In a hotly contested political decision to ignore public concern, the Tompkins County Legislature in the State of New York is moving to rubber-stamp the expansion of their local share of the ever-increasing Prison-Industrial-Complex in the US. Protesters have been railing against the plan for several months, but members of the Legislature haven't been all that interested in what they've had to say.
At the recent meeting featured in this short video (above), some members caught up on paperwork and others played with their cell phones while the public used their privilege of the floor to voice their concerns, facts & figures, their discontent, and at times, their distress.
Once the public's time had expired, Legislators took their turns, at times directly addressing the public. Some bravely admitted out loud that, "the Prison-Industrial-Complex" in this nation, "is an abomination," just before voting to expand it on the local level.
Other members of the Legislature had the nerve to blame judges - administrators of code enforcement. This 'passing the buck' strategy did not work on the well educated public, who arrived knowing that it is the County Legislature who is the highest legislative body in the county - and that it is their jobs to legislate; not the police, not the judges'.
It is the legislative body, which writes legislation, setting governmental policies, including law enforcement.
Out of one side of some political mouths at the table, there were brave statements about how 'the drug laws are the problem' and how 'the drug war' is really responsible for our mass-incarceration problem as a nation. Out of the other side of those particular political mouths, came the claim that the Legislators had no power over legislation; a hard sell to such an educated crowd.
Once the public's time had expired, Legislators took their turns, at times directly addressing the public. Some bravely admitted out loud that, "the Prison-Industrial-Complex" in this nation, "is an abomination," just before voting to expand it on the local level.
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| Smiling, as dozens of residents took the floor to speak out |
It is the legislative body, which writes legislation, setting governmental policies, including law enforcement.
Out of one side of some political mouths at the table, there were brave statements about how 'the drug laws are the problem' and how 'the drug war' is really responsible for our mass-incarceration problem as a nation. Out of the other side of those particular political mouths, came the claim that the Legislators had no power over legislation; a hard sell to such an educated crowd.
As the largest police-state (please click on link for the definition; language is very important) in human history continues to inflate itself beyond any previously conceived of boundaries, the people within this machine world of budgets & finance - rather than humanity & morality - continue to expand the already largest prison system on Earth.
Currently, the United States has monetized imprisonment so well, that at no point in history has any other nation incarcerated so many of its own people. In fact, the US is responsible for 25% of the entire planet's prisoners! If this figure is not shocking to you, you might just be a part of this fascist & authoritarian problem.
While over the past few decades the 'land of the free, home of the brave' has somehow become the 'land of the strip-searched, NSA slaves' - the aristocracy seems as oblivious to the plight of the people as ever before. While their country club memberships are still in good standing, real people are having real human problems. There's nearly no more 'cake' for the peasants to eat, while building contracts continue to be given for projects such as war, and local county jail expansions.
We do not have an economic crisis in America, today.
We have only, a crisis of consciousness; a crisis of priorities.
We do not have an economic crisis in America, today.
We have only, a crisis of consciousness; a crisis of priorities.
More on this story, as it develops.
