Criminally Unjust

As the coffee began to awaken my brain (sometimes it never happens, that's why this blog is called casually conscious), I decided to do some generalized research on criminal justice in the United States and its perpetually indisputable racism.

One out of every 32 U.S. adults was either in jail, on probation or on parole at the end of last year, according to the Justice Department which is the highest rate of any industrialized nation. And although less than 15% of the u.s. population is black, they constitute a disproportionate 50% of incarcerated prisoners.

It’s easy to fall back on the stereotypes ingrained in our heads since birth, especially if we’re white, and especially if we’ve ever watched television. It’s easier to accept stereotypes because you don’t have to think, and why would you want to think about something that has nothing to do with you? Thank God all of The Blacks live in the ghetto, except for that one that moved in a couple of houses down. I just know my kids won’t be playing in the front yard anymore; you can never be too cautious.

But see, it does have something to do with us. These stereotypes make us fearful, which in turn makes us restrict our children’s activities, keeping them from possible interaction with the Black neighbor and his children, which subconsciously reinforce the stereotypes. Mommy is anxious when black people are around, so I learn to become anxious. Pavlov’s dog.

Enough about my opinions, will I ever shut up? How can I when my first page of hits leads me to random insidious drivel from our B/F/Fs, the Reds. This brought me to a story I remember- have you heard of William Bennett? He is the former Secretary of Education and was in the media quite a bit a couple of years ago.

Let me refresh your memories, Dear Readers.


Mr. Bennett hosts a radio talk show for three hours every morning, and has for years. Before that he was the head of the National Endowment for the Humanities during the Reagan administration, then went on to be the Secretary of Education. His last major stint in government was the position of Director in the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Long story short? This guy made a lot of decisions that affected a ton of people.

Now that I've set the stage, the following is an excerpt from his radio show from late 2005, during which he addressed a caller's suggestion that the lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30 years would be enough to preserve Social Security's solvency. Referring to the book Freakonomics, Bennett uses the authors’ argument that abortion has decreased overall crime rates due to the aborted fetus' likelihood of being raised “poor and in single-parent or teenage-parent households.” You think that's bad? Read on.

Bennett goes on to give a more detailed example of how abortion can diminish crime, you know, something that resonates with his listeners.

“If you wanted to reduce crime ... if that were your sole purpose,” he declared, “you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Bennett conceded that aborting all African-American babies "would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do," but then added again, "but the crime rate would go down." (Listen here)

What scares the living shit out of me isn't that this guy spreads his neolithic views across hundreds of public radio stations, every morning for three hours, after which millions use this fascist’s proselytization to justify their bigoted agendas, but that he's SO POPULAR he not only maintains his following but (curiously) expands it as well.

Completing the cycle, look at the crack-cocaine sentencing, where you need 500 times the amount of cocaine for the same sentence you get for crack. With these kinds of laws, the powers-that-be know they’ve discriminated against the Black community. Yay, Office of National Drug Control Policy that's run by Guys Like That.

Oh, and not something I necessarily want to write about, but I had to give you some more pic goodness- This book? Yeah, written by Mr. Fat Fuck Himself. He deserves to be hanged by his own intestines.

Ever-Changing and Loving It

I’m so glad to have grown up when I did. Although there is still a tremendous amount of bigotry and hatred in this world, I am part of a generation that’s making changes in perceptions worldwide. I have to look at it that way, or else I’ll cry myself to sleep every night. Speaking of generations, this is my mom, grandmother and me. I wish I had a damn baby to extend it to four generations. I guess we can pretend and say that my freaking chicklet teeth are babies.

I grew up in a white Midwest town where people used the “N” word without hesitation, including my grandmother who still says it. I grew up saying the word, and amazingly enough, I never knew it was a bad thing to say. It was just what they were called. I was so oblivious to the rest of the world. How could I pay attention when my friends were having sex in 7^th grade and there was more peer pressure to drop out of school than there was academic pressure to go to college? I’m ashamed, but I have to accept all that was to change all that will be.

My boyfriend in the picture is a Palestinian Muslim. I shouldn’t really have to point out why that is such an eyebrow raiser seeing how you probably just read the previous paragraph…

God, Allah, The Elephant With the Arms, et al...

In a sociology class, we had to answer all these questions about how religion has changed in the United States. Growing up with it shoved down my throat, the only change I saw was that when I lived in bigger cities, people just didn't care as much. Sometimes it still takes me by surprise to see some Muslim women wearing hijeb (the headscarf) or the burqua (the full-body covering). I try not to stare, I really do, but I still can't look away. I respect them so much for having the balls to be so different in a country where we publicly denounce their religion.

Speaking of Muslim women, I saw this beautiful girl with her two children (although I wouldn't have guessed her being older than 19) as I was walking into Sam's Club. Living in a bigger city gives me all sorts of photo opportunities, it's just a matter of opening your eyes to the differences that surround you. But I couldn't help thinking, if she would have strolled into Super Dooper Wal-Mart where I’m from, time woulda just stopped, and you would hear little smacking sounds from all the mothers scolding their precious white children for looking at such heathens.

I went home for a weekend recently, and it just seems like everybody’s on the world wide web. I haven’t checked out the site yet, and I don’t know why, because I sure am curious what churches other than Landover Baptist put on their websites.

Our Failing Education System

This is a library in an elementary school in the neighborhood I grew up in. And I took a picture of the wall with the books on it.

Health Care Starts at Quik Trip

Now really- how in the world can any health care system keep up with all the damage we do to ourselves voluntarily on a daily basis? I know, I can't resist a stuffed breadstick either, but I'm just sayin'.

Money is Great and/or Sucks

Ahh, familiarity. Friday is the day during which Muslims come together and pray- it’s like Christian Sunday. So, in Dubai, where this picture was taken, Thursday is the night to celebrate the end of the week. I just can’t understand why it’s not T.A.I. Thursday’s, as they pray to Allah, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that Dubai is THE LAS VEGAS STRIP OF THE FREAKING DESERT, strippers and sleaze included.

Okay. So this isn’t a call center in Pakistan. But it is the 25’ high CEMENT WALL WITH SNIPER TOWERS that Israel is building in order to separate themselves from those sneaky little Arabs. Guess who’s funding this global injustice? The good ol’ United States.

Doesn't anyone remember how great it was to see the Berlin Wall being torn down on live television? I was only a child, but I still remember crying while watching it. Ronald Reagan would be ashamed of his Republicans now.

Politics. Now Shut Up.

In Denver, our congresswoman, Diana DeGette, was a central figure in the gay pride parade, and it was awesome. She roots for all minorities no matter what. Well, I guess unless you’re like, a child molester or something. I can be almost certain that she does not support those kinds of minorities.

This was taken in San Francisco at one of the many anti-war protests. Turns out, this guy loves guns, and loves them because of his military training in the Marines. He said that all it took was for him to see frightened children in Afghanistan to decide to get out. He has finished school because of the military and is now using that knowledge and power to fight against them. Wonderful!!

Dear Mr. President,

I hate you, You hate me,

Go Fuck Yourself.

Love,

The Masses

My Community. Changed it Has Not.

I grew up in a gemeinschaft community, however, I was not a part of it. My parents were my community, and that was it. Our town stuck together because they were Southern Baptists, and anyone who wasn’t just weren’t accepted. I wasn’t.

I would say that growing up, our town produced tradition-directedness, as everyone did just what they had been doing for the last few generations. Men worked, women stayed at home (the unfortunate ones had to work), and they all got together on Sunday for church and good food. I don’t know if my perspective changed because I was more conscious of myself, or because the town was actually changing, but as I got older, I noticed people becoming more aware of what their neighbors were doing; they were other-directed individuals, and it seemed they were engulfing the town.

An old picture of a couple living in the same part of the country as my mom did when she dropped out of school in the 8^th grade to pick cotton.

Remember Route 66? Here it is. It smells like burning tires and farts here, because this road is surrounded by oil refineries and the Arkansas River, which in this neck of the woods is just a hole in which we can throw sewage.