I swear to God that my post wasn't directed at you. I knew someone on here was a CO, wouldn't be able to remember who, and even if I could, I wasn't thinking about them when I posted what I posted. So don't take it personal. When you replied to my original post I just assumed you must be the CO and shot back as such. And ftr, like everything, from the Nazis and Communist Party to the police and CO's, there are horrible ones and there are genuinely good guys with good intentions. I've met a few CO's who I almost assuredly have been friends with in a different life.
So that said, when I say we have a major prison problem in this country and it's just a matter of time until the people wake up (like they seemingly now have with the police, thank the gods), I'm not at all talking about CO's. I'm talking about overcrowding, unfair, even ridiculous, sentencing for nonviolent crimes and also difference in sentencing based on race, and I'm especially talking about the recidivism rate. IIRC 2/3's of all prisoners are back in prison within 3 years.
Like I've said before on here, I met just as many good people in prison as I did in the Army. And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the prisoners weren't veterans (keep in mind this was federal prison, not rinky dink county jail (I've actually never been in County jail save for a night for drunk in public when I was 18), so different class of criminals. I'm sure there are still quite a few veterans in county though.
Anyway, if people are people and a majority of folks locked up really ain't all that bad, why the high recidivism rate? Because being a convicted felon is no different than having the Mark of the Beast printed on your ****ing forehead. So you grow up in a ****ty environment, you **** up and get into some **** while you're young, locked up a few years, have a felony conviction or two on your record when you get out. Now say you've got a couple kids need taking care of or your folks are old and can't work anymore and need all the help they can get. You want to get a job. But who's hiring felons that pays a living wage? So what are you going to do? It's a big reason why our ghettos stay ghettos.
One thing that's always made me laugh, something I've seen/noticed over and over. Older folks are as pro-police and prison as they can get. Normally older white folks, I'm not gonna lie. Guess what happens when one of their kids or loved ones catches a case? They wake up REAL fast. Become more outspoken than damn near anyone. So hey, keep setting records on prison pop sizes (records worldwide btw--unless you're counting North Korea where God only knows how many they got). A majority are going to wake up eventually.