Thursday, May 9, 2013
Why Many Return to Prison (Part 1)
Peace be unto you reader. Today, I would like to take a look into why so many of our brothers and sisters who go to prison, and are released, end up going back.
Let's start by looking at what takes place when one is incarcerated. Upon incarceration you are set on a scheduled routine, that is pre-constructed for you: what time to get up in the morning, what time to eat your meals, where you can and cannot go, what you can and cannot do, what time to go to work, all the way down to what time you go to bed. Now, this individual has conformed to this pre-constructed schedule for years, and is then released back into society. In society, there is no pre-constructed scheduled routine to follow, except the ones we may lay for ourselves. That individual will now have to learn how to begin building their own structured routine. But here's the problem: that person is years behind in society. Life on the outside is like a whole new world to them, which they must now conform to.
Now, let's take a quick trip back in time to when slavery was abolished. The now former slaves have their freedom, but they have little to no money, hardly no education, no land or property, and are far behind the people in society, who they are now forced to compete with, in order to thrive and survive economically.Therefore, a lot of the slaves went back or simply stayed with their former slave masters, because they did not know how to survive without the structure in which they were accustomed to. Remember, slavery was not personal, but business.
So, let's jump to the present time, 2013. Does anyone else see the psychological familiarity in the two, the former inmate and the former slave? Prisons are also businesses. Penal labor is classified as contemporary slavery, which translate to: the present time, the keeping of slaves as a practice or institution. You may be saying to yourself "I thought slavery was abolished"! Chattel slavery was abolished, meaning, no human being can have ownership of another human being. Now here is how they were able to pull it off: prisons are owned by corporations, and corporations are legal entities that can operate as a human being does business wise. It is a legal body without a soul. It is responsible for itself, just as a person. By the entity being nothing more than a piece of paper with legal rights, itself can own or have slaves because it is not a human being having ownership over another human. See how they have deceived us for years?
The laws are designed to create slaves. How I observe it, the reason for the concentration of the police in the black communities, and the mass arrest and incarceration of the young black male and the young black female is to begin structuring them to the institutions of contemporary slavery, conforming them to become the modern day slaves in captivity. Have them conform to structure, something that they may not be use to having in their lives. It's nothing personal...it business.
To be continued....
As usual, I thank you for taking time to read this and I hope that we, as a people, can espouse unity with ourselves. As I leave, I want to leave you, the reader(s), with words of peace. So I say to you all, As-salamu-alaykumu!
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I agree that the penal system is a form of slavery. I would point out or argue that it's voluntary. We don't have to go to prison, our choice(s) to violate the laws of the land ensures our incarceration thus, freely relinquishing our liberties.And the Pavlov's dog syndrome is simple psychological conditioning whether applied in prison,slavery or the laboratory. I won't try to critic all of your points for many are very well made.I would just conclude if we could learn to avoid going to prison in the first place would be a excellent philosophy to develop and maintain.
ReplyDeletePeace
Peace be unto you Rocky Sills. In response to your argument that it is voluntary, I must disagree to an extent. For one, how can one freely relinquish his God given rights to man? Secondly, what about the many that have been exonerated after years of incarceration, that have not violated any laws except being Black? I'm not saying that every black person incarcerated is innocent of the crime(s) they have been convicted of, but I personally know how the judicial system will fail for the innocent. Yes, we as a people need to straighten and clean ourselves up, but at the same time, no other race in America has had laws designed against them but us. And it would be a mistake to think that we still don't.
DeleteI truly appreciate and respect your comment and for taking time to read my writings. Thank you and may peace be upon you!
I would never suggest that one give up their humanity or human-ness, when I mentioned Liberty I was referring to Freedom. My use of the word voluntary was in fact a tad bit premature for I was speaking in a very general context which I should have made clear; my apologies.
DeleteIt took a while, but I finally figured it out. Lol it would appear that just maybe I'm a little technology challenged. Anyway, thank you brother for asking such a serious question about a serious matter.FB has become such a disappointment, I was contemplating deactivating my account mainly I found myself Lecturing and that seemed to come across as Condescending. The absolute saddest thing I found is that people " generally" Will Not THINK would much rather sit quietly & passively on the sideline waiting for someone else to speak... With this mindset ( if it's a accurate reflection & representation of the group as a whole ) you understand the unlikely-hood of witnessing positive & progressive change in your lifetime for a certain race of people.
ReplyDeleteSome would undoubtedly argue that people are busy living their their lives & don't have time to engage back & forth on social media forms. The fact that social media has in some respects change & in others shaped our lives forever suggests just the opposite. Out of a pool of serval hundred in my case " Interacting " on Facebook with the same consistent response or the lack thereon speaks volumes. So again, thank-you for asking and addressing such a powerful question. I would like to send you a friend request because I would like for you to stick your head in this " think-tank " I'm a part of it was a great idea..... Stick your head in sometime and you can make up your own mind. No obligation of any kind. Peace
Lol...it's okay brother. I agree on just about every point you just made. I've said a lot of the same things, and I find it troublesome that a lot of people do not think for themselves and speak up or speak out, and wait for others to do it for them.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you for your positive feedback and I look forward to further conversations with you brother. Peace be upon you.