That's a tough one. No matter how I feel abou...

2009-10-11T12:23:23.369-07:00

That's a tough one. No matter how I feel about cheap labor and the convicts that perform the jobs, my first thoughts are always of the victims. I don't think that just because they develop a skill in prison or on the roadside or appear to be regular citisens when you look them in the eye that they are necessarily rehabilitated or even contrite. They maybe just playing the system to get a shorter sentence. How can anyone know for sure?

Manonymous

I definitely do. First, I don't think they jus...

2009-10-07T10:01:12.224-07:00

I definitely do. First, I don't think they just let anyone out to paint. People who murder and such are not painting in government offices. Liability and all. And second, the privatization of the prison system is all about cheap labor. Prison, in theory, is supposed to be about rehabilitation, yet it is not. It is much easier for us to think of "them" as people without real reasons for making sometimes very bad decisions - when they are on the side of the road. The prison, and legal, system (I would argue) would prefer it be kept this way. If we all start developing empathy for human beings that have had grossly unequal life experiences (parenting, education, kindness, etc.) producing grossly unequal outcomes (who's in prison and not in prison re: race and class), people in the business of imprisonment - lawyers, business people, etc. food contractors, evaluators, etc. would all lose a lot of money. - Arianne

Comments on Foreclosed to Fabulous: A Journey into Home Rehab: Stripes are the New Free

That's a tough one. No matter how I feel abou...

I definitely do. First, I don't think they jus...