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News & ArtsThursday, November 26, 2009
News Your "Letter From Birmingham Jail" Is Pretty Moving, Rev. King...
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 10:02 AM
...but can you fit it on a postcard?
3
I don't know why they don't limit them to email. You can't send contraband by email, and it's far easier to scan for coded messages and the like. It wouldn't be that hard to set up an email program for inmates, and every public library has computers that family members can use.
4
C'mon, This is crying out for the obvious protest; flood the jail with so many postcards that they don't save time and money sorting the mail...
5
@4: I would imagine that sorting even a "flood" of postcards would be far less time-consuming than opening every envelope and checking it for contraband. Fail.
7
I'm sorry, but am I the only person who found the line, "The postcards feature a photo of the jail" both pathetic and hilarious...
9
Maybe I'm wrong but I can't believe no one else thinks this is barbaric...Maybe no one has ever tried to write more then three sentences on a postcard. I don't really care how much money or time this saves, and this is a facility that holds people waiting for trial, who are not convicted. Despite the right to receive a speedy trial when's the last time you heard of anyone going to trial in less then a month after arraignment?
Also you don't need a corrections officer to scan the mail you need someone who can read and follow rules, another words, a minimum wage employee.
Also you don't need a corrections officer to scan the mail you need someone who can read and follow rules, another words, a minimum wage employee.
10
"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" was written in the margins of a newspaper, as they wouldn't give him paper to write on.
11
@3 - If the jail is really worried about increasing efficiency, blah blah blah, an email system seems like the perfect solution. Let's see how long it takes them to think of that.
@9 - I completely agree - it is absolutely barbaric! The whole prison complex could do with a make-over.
This seems to me to be less about efficiency and thriftiness (considering the relatively small sum) and more about control, power relations, and dehumanization. People in jail are still people, and not treating them as such is cruel. Going to jail is punishment - you shouldn't have to suffer even more while you're inside.
@9 - I completely agree - it is absolutely barbaric! The whole prison complex could do with a make-over.
This seems to me to be less about efficiency and thriftiness (considering the relatively small sum) and more about control, power relations, and dehumanization. People in jail are still people, and not treating them as such is cruel. Going to jail is punishment - you shouldn't have to suffer even more while you're inside.
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