A world we dare to imagine post #1

Deciding what issue to tackle isn’t trivial; the amount of suffering and unfairness in this world is huge; however, if we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the impossibility of the big picture, nothing will ever get done. With that said I decided to brainstorm a topic that I found passionately about-- choosing to focus on our prison system as a avenue for profound social change.

The prison and criminal justice system in the United States is plagued with a broad range of issues. For example, tough, reagan-era drug laws and mandatory minimums ensure that people get locked up more often and stay in prison longer. Private-run prisons also exacerbate the problem by incentivizing the retention of prisoners. Additionally, as Michelle Alexander notes in “The New Jim Crow,” mass incarceration has become a modern version of the actions previously taken to disenfranchise large amounts of black men. Rehabilitation of prisoners is also an extremely pressing issue as recidivism of prisoners remains extremely high. It is extremely easy to forget about prison in the bubble that USC provides, but until our nation deals with the institutional problems that allow two million people to be locked up we must remain vigilant and informed.

There are many that would argue that prisoners don’t deserve our time or money, voicing they did something bad, therefore they should be punished accordingly. I hear these concerns, and to an extent they are valid; however, I believe this social issue is just as worthy of our consideration.

With a problem of this magnitude I began to think of ways that I could effect real change in regards to the prison system in our country. I thought about how prison has an impact on the formerly incarcerated long after they exit the lockup. While laws vary between states, ex-convicts can face the loss of voting rights, discrimination in housing and employment, and loss of federal assistance. This is relevant to the average taxpayer because the national recidivism rate stands around ¾ for a five year period after release; society stands to lose every time these individuals return to the prison environment rather than remaining productive members of society.

My plan would be to help rehabilitate and support former convicts that belonged to marginalized groups in prison. In the violent environment of a prison those that don’t comform to traditional racial groups or sexual identities can find themselves in increased danger of sexual and physical violence.