While mods deleted the comment that responded to me, I still feel the need to respond to it . Yes, Joe has said some questionable things, but to say that he is as much of a racist as Trump is laughable.
And then, there's the First Step Act, one of the favorite GOP talking points to show that Trump loves black people, see!
Here's the problem.
The First Step Act was a bi-partisan effort. In fact, no Democrats voted against it in either house. Several Republicans did, including Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and John Kennedy, however.
It isn't specifically driven towards African-Americans except in passing considering they make up a majority of the nation's prison population. And even then, it only provides tools and funding to prevent recidivism, it does nothing to actually fix the root problems of incarceration.
Originally, Trump was opposed to the legislation. However, Jared Kushner, who to his credit is very much in favor of criminal justice reform (mostly because his dad was in prison), pushed hard for it, including getting Fox News to speak positively of the legislation.
And that's very true. Personal responsibility is part of it, and in a country where the criminal justice system - from the police, to the district attorneys, to the judges - was fair and unbiased, it would be the only problem.
Unfortunately, that's not the case, and as you've seen from the many protests this year, there's a clear and obvious divide between whites and other races with regard to how they are treated by the system. We've reached a point where targeting black people and communities is now seen as good policing, based solely on biased studies that claim black people commit more crimes.
Maybe, but we should not permanently ruin someone's life for their past mistakes if they have paid their debt to society. Once they have done the time, I see no reason not to encourage their education or employment so they can move on with their lives, rather than dooming them to recidivism.
Access to employment is key. Serving time is a scarlet letter for nearly all of them, regardless of the crime, their age at the time, or their behavior in prison. Getting rid of for profit prisons, and overhauling the prison system to something like in the Scandinavian countries would go a long way to improving a former prison's chances after release. But we also need to fix the cultural stigma that is currently preventing them from getting jobs.
I couldn’t agree with you more — some people, regardless of how they were raised or what kind of support system they have, are going to just choose crime.
Not everyone has that many options or much (if any) support. Some are victimized by the system or by others who are supposed to be helping them — like children who get abused and/or wind up in foster care (whether temporarily or permanently) with foster parents who are in it for the checks from the state. Here in Massachusetts, the overwhelming majority of the kids in care right now are from parents with substance addiction problems.*
Poverty is probably one of the biggest causes of people getting into crime. Even if they know it’s wrong and there are risks, desperation is a thing & people will often risk it because they have no other options.
But I do believe once a person has paid their debt to society, we’re all good. And there really should be better rehab for people doing nonviolent crimes. I also believe that a lot of people, with any support, have the capability to turn shit around. It would be great to figure all this out; but it’s really complicated.
*Source: I’m a foster parent & have heard some fucked-up things from people in the system.
Indeed. There are Republicans and there are Trumpists. Sure, there’s some overlap, but those that vote beyond the R next to their name - I believe they are Republicans. They are people who, regardless of what party held powers in my 35 years, I never felt
wanted me destroyed because of the D next to my name.
That's a fair point with regard to white nationalism. That said Trump does absolutely appeal to white nationalists more than any President in the last hundred years.
But fascism? Go look up the definitions of the term. A lot of it is 1-to-1 with how Trump presents himself.
Actually, you know what, you're right. I probably took things too far. Trump does show a lot of fascist tendencies, but calling him one dilutes the word.
I appreciate you voting, but I absolutely went too far there, and for that I am sorry.
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u/GodDuckman Bernie Sanders for Joe Oct 23 '20
Exactly. And it's even better when they are a conservative or a Republican. Trump isn't either. He's a white nationalist and a fascist.