendance. What does that suggest to you?
“We are all in this together”. This is pretty much the antithesis of the republican party platform.
How would you feel if everyone lumped you in with everyone around you that you actually disagree with based upon where you are from or your dialect or your education?
I guess my underlying point is that the snobbery and false conceptions of some East Coast and/or upper middle class liberals and progressives is as much a problem as anything if one wants to see a more equitable, cohesive and fair society. Another problem I see (I’ll be honest here, I’m no fan of the rise of Ted Cruz) is that Cruz is a product of the Eastern Establishment. The same goes for Trump. So, these political figures are not rising out of any of these communities themselves, but are, in fact, outsiders vying for power by appealing to these populations. The way I see it, it’s like we defeated the South in the war, and now we look down upon them, and as far as politics goes they have one or another of our upper class educated at the same 5 colleges people to choose from and then everyone is pissed off at them. Well, hell, they didn’t even want to be part of your stupid union in the first place and now you wanna bitch at them about all the lawyers and businesspeople they get to choose from all coming out of the same 5 or so schools that have unconditional love for every disadvantaged group except poor trailer park trash white people.
I have no point really. I just think liberals should tone down the snobbery and condescention a tad; I might help things go a little smoother.
A talking point that is not so clear as many conservatives want it to be.
http://primary.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2007/07/fdrs_latest_critics.html
No, it won’t.
That said, I’m kind of with DSeid. You don’t have to have an ounce of sympathy to be concerned what’s going on with a significant portion of the population. I don’t care if they are literally next door to me or on the other side of the country. Restless, angry, disaffected youth are scary. Suicide and drug addiction are really the least of our worries.
Well, you never know unless you try:)
nm
Except that small towns are homogeneous.
True.
But look at who we are condescending too. People who are xenophobic, racist, sexist, gun loving, jesus loving, war mongering, & anti poverty. It’s kind of hard not to be condescending.
I glad that we can agree that I really have no point.
But also I would like to add that you can disagree with the attitude but still not be necessarily condescending to the person as a whole; sort of like attack the post and not the poster.
But it’s not a simple matter of “disagreeing”. These are people, who by definition, politically, have very little regard for the poor/unfortunate/minorities. I find it very hard to have compassion for those who go to such lengths to not have compassion.
I’m not saying your comments are not accurate on some level.
It can’t be both. If “rich people” are making so much money off of the drug trade, why would they try and limit it?
Have you ever heard of the expression “talking out of both sides of one’s mouth”?
Poor people don’t own or run prisons. They don’t own or run the factories that build military-style tanks, assault weapons, and survelliance technology that are used to execute the War on Drugs. Nor do they have the capital needed to manufacture and distribute illegal substances. Someone does, though. It’s the same people who have the ear of almost every politician, especially 'round re-election time.
Do you think Big Pharma is the least bit interested in keeping their products out of the hands of junkies? Why? What would be the benefit to them?
So you’ve got nothing to back up your position.
Yes, but apart from banks, who makes money off of the illegal sales of drugs? I understand/agree that the war on drugs is profitable…