597
The Government Makes It Harder for the Formerly Incarcerated to Be Good Citizens
(www.thedailybeast.com)
this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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politics
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As an attorney that worked for Legal Aid in a past life, I offer the observation that people in poverty have an entirely different experience with the legal system than folks who are not desperately poor. A traffic ticket turns into an inescapable pile of court debt, your license gets suspended because of the debt, but you have to drive to get to work. You get caught driving on a suspended license then you miss your first court date because the notice went to an old address that you were evicted from, then you are late to your second court date because your boss wouldn't let you out the door. Then your kid gets sick and you miss another date, but your phone is dead and you can't call the court, and the judge throws your ass in jail for contempt. You miss work, you lose your job. You are absolutely panicking, and possibly incredibly cynical and angry to boot. Once you've got the system looking at you, the attention offers numerous ways to fuck you thirty times to Tuesday, in ways that reach beyond the direct action of the system.
I am not justfying crime, but I have seen enough variations of the aforementioned scenario to understand that for some, this translates into an extremely nihilistic view of a very small world where the morality of certain behavior stops being evaluated.
Again, not excusing responsibility, but just sharing what I've encountered - I've also witnessed people that seem like perfectly well adjusted folks who suddenly commit shockingly criminal acts, and seeing this transformation occur, it is clear that something just isn't right in their head. Don't know if it's nature or nuture, but they're subtly broken and there's probably not a damn thing that can fix them. These folks are far fewer in number than folks driven by worldview shaped by desperation.
These are all just excuses that could either A. Be prevented by not committing the initial crime or B. Making damn sure you do what you are supposed to after. If you are poor, all the more reason to. Get a second job to pay for the shit, borrow money, ask a friend, sell a game. Gtfo of here with all these excuses. You observed lazy people who do the wrong shit. Period.
You libertarians are so silly. Poverty is almost impossible to escape. No amount of bootstrap-pulling will do it.
Lmao I'm a libertarian because I expect people to not commit crimes and pay their fines....? Holy fuck you people are morons.
No, it's the whole 'just don't be poor' part of what you're saying.
Yes, take steps to not be poor. I did it and anyone else can too. The rest is just excuses.
"I didn't die from cancer, so no one would die from cancer if they just took the right steps and stopped making excuses."
This isn't about me, nor is that any of your business.
Only on lemmy do people doubt you when you say you were poor. Like "yeah you were poor, but not poor enough"
Maybe if you ever defined 'poor' in terms of income, which you didn't. All I know is that 'poor' to you doesn't include homeless people.
Shut up. You are a fucking asswipe. Keep making excuses.
I've been poor. Maybe you are the one who doesn't know what you are talking about then.
Poverty is a disease. It's a myth that anyone can escape it through hard work. You did, if you really were poor and I would love your definition of poor here, because you got lucky.
Were you living in a shack with a tin roof with no water or electricity? Were you living in a tent and eating out of dumpsters? I doubt it.
I'm speaking specifically in the US and we are talking about being poor, not homeless. That is a little different. No one in this conversation is sitting on a pc or phone or laptop from a fucking tent in the Phillipines. Quit moving goalposts to fit your narrative.
Sorry... homeless people aren't poor? What?
Yes, but that is not what we are discussing. Homelessness is not a situation where you can just go out and get a job or several other things. I'm talking about poor people who have a residence and running water for a shower. If you have those things, getting a job or several is significantly easier. Homelessness is in a category of its own when it comes to difficulty getting back on your feet. I acknowledge that.
Next you are going to say "what about mentally ill, learning disabilities... etc." Not what we are discussing.
sometimes life deals you a shitty hand. other times you screw up without meaning to. and the moment you do, the whole "don't be poor in the first place" rhetoric doesn't matter because you're trapped by the system.
I never said don't be poor in the first place. You are just making shit up. You can not get trapped by the system by being a law abiding citizen.
you can take steps not to be poor but then get screwed over anyways. be it bad luck or an innocent mistake.
It does happen, I'm not denying that but if you don't commit felonies or ignore your fines, you can usually dig out.