“There is the past and its continuing horrors: violence, war, prejudices against those who are different, outrageous monopolization of the good earth's wealth by a few, political power in the hands of liars and murderers, the building of prisons instead of schools, the poisoning of the press and the entire culture by money. It is easy to become discouraged observing this, especially since this is what the press and television insist that we look at, and nothing more.” LooksDifferentWarHandsSchoolEarthPastPoliticalCultureEasyWealthViolenceTelevisionBuildingHorrorPrejudicePressesPrisonLiarsContinuingMurdererDiscouragedObservingOutrageousPolitical PowerPoisoningGood Earth Book:A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present Source: A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
“There is simply too much unnecessary suffering in our world. And we should see that as a national security risk, by the way. Given enough time, desperate people will tend to do desperate things. At a certain point you won't be able to build enough prisons or enough bombs to eradicate the effects of all that violence inside so many hearts.” PeopleWorldWayShouldHeartEnoughAbleCertainSufferingGivenToo MuchViolenceRiskEffectsSecurityPrisonDesperateBombsOur WorldUnnecessaryNational SecurityEnough TimeUnnecessary Suffering Author:Marianne Williamson
“Solitary confinement has been used extensively, it always has. I was in prison for 44 years; it was a normal part of life - the practice of it. They put you in solitary confinement for disciplinary reasons, they put you in solitary confinement to protect you from violence or whatever, and they also put you in solitary confinement just to show you who has got the power ... It's not something new; it's just something that nobody really cared about in the past.” YearsHas BeensReasonShowsPastUsedPracticeViolenceProtectNormalPrisonSomething NewSolitaryParts Of LifeProtect YouConfinementSolitary Confinement Author:Wilbert Rideau
“In South America euphemism appears to be the grisly preserve of violent power. 'Liberty' was the name of the biggest prison in Uruguay under the military dictatorship, while in Chile one of the concentration camps was called 'Dignity.' It was the self-styled 'Peace and Justice' paramilitary group in Chiapas [Mexico] that in 1997 shot 45 peasants in the back, nearly all of them women and children, as they prayed in a church. What have the souls of the south done over the past few decades to deserve quite so much liberty and dignity and peace and justice?” ChildrenSoulSelfDoneAmericaPastNamesLanguageChurchJusticeLibertyViolenceGroupsMilitaryShotsDeserveDignityPrisonSouthDecadesViolentOppressionPreservesConcentrationCampsMexicoDictatorshipPeasantsOver The PastPeace And JusticeChileSouth AmericaConcentration CampEuphemism Author:Isabel Fonseca
“I have sat with the mothers who have lost addicted sons. I have sat with families of kids who have been killed in drug-related gang violence. I have been to the prisons. I have seen the effects. At some point in time, I felt I had to do something other than write a novel about it, that I needed to try to make some sort of contribution, at least try to make some sort of difference in the real world.” WorldWritingTryingHas BeensRealKidsMotherLostFeltDifferencesNovelViolenceEffectsSonNeededDrugPrisonSatRelatedContributionReal WorldGangGang Violence Author:Don Winslow
“The most important domestic challenge facing the U.S. at the close of the twentieth century is the re-creation of fatherhood as avital social role for men. At stake is nothing less than the success of the American experiment. For unless we reverse the trend of fatherlessness, no other set of accomplishments--not economic growth or prison construction or welfare reform or better schools--will succeed in arresting the decline of child well-being and the spread of male violence. To tolerate the trend of fatherlessness is to accept the inevitability of continued social recession.” MenWellsChildrenImportantSchoolSocialGrowthChallengesAcceptingRolesViolenceEconomicCenturyCreationSucceedPrisonMalesSpreadExperimentsReformWell BeingWelfareAccomplishmentTrendsStakesConstructionDeclineTolerateReverseFatherhoodTwentieth CenturyEconomic GrowthRecessionsInevitabilityArrestingWelfare ReformSocial RolesFatherlessness Author:David Blankenhorn
“I don't belong to a church or political party or a group of any kind. I feel that Amnesty International is the most civilized organization in history. Its currency is the written word. Its weapon is the letter; that's why I am a member. I believe in its non-violence; I believe in its effectiveness. Its dignity and its sense of commitment. Its focus on individuals and the concentration and tenacity with which they defend those imprisoned for their ideas has earned it the cautious respect of repressive governments throughout the world.” WorldFeelsBelieveKindIdeasGovernmentPoliticalIndividualI BelieveChurchPartyFocusViolenceWrittenGroupsMembersWeaponsCommitmentDignityLettersOrganizationPrisonInternationalI Believe InConcentrationCivilizedCurrencyPolitical PartiesEffectivenessCautiousTenacityNon ViolenceWritten WordAmnestyAmnesty International Author:Sting
“The occupation is really terrible on a variety of levels. It's terrible on the "shooting people and torturing people in prison" level. But I think the thing that is very hard to convey is that it's also this bureaucratic grinding-down and daily humiliation that I think would probably be as horrible as the spectacular violence.” PeopleThinkingHardLevelsViolenceTerribleDown AndPrisonHorribleVarietyShootingOccupationHumiliationSpectacular Author:Molly Crabapple
“Since the late 1970's, the main focus of prisons has been punishment, not rehabilitation. It's hard to believe, but you would be hard-pressed to find a meaningful violence-prevention class in a federal or state penitentiary. And 'we the people' are footing the bill to keep these folks imprisoned. It costs on average $46,000 a year to keep an adult incarcerated in California and about the same for New York State.” PeopleYearsBelieveHas BeensHardStatesWould BeClassFocusViolenceNew YorkCostLateAdultsBillsPrisonAverageFolksMeaningfulPunishmentCaliforniaPreventionRehabilitationHard To BelieveNew York State Author:James Fox
“I see a huge, huge divide between the people who are facing the most barriers and violence and the kinds of stories being told in mainstream American politics. The issues that I think most about - how many people's lives are being affected by prisons and policing, how many people's lives are being affected by immigration enforcement and deportation - those stories aren't being touched, let alone told, in mainstream politics.” PeopleThinkingKindStoriesIssuesViolenceHugePrisonImmigrationTouchedBarriersAffectedDividesMainstreamEnforcementAmerican PoliticsDeportation Author:Grace Dunham
“The violence inherent in our systems and structures of power is a part of who we are - our thoughts, sensibilities, imaginations, language. We live in manifestations of it - permanent war, environmental destrucution, poverty, racism, misogyny, the assault on labor, torture in our prisons, capital punishment - a corporate capitalist state controlled by oligarchical interests for their own private profit and gain.” WarLanguageInterestImaginationPovertyViolenceRacismLaborPrisonEnvironmentalManifestationTortureCapitalistSensibilityMisogynyCapital Punishment Author:Lawrence Joseph