prisons: Do they prevent crime?

To All Fighters Of Crime,

Of course we can never get a comparison between Classes, regarding the percentage of crimes committed or the meting out of justice. 

First, there is a high wall between the Ruling Class, fondly called the 1%, and the rest of Americans.  But even within the lower Classes differences exist as to who is apprehended and how they are processed by the judicial system. 

As a White, Middle/Working Class youth, I was nailed one summer evening on the streets of downtown Seattle, while staggering happily along.  My cousin and I had purchased a fine bottle of some sort of high octane booze, courtesy of a local down at the heels fellow waiting to be of assistance to under age guys like us, for the price of a jug of cheap wine. 

We arrived at the Grey Bar Motel(Jail) at around 1:00 A.M.  A call to my parents brought them to the rescue, bailing us out along with long, serious, angry sermons.  Two months later I missed my first day of college classes so that I might appear in front of a not so kindly judge.  But I hung my head and mumbled appropriately, promising never to again get caught...uh, I mean never to do it again. 

And that was that. 

Fast forward to my days at the Drapery Factory.  I hired a young Black kid as my helper in the freight room.  He had just been released from jail after serving 6 months.  Serious stuff.  Can you guess what his crime had been to warrant 6 months in the County Can? 

Well, he and a couple of friends had just finished off a jug of fine hooch, purchased via a friendly, down at the heels fellow who hung around the liquor store door making his services available to under age youths like these fellows.  After that, the similarities came to a crashing end. 

We are a Class Society and we are deeply prejudiced.  Worst of all, we, like any good addict, are in deep denial. 

 

Curious Carl