334 Inmates vs. me
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dennisrwood
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[Syl]
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If it's volunteer only, that's fine. If it's not, or if conditions are changed so that it would be better to volunteer, I have a problem with it. I won't go into the disparity between incomes and ethnicity, but basically I see that as a new form of slavery.
The thing I worry about, though, is the description of the cars going by. How many times a year do you hear about road workers being hit, or even a motorist pulled over to change a tire? If one guy on the chain gets hit... Are they working on the highway because that's where they're needed, or are they working there because it's a high visibility location? Let DoT handle the freeways. Why not have the inmates clean up the areas around prisons and jails (which could always use some beautification, in my experience)?
In a couple of commands I've been at, at least once a year (usually "Christmas in July") a bunch of us volunteer to go out and fix someone's house, usually an elderly veteran's widow or something like that. Reshingle the roof, clean and straighten rain gutters, weed, lay down mulch, etc. This would seem to be a better and more fulfilling use of their time.
*shrug*
The thing I worry about, though, is the description of the cars going by. How many times a year do you hear about road workers being hit, or even a motorist pulled over to change a tire? If one guy on the chain gets hit... Are they working on the highway because that's where they're needed, or are they working there because it's a high visibility location? Let DoT handle the freeways. Why not have the inmates clean up the areas around prisons and jails (which could always use some beautification, in my experience)?
In a couple of commands I've been at, at least once a year (usually "Christmas in July") a bunch of us volunteer to go out and fix someone's house, usually an elderly veteran's widow or something like that. Reshingle the roof, clean and straighten rain gutters, weed, lay down mulch, etc. This would seem to be a better and more fulfilling use of their time.
*shrug*
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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dennisrwood
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Well, they should be, but that doesn't mean they will be. I'm just saying... we pay road construction workers a lot of money, around $20/hr, I think, for relatively easy work. Sure, standing in the sun for 8+ hours isn't fun, but it's not exactly a skilled trade... most states it only requires a 1 or 2 day seminar. We pay them that money because of the risk hazard.
Should we be putting the prisoners' lives at risk? I believe each state averages a couple of road construction worker fatalities a year. If you have a dozen guys all chained together... one goes, and the others are at least losing legs.
I think it's worth some analysis, as well as my question of there being better uses for the labor.
Should we be putting the prisoners' lives at risk? I believe each state averages a couple of road construction worker fatalities a year. If you have a dozen guys all chained together... one goes, and the others are at least losing legs.
I think it's worth some analysis, as well as my question of there being better uses for the labor.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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dennisrwood
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[Syl]
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...Why do I bother?
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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ChoChiyo
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The high cost of caring....Sylvanus wrote:...Why do I bother?
I agree that with them all chained together like that it is unsafe on a really busy roadway.
There are many less used roads that can benefit from pick up though--as well as rivers and streams where people fish and picnic and national parks.
I think doing the job and seeing the difference is good for these men (or anyone) and helps people make a connection to the community--be a part of it, have some ownership.
Another thought would be to take chain gangs to land fills to sort out the recyclables and lower the total amount of waste that accummulates there.
Empress Cho hammers the KABC of Evil.
"If Ignorance is Bliss, Ann Coulter must be the happiest woman in the universe!"
Take that, you Varlet!
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dennisrwood
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[Syl]
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Dennis, I think you might get something out of Wolfe's short story "How the Whip Came Back." You don't listen to much we say, maybe you'd listen to a fellow Catholic.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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dennisrwood
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Sheriff Lytton
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Edited by Sheriff Lytton due to a feeling that dennis is just having a very bad time and didn't really mean that (I hope).
Dennis - whatever's up I hope you're ok man, really I do.
Dennis - whatever's up I hope you're ok man, really I do.
Last edited by Sheriff Lytton on Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Nom"
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[Syl]
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Dennis, I don't expect you to just agree with me. Concede a point or two when it's due, maybe, but not blanket agreement. It just seems like you ignore a lot of what I say and latch on to a single response.
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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dennisrwood
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sheriff: sorry to disappoint.
Last edited by dennisrwood on Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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[Syl]
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Woo Hoo!!!
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner