layla

creative writing & opinion essays

[no-struggle-no-progress]

the purpose of prison and preventing recidivism

the u.s criminal justice system can be described as many things: incompetent, classist, racist, and outdated, but many mistake it as fair. a country with well over two million people in jail or prison (a 500% increase over the last four decades), where murdering innocent people is legal (only if the perpetrators are a part of the government) ranks #1 of all country's documented prison populations. this can be explained by a multitude of reasons: the unwinnable war on drugs, intergenerational incarceration, many judges' failure to be impartial despite biases, or people actually committing crimes. whatever the reason, 0.7% of american citizens are behind bars.

the purpose of my argument is not to argue that criminals should not be punished, but to explain, that rather than improving society, prisons turn non-violent offenders into hardened criminals. the justice system claims to be a deterrent to crime, punish, and rehabilitate criminals. the prison system fails to do all of those things besides punishment. the u.s releases more than 600,000 people from prisons every year, and the recidivism rate in this country is more than fifty percent. this is most likely due to the lack of economic opportunity for felons after prison or the trauma the environment of prison causes.

despite those important causes, the current mental health crisis plaguing america takes some of the blame. people in power are guilty of disregarding mental health in this country as a whole. however, in penal institutions, this negligence is even more apparent. this may be due to intense budget cuts and the dehumanization of inmates. leaving mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, mania, and PTSD untreated worsens these conditions, often leading to alcohol and drug dependence. these addictions continue after they are released, and this spirals into reoffending. critics of the questionable practices by the american justice system are aware that prison is not supposed to be fun or a reward, but strictly punishment is worsening these citizens and damaging society as a whole.

www.sentencingproject.org / www.prisonpolicy.org / www.namica.org

[no-struggle-no-progress]

dividing a divided country

what exactly does banning "divisive" concepts (i.e critical race theory & the suppression of lgbtq+ literature) in schools actually do?

the short answer to that question, absolutely nothing. not only does banning, what straight white men deem, "divisive" counteract the very purpose of the education system, but it also silences the children apart of these suppressed groups. the public education system should pride itself on being impartial, as all government institutions should strive to accomplish. however, banning these essential viewpoints hinders children's learning. this country is built on blatant & systematic racism, but why should this be taught? this is absolutely ESSENTIAL for children of all ages to be aware of. children of color should be mindful of the past systematic oppression of their ancestors. white children should be informed for the exact same reason, not to villanize them on the basis of skin color (a thing the education system has been guilty of for a number of years), but to inform them of this country's history. kids should be aware of bigotry, it should be normalized from a young age that discrimination based on race is absolutely intolerable. the same point can be made about banning MENTIONING the lgbtq+ community in classrooms. this is completely pointless because this is in no way protecting children. look at it this way: children are intensely curious, if they are not being taught something in classrooms that is mentioned to them in media, by friends, or by seeing a gay couple in a walmart parking lot, they are seeking it out on the internet, and in result, they will be introduced to mature content more inappropriate than anything they could possibly be exposed to by school teachers. this goes even further with the denial of most american schools of teaching gay/lesbian sex-ed. considering the alternatives high school-age children have to figure out about their future sexual endeavors, for example, pornographic material at an early age, forums including adults seeking to prey upon inexperienced children, among many other harmful things. by not acknowledging the existence of lgbtq+ members, it damages a young growing child's identity. representation, as a whole, is extremely important to people of all ages. but, hey what do i know? im a "leftist/ liberal snowflake" right? lmao

ty for reading<3