One in every 31 adults in the U.S. is either in prison or on probation or
parole.
Yes, the rate of incarceration in the U.S. probably far exceeds that of any
other country on the planet, with the exception of North Korea-- and nobody
knows for sure about that.
What's different about Minnesota? It has the lowest incarceration rate
in the U.S. at 171 per 100,000. Louisiana has the highest at about 700
per 100,000. I know-- the figures don't jive ("over 100" means 1,000
or more per 100,000, which obviously is not possible if the highest state
only has 700). Not sure why. The "over 1 per 100" number is
supplied by the
Pew Center on the States.
Iniquitous Denmark has 59 people in prison for every 100,000, which is
lowest in the world. That's less than 1/10th the rate in the U.S.
China: 117.
Congratulations America-- you just passed a
remarkable milestone this year. Well, actually two years ago.
First time, more than one in every 100 adults in the United States is...
what? Smart? Rich? Single? A heroin addict?
Alcoholic? Educated? A member of the Tea Party?
Mexican? Dutch? Drives a BMW? Bikes to work? Has a
PHD? Works for the government? What?
In prison.
That's not one of every 100 males. It's 1 of every 100 adults.
I would suggest to you that any nation that would incarcerate 1% of it's
population, barring the most ridiculously extreme set of circumstances,
which I can't even imagine, is collectively psychotic. This is an
unsustainable circumstance, a cesspool of repression and denial, a cancer of
social and political malignancy.
One in every 100 adults is in prison.
This is a society that has completely failed to deal with crime and
justice in a responsible way. It is the path of a third world
dictatorship, a tin pot fiefdom, a colonial outpost, a medieval manor with
witches and heretics and plague.
Put it together with the empty factories
and warehouses and plants in Detroit and Buffalo and the mid-western
states... this is a country that needs to go back to the drawing board and
redefine what it understands as the social contract between citizens and
government, between workers and employers, between police and suspects.
So, America, what is the meaning of this? Bad luck? Godless
atheism? Religious fanaticism? You are among the most
repressive, authoritarian states in history on this issue: you love
locking people up.
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© Bill Van Dyk
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