Dear Esteemed Persons,
Here in Illinois, we are currently going by a “no cash bail” system, wherein defendants are not detained in our jails until their case reaches the court. The reasoning behind this is that government ’s holding someone if they cannot post a certain amount of bail is racially discriminatory. This because poorer people—usually “Black” or “Brown”—cannot afford the fee, so are stuck in jail, whereas the richer, often “White,” can pay the bail and go free until their court date. However, this system of no cash bail saves a lot of money, since jailing people is costly. The only problem is that those arrested for crimes, when put back on the street, before their court date, may be tempted to perform more crimes.
And those who are jailed get little, if any, rehabilitation, I understand. Yet they live in proximity to ski lled crime committers in prison, so could learn more methods to use for breaking the law when they get out. It doesn’t help that our system prevents released felons from renting living spaces and taking advantage of other opportunities to better themselves. Crime must seem like the only way to live, even though it fails to bolster the community—in fact, it is an attack on the lawbreaker’s community, and therefore the criminal, themself. Additionally, this behavior contributes to a negative stereotype—an assault on everyone.
A related situation is the plastic gun one. Gun availability has increased, now that people—children, felons, terrorists—can buy gun parts and assemble them themselves. Meanwhile, some firearm owners are using gun impoundment to avoid having the weapons around because gun presence at home is a temptation—to suicide! Canada may be different, but the right to gun ownership for all Americans can backfire, and it has, similar to the no cash bail rule and prison without rehab, in general. Similar, in fact, to the state of humanity.
The appeal of guns is that a weak being can use them to halt a threatening one. Guns terminate—they end—they create finality. And justice cannot be restored after a death has occurred, can it? “Getting justice for my loved one”—what prison sentence or amount of money could heal such a wound? There would be none except to prevent the maiming in the first place. But prevention suggests far-reaching considerations—maybe even a system quite different from the one we employ today. I think American mass shooters might feel they need to live in situations that they don’t sense could ever be created. For example, it’s clear to me that we need hordes of therapists in every school, not just one social worker per institution; but could that be brought about?
The time is now to define lack of violence of every sort, including psychological, and the presence of fairness and justice for all Americans of every age. Why do we value human, and why humane, interaction? Can we replace work that is destructive to our bodies and minds—too much sitting; too much heavy lifting in factories; boring mindwork—by robotics and artificial intelligence, substituting for it employment that enriches lives through character, not wages? Rebuilding surroundings for ourselves will take a lot of work, from research (see Katy Bowman’s nutritiousmovement.com ) to completion. But enjoying the production of more humane environments will be great recreation, as we empower creative expression—in housing, for example. No law allowing gun access will be wanted, as people won’t desire gun presence. Kamala Harris, you have a gun today, but I do not and do not want one tomorrow, either; I am not scared: I have faith in our American abilities and potential species evolution. The four of us should continue elucidating fairness, as you three have done in your work for the nation and state and I have tried to on my website—but together, with the guiding concern of rehabilitation for all! I look forward to staying in touch in the future.
Yours truly,