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Syndicated Columnist, Leonard Pitts, recently published a piece, ³Telling
the truth that no one wants to believe.´ It strikes at the heart of what ails America
as we lurch from one political extreme to another.
Government¶s role no longer is the protection of and promotion of the
general welfare of its citizens but the defense of our pathologies ± rebuilding
Gotham City in our own images. In a word, government is intent on redefining
reality for an angry and dissatisfied citizenry.
Pitts begins by referring to his essay in this way: ³This will be a futile
column«It will be a useless essay, written for one reason only; to protect the
writer¶s mental health. If the writer did not write it, you see, there is a great danger
that his head would explode.´
His reference point was the recent measure in Florida that would make it
more difficult for non-violent felons who have served their time to regain their
right to vote. Inasmuch as African-Americans and Hispanics comprise a
disproportionate share of the incarcerated (70%), you might call this bill the
Republican Majority Assurance Act.
An otherwise innocuous bill becomes a gateway measure to codify beliefs
such as that expressed by one blogger, ³Did it ever occur to you that black men
often choose the criminal path as their vocation because they see it as a get-rich-
scheme that requires less work ethic«?´ Back in the eighth grade, that probably
occurred to many at a time when our most challenging obstacle was that of raging
hormones.
Another blogger wrote, ³Don¶t become a felon, and you need not worry.´
Wow! That¶s a home run for the moral majority getting the world ready for the
Rapture!

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 As a writer of newspaper columns, I got to thinking about the denial that
flows through the criminal justice system in our nation.
The greater good of incarcerating the mentally-ill and homeless for
cluttering and dirtying the sidewalks is to provide them a place to live after
defending themselves without friends, family or defenders. It is a form of urban
renewal, rendering our streets safe for shoppers.
The greater good of locking up druggies, sex offenders, drunk drivers,
blacks and Hispanics, abusive husbands and ³rag heads´ is to protect the children
of Gotham City, whose career-preoccupied parents must depend on others to keep
their kids safe. The visual reminder of our failures is tucked away in the open
sewers of overcrowded jails and prisons in numbers unmatched by any other nation
on earth.
Our departments of corrections have justified themselves on the grounds that
theirs is a dangerous job altruistically motivated by keeping both prisoners and the
public safe. In fact, high recidivism rates have taught the public that it has more to
fear from released prisoners than it does from potential first-time offenders.
At Maine State Prison, there was recently dedicated a memorial to fallen
heroes of corrections in honor of Warden Richard Tinker, the only staff member to
have died in the line of duty. He died on May 14, 1863, from a stab wound to the
neck. Otherwise, only 12 others have died while employed by the prison in its 127
year history.
The memorial is a reminder that prison employment is not only a noble
profession; it is allegedly a dangerous one.
In due respect to descendents of the good Warden Tinker, keeping the Maine
public safe would be the most boring job in America but for the excitement of the
half-dozen or so prisoners who have met with suspicious deaths in the Maine
prison system over the past 5 years! They died of a thousand abusive nicks.
Yet, the River Denial flows on.
The War on Drugs has less to do with drugs and more to do with
competition among law enforcement agencies for the cash flow from confiscated
property.
The Sex Offender Registry has less to do with the fear of creeps lurking
around schools and more to do with masking the reality that the worst sex
offenders are close friends and family members.
Rape shield laws have less to do with protecting the privacy of rape victims
than they do with prolonging the myth that all who allege rape are equal.
Yes, Mr. Pitts, we hear you. Count mine among America¶s most useless
essays.

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