[extropy-chat] Futures Politics

[Matus]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-
> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Samantha Atkins
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Futures Politics
> 
> dreams out of reach for generations.   In the US we have 2.3 million
> in prison I heard very recently.  More than any country.  More than
> any country on a per capita basis ever in history.  I have heard that
> around 60% nationwide are in on drug charges, most for simple
> possession.  After decades of such hate-filled abuse it still
> 
> - samantha
> 

Ah another one of my favorite statistics.  Really Samantha, does the US
imprison a higher percentage of it's population than Vietnam?  Burma?
Cuba?  Saudi Arabia?  And where exactly do these statistics come from,
their respective ministries of honorable and reliable information?  

Do we ever get to see official sources for these statistics?

I think such a statement should at least be qualified as 'The US
imprisons a higher percentage of it's population than any other
westernized liberal democracy' or something to that effect, but to say
it imprisons more than any country in the world is clearly disingenuous
and egregious in the face of the millions of people who rot in the hell
holes and gulags of the murderous dictatorships of the world.

Additionally it should be noted that we also have a subculture that
glorifies violence as a means to acquire value.  England has a similar
problem with it's 'yobs', and this, in addition to the ridiculous
criminalization of drug use, contributes to our prison populations.

Matus