I watched the video. I don't have a Youtube account so I cannot comment there.
Personally, I loved the music (especially the Bass lines), but I find that type of video sensational, confusing and wonder what the actual point is.
The selection of photos and editing seemed off to me. I don't know of anyone who is happy to see anyone unjustly locked up. But I assume that you're saying it's wrong that so many people are locked up. However, from what I see out in the world there are not enough "people" behind bars and certainly not for long enough as well, many of them should be doing hard labor.
Society has declined so much just in my lifetime that I worry for my sons and my future grandchildren. The question to ask is...How have we got to this point?
The answer I keep coming up with is too much tolerance of bad behavior and liberal judges who think by slapping the wrist's of these people who come before the courts will learn. Your video proves that point I believe.
I can see by your statement that "not enough people are behind bars" that you certainly did confuse the message in the video...
Locking up non-violent drug users for prolonged mandatory sentences just for the sake of padding the pockets of the private corporations that are slowly taking over the prison system is absolutely bile and in my opinion pure evil.
Not sure what it is you're seeing out there in your town that indicates MORE people should be slaves locked in cages, but what I am finding through research is that the numbers make some real unsettling indications of serious corruption.
I support prison reform in my state as well as promote drug law reform - which is why I made the video.
I just watched again and the only mention of non-violent drug offenders was made at 2:00 into the video. If that was the point of the video then I would think you might want to get to that point more and not skew it by lack of mention.
I live in a quiet town with very little crime (by choice). However, my city is Worcester, where I have lived in the past and my parents, Aunts, Uncles and grand parents lived.
To see what has happened to Worcester is indeed sad. It used to be that only Main South was the "bad" part of the city (Kilby St. area), but now almost everywhere you go you don't feel completely safe as it used to be. Would you walk in any of Worcester's parks after mid-night? Back in the 70's after gigs, me and my friends used to do just that.
Also, if this pertains to the USA as you say, perhaps you might consider using a non- British speaking narrator.
As well, the 1% of people under lock up would be an over-all number. Correct? So how many of those are incarcerated for non-violent offences? Again, no mention.
I agree with you that it seems like there is a real stink of corruption, especially in Mass. And, I'm not certain what you mean when you say you support prison reform, but you may want to contact Lew Evangelitis our Worc. County Sheriff. I know him and he is an honest, good guy who is trying to straighten out the mess that is the Worcester County prison system.
I am not trying to just criticize your hard work, I appreciate people who try and make things better in this imperfect world that we live in. So I hope you think that this dialoged is helpful and not just an attack on you and your efforts personally.
History has proven that the most notorious gangs (bloods, crips, vice lords, etc.) are all directly related to the prison system. These gangs actually were founded IN the prison system. They are a bi-product of a poorly planned prison system. Instead of inspiring reform, the current prison model is inspiring gangs...more evidence of a broken system there.
You continuously mention that liberal judges keep releasing convicts and not holding prisoners long enough, but statically that sentiment is completely untrue. OVER 80% of the inmates in the corporate states of emerica are there for drug related crime. These are sentences with MANDATORY MINIMUMS with no chance for parole or early release.
A person who goes to jail for murder, rape, robbery, etc - actually has a chance of early release where drug offenders do not. People serve ridiculously long sentences (tax burden to us all) for possessing drugs while other violent criminals are allowed to apply for parole programs, etc.
This serves the BUSINESS MODEL well because the number of inmates directly increases the stock numbers on wall street. This is why the social travesty we call a "War on Drugs" even exists. Ironic in a drug induced pharmaceutical run country like the U.S. A country that invades places like Nicaragua and Afghanistan to maintain a stronghold on the illegal drug market.
The issue of Non-violent drug offenders is A point in my video but as an artist I choose not to spoon feed explanations of any work I do, be it painting, video, music, or graphic poster. I prefer leaving the audience to digest the material presented and to seek meaning as it applies in the context of their outlook. The reason for the British narrator is simply because I mashed clips from a popular British tv show - it works well with the irony of the middle class television viewers laughing indifferently in the background.
The opinion you hold of Worcester is curious to me. Living here on and off for most of my life, I don't know if I can say in my 35 years it has gotten really THAT bad in comparison to any other small American town. The job market (manufacturing, assembly, etc) has up and left and the economy of the place is in shambles. These things will never be fixed by tossing the victims of these issues in jail though. Real cities in the country are forever being gentrified and privatized. Struggling folks can't afford to live there anymore - so they get pushed out and into small towns like Worcester where they can take advantage of the over abundance of low-income housing and government hand-out programs. The social displacement caused by this, may be what you are referring to when you say the city is sad.
In the 70's after your gig, the parks were probably not that far off from how they are now. The major difference is that you were younger and probably less afraid of the youth that was there because - you were the youth! Nowadays if you venture into the park at midnight you are trespassing and lets hope none of your friends had a joint in their pocket or they may be considered a felon (in most states).
A colleague of mine created this film a while back:
It gives some good insight into "drug war" fallacy which is largely behind the prison population problem and also dips into the corruption that fuels the private prison system and how this model is working hard to unjustly lock individuals up at record numbers to turn profits.
Let's not forget about the fact that jail is supposed to be reformative not just punitive....
I appreciate your feedback and obvious difference in opinion. I celebrate the fact that we can respectfully debate this issue.
4 comments:
I watched the video. I don't have a Youtube account so I cannot comment there.
Personally, I loved the music (especially the Bass lines), but I find that type of video sensational, confusing and wonder what the actual point is.
The selection of photos and editing seemed off to me. I don't know of anyone who is happy to see anyone unjustly locked up. But I assume that you're saying it's wrong that so many people are locked up. However, from what I see out in the world there are not enough "people" behind bars and certainly not for long enough as well, many of them should be doing hard labor.
Society has declined so much just in my lifetime that I worry for my sons and my future grandchildren. The question to ask is...How have we got to this point?
The answer I keep coming up with is too much tolerance of bad behavior and liberal judges who think by slapping the wrist's of these people who come before the courts will learn. Your video proves that point I believe.
I can see by your statement that "not enough people are behind bars" that you certainly did confuse the message in the video...
Locking up non-violent drug users for prolonged mandatory sentences just for the sake of padding the pockets of the private corporations that are slowly taking over the prison system is absolutely bile and in my opinion pure evil.
Not sure what it is you're seeing out there in your town that indicates MORE people should be slaves locked in cages, but what I am finding through research is that the numbers make some real unsettling indications of serious corruption.
I support prison reform in my state as well as promote drug law reform - which is why I made the video.
Thanks for watching it and your feedback.
I just watched again and the only mention of non-violent drug offenders was made at 2:00 into the video. If that was the point of the video then I would think you might want to get to that point more and not skew it by lack of mention.
I live in a quiet town with very little crime (by choice). However, my city is Worcester, where I have lived in the past and my parents, Aunts, Uncles and grand parents lived.
To see what has happened to Worcester is indeed sad. It used to be that only Main South was the "bad" part of the city (Kilby St. area), but now almost everywhere you go you don't feel completely safe as it used to be. Would you walk in any of Worcester's parks after mid-night? Back in the 70's after gigs, me and my friends used to do just that.
Also, if this pertains to the USA as you say, perhaps you might consider using a non- British speaking narrator.
As well, the 1% of people under lock up would be an over-all number. Correct? So how many of those are incarcerated for non-violent offences? Again, no mention.
I agree with you that it seems like there is a real stink of corruption, especially in Mass.
And, I'm not certain what you mean when you say you support prison reform, but you may want to contact Lew Evangelitis our Worc. County Sheriff. I know him and he is an honest, good guy who is trying to straighten out the mess that is the Worcester County prison system.
I am not trying to just criticize your hard work, I appreciate people who try and make things better in this imperfect world that we live in. So I hope you think that this dialoged is helpful and not just an attack on you and your efforts personally.
History has proven that the most notorious gangs (bloods, crips, vice lords, etc.) are all directly related to the prison system. These gangs actually were founded IN the prison system. They are a bi-product of a poorly planned prison system. Instead of inspiring reform, the current prison model is inspiring gangs...more evidence of a broken system there.
You continuously mention that liberal judges keep releasing convicts and not holding prisoners long enough, but statically that sentiment is completely untrue. OVER 80% of the inmates in the corporate states of emerica are there for drug related crime. These are sentences with MANDATORY MINIMUMS with no chance for parole or early release.
A person who goes to jail for murder, rape, robbery, etc - actually has a chance of early release where drug offenders do not. People serve ridiculously long sentences (tax burden to us all) for possessing drugs while other violent criminals are allowed to apply for parole programs, etc.
This serves the BUSINESS MODEL well because the number of inmates directly increases the stock numbers on wall street. This is why the social travesty we call a "War on Drugs" even exists. Ironic in a drug induced pharmaceutical run country like the U.S. A country that invades places like Nicaragua and Afghanistan to maintain a stronghold on the illegal drug market.
The issue of Non-violent drug offenders is A point in my video but as an artist I choose not to spoon feed explanations of any work I do, be it painting, video, music, or graphic poster. I prefer leaving the audience to digest the material presented and to seek meaning as it applies in the context of their outlook. The reason for the British narrator is simply because I mashed clips from a popular British tv show - it works well with the irony of the middle class television viewers laughing indifferently in the background.
The opinion you hold of Worcester is curious to me. Living here on and off for most of my life, I don't know if I can say in my 35 years it has gotten really THAT bad in comparison to any other small American town. The job market (manufacturing, assembly, etc) has up and left and the economy of the place is in shambles. These things will never be fixed by tossing the victims of these issues in jail though. Real cities in the country are forever being gentrified and privatized. Struggling folks can't afford to live there anymore - so they get pushed out and into small towns like Worcester where they can take advantage of the over abundance of low-income housing and government hand-out programs. The social displacement caused by this, may be what you are referring to when you say the city is sad.
In the 70's after your gig, the parks were probably not that far off from how they are now. The major difference is that you were younger and probably less afraid of the youth that was there because - you were the youth! Nowadays if you venture into the park at midnight you are trespassing and lets hope none of your friends had a joint in their pocket or they may be considered a felon (in most states).
A colleague of mine created this film a while back:
It gives some good insight into "drug war" fallacy which is largely behind the prison population problem and also dips into the corruption that fuels the private prison system and how this model is working hard to unjustly lock individuals up at record numbers to turn profits.
Let's not forget about the fact that jail is supposed to be reformative not just punitive....
I appreciate your feedback and obvious difference in opinion. I celebrate the fact that we can respectfully debate this issue.
Thanks for watching (and reading)!
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