Something out of the ordinary happened at my house last night. There was worry for personal safety involved; somewhat merited but not entirely. The reaction from one of the members of my household to the situation highlighted some naivety about cop involvement. Luckily sounder minds prevailed.
Posted May 17, 2015, 8:21 PM UTC
I think it's seriously fucked up that imprisonment can even be considered a healthier and safer alternative for some people; and wonder how many of those who are actually going there feel about it.
Personally, I'm not a fan of imprisonment. There must be better alternatives.
well yeah. What do you think anarchism is?
There are a lot of stories about people calling the police for "help" and then ending up on the wrong side of the gun. A mother called the police on a mentally ill man, trying to get him to take his medicine, and the police ended up shooting him in his own bathroom. You could dig up a few of those stories and show them to your family. It's pretty important people don't call the police in situations like that, because it can turn violent quickly.
So, my friend's mom was in the hospital, recently, and, while she was there, my friend's brother/her son did meth with his girlfriend at her house. She found out about this when she went home from the hospital and called the cops on him. As a result, she's getting evicted from her home and is going homeless for a bit before she can find a new place. Certainly not as dramatic as your example, for sure.
My family keeps calling the cops on my addict brother, and wants him in jail because they feel it's safer than being on the streets and messed up.
My brother was healthier in prison than he was on the streets. He had his self-esteem beaten out of him by my dad, then his ambition beaten out of him by skag. Sometimes I think he'd be better off in a real prison than in the virtual prison of welfare state poverty. I hate prisons, but the 'freedom' the poor and disabled get outside of prison might be worse.
What in the actual fuck? Virtual prison better than actual, privatized prison?
The virtual prison of the welfare state is just as privately owned. Someone figured out that people with no money don't buy food and can't pay rent, so they pay the poor just enough to keep them feed and housed, and where does that money go? Bulk buy stores and landlords. Money is fucking poison.
I would take being poor having some semblance of autonomy over being locked in a cage any day of the week. Incarcerated felons are the poorest people in my country and they can't even go for walk when they feel like.
I don't know where you live, so I know this could be worthless...BUT
There are ONGs that help people with this kind of problems, they might be far from perfect, but they are better than jail for sure. I would strongly recommend you to look for this kind of safe places, and try to convince your brother to go.
I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't even convince him to go to the library.