The Prison System(s)

Ever since I was a child, the whole idea of locking in a small community of misguided peers together seemed sincerely idiotic. To me, any type of reinforced isolation can not possibly have means of reform, especially when surrounded by others who use the system to their advantages. No matter how volatile/vulgar or offensive/threatening a person may be, I always remember they were not born this way, somewhere along the lines of their troubled life clicked the choices that left them where they are now. And i'm sickened how most of society can make jokes about the people in there until they accidently somehow 'slip' themselves and find themselves the actual joke. This is not just a statement concerning the prisons, but the law itself. Every year, an exceedingly amount of prisons are built using the tax payer's money. The high rate of those confined to the cells were sent because of drug offenses. More money is spent on those "drug-war" sects of the government to counteract the illegal substances coming in/produced/circulating. And obviously none of this fuckin' money you have spent has changed anything. More prisons are being built this second, more non-violent people are being incarcerated 10 years for 5 grams of marijuana, some rapist right now is invading a home while officers are engaged in a raid for 5 pounds of marijuana. As hard they try to enforce these present laws, the harder criminals will enact their thought-up schemes and the cycle will continue. Sooner or later you might probably live right next to one if this incompetent system runs the way it has been doing so. There are so many other negatives concerning the prison system/ law that I have not discoursed(wrongful imprisonment, wrongful executions, bonds,bills) but I am positive there is something we can do together. They're holding us all back from seeking a higher plateu of unified happiness and I know you will not leave out your fellow brothers and sisters. I'm sure there are established groups right now out for the same purpose, so enlighten me with their ideas if you know of any. If not, I insist on sharing your opinions and ideas as well. Its only one of America's unspoken wars, so lets stop this bullshit!

 

The reason people get lock up in jail for pot posetion is none of the fucking millions of pot smokers really CLASH WITH THE POLICE ALL OVER UNITED STATE MAJOR CITYs. and that even includes firearms if the cops get carry away with brutality . When that happens the police and politicians well scramble to change things. Blacks had to do the same and even gays "the famous night club riot in N.Y city" But the school system have done a good job keeping you assholes dumb and docile.

 

wimp ass hippies.

 

The prison system is bloated and overcrowded. We are spending too much money on non-violent offenders. And we are not making resources available to protect people from violent offenders, instead we are letting violent offenders go to make room for non-violent [usually drug] offenders. In my opinion, this is wrong.

 

sitting on your ass dont get much done either is like jews whining to germans about prison camps food in 1943.

 

The Stonewall riots were a series of violent conflicts between homosexuals and police officers in New York City. The first night of rioting began on Friday, June 27, 1969 not long after 1:20 a.m., when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. "Stonewall," as the raids are often referred to, is generally considered a turning point for the modern gay rights movement worldwide, as it is one of the first times in history a significant body of homosexual people resisted arrest.
Contents
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* 1 History
* 2 The Stonewall Raid and the Aftermath
* 3 Legacy
* 4 References
* 5 See also

[edit]

History

Police raids on gay bars and nightclubs were a regular part of gay life in cities across the United States, until the 1960s, when suddenly raids on bars in many major cities became markedly less frequent. Most conclude that a series of court challenges and increased resistance from the Homophile Movement can be attributed to the decline in raids.

Prior to 1965, the police would sometimes record the identities of all those present at the raids, which on some occasions was published in the newspaper. Sometimes they would even load up their police van with as many patrons as the van could hold. At the time, the police used any number of reasons they could think of to justify an arrest on indecency charges including: kissing, holding hands, wearing clothing traditionally of the opposite gender, or even being in the bar during the raid.

It is important to look back to before 1969 and examine the changing attitudes in New York towards gay bars and gay rights. In 1965, two important figures came into prominence. John Lindsay, a liberal Republican, was elected mayor of New York City on a reform platform. Dick Leitsch became president of the Mattachine Society in New York at around the same time. Leitsch was considered relatively militant compared to his predecessors and believed in direct action techniques commonly used by other civil rights groups in the 1960s.

In early 1966, administration policies had changed because of complaints made by Mattachine that the police were on the streets entrapping gay men and charging them with indecency. The police commissioner, Howard Leary, instructed the police force not to lure gays into breaking the law and also required that any plainclothesmen must have a civilian witness when a gay arrest is made. This nearly ended entrapment of gay men on such charges in New York (D’Emilio 207).

In the same year, in order to challenge the state liquor authority (SLA) regarding its policies over gay bars, Dick Leitsch conducted a “sip in.” Leitsch had called members of the press and planned on meeting at a bar with two other gay men—a bar could have its liquor license taken away for knowingly serving a group of three or more homosexuals—to test the SLA policy of closing bars. When the bartender at Julius turned them away, they made a complaint to the city’s human rights commission. Following the “sip in,” the chairman of the SLA stated that his department did not prohibit the sale of liquor to homosexuals. In addition, the following year two separate court cases ruled that “substantial evidence” was needed in order to revoke a liquor license. No longer was kissing between two men considered indecent behavior. The number of gay bars in New York steadily rose after 1966 (D’Emilio 208).

So if in 1969 gay bars were legal, why was the Stonewall Inn raided that night? John D’Emilio, a prominent historian, points out that the city was in the middle of a mayoral campaign and John Lindsay, who had lost his party’s primary, had reason to call for a cleanup of the city’s bars. The Stonewall Inn had a number of reasons that the police would target it. It operated without a liquor license, had ties with organized crime, and “offering scantily clad go-go boys as entertainment, it brought an ‘unruly’ element to Sheridan Square” (D’Emilio 231).

The patrons of the Stonewall were used to such raids and the management was generally able to reopen for business either that night, or the following day. What made the June 1969 raid different was the death a week earlier of Judy Garland, an important cultural icon with whom many in the gay community identified. The palpable grief at her loss culminated with her funeral on Friday, June 27, attended by 22,000 people, among them 12,000 gay men. Many of the Stonewall patrons were still emotionally distraught when the raid occurred that night, and refused to react passively.
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The Stonewall Raid and the Aftermath

A number of factors differentiated the raid that took place on June 28 from other such raids on the Stonewall Inn. In general, the sixth precinct tipped off the management of the Stonewall Inn prior to a raid. In addition, raids were generally carried out early enough in the night to allow business to return to normal for the peak hours of the night. At approximately 1:20 AM, much later than the usual raid, eight officers from the first precinct, of which only one was in uniform, entered the bar. Most of the patrons were able to escape being arrested as the only people arrested “would be those without IDs, those dressed in the clothes of the opposite gender, and some or all of the employees” (Duberman 192).

Details about how the riot started vary from story to story. According to one account, a transgendered woman named Silvia Rivera threw a bottle at a police officer after being prodded by his nightstick (Duberman). Another account states that a lesbian, being brought to a patrol car through the crowd put up a struggle that encouraged the crowd to do the same (D’Emilio 232). Whatever the case may be, mêlée broke out across the crowd—which quickly overtook the police. Stunned, the police retreated into the bar. Heterosexual folk singer Dave van Ronk, who was walking through the area, was grabbed by the police, pulled into the bar, and beaten. The crowd’s attacks were unrelenting. Some tried to light the bar on fire. Others used a parking meter as a battering ram to force the police officers out. Word quickly spread of the riot and many residents, as well as patrons of nearby bars, rushed to the scene.

Throughout the night the police singled out many effeminate men and often beat them. On the first night alone 13 people were arrested and four police officers, as well as an undetermined number of protesters, were injured. It is known, however, that at least two rioters were severely beaten by the police (Duberman 201-202). Bottles and stones were thrown by protesters who chanted “Gay Power!” The crowd, estimated at over 2000, “did battle” with over 400 police officers.

The police sent additional forces in the form of the Tactical Patrol Force, a riot-control squad originally trained to counter anti-Vietnam War protesters. The tactical patrol force arrived to disperse the crowd. However, they failed to break up the crowd, who sprayed them with rocks and other projectiles. At one point they were presented with a chorus line of mocking queens, singing:

We are the Stonewall girls
We wear our hair in curls
We wear no underwear
We show our pubic hair
We wear our dungarees
Above our nelly knees! (See Duberman)

Eventually the scene quieted down, but the crowd returned again the next night. While less violent than the first night, the crowd had the same electricity that was seen in the first. Skirmishes between the rioters and the police ensued until approximately 4:00 AM. The third day of rioting fell five days after the raid on the Stonewall Inn. On that Wednesday, 1,000 people congregated at the bar and again caused extensive property damage. Anger and outrage against the way police had treated gay people for decades previous burst to the surface. Leaflets were handed out saying, "Get the Mafia and cops out of gay bars!"

 

you see if the pot heads did the same the mother fucker prisons would not be full of pot smokers . little queers stood up to the cops.

 

way to go wetbikerider.... no one ever changed anything sitting on their ass....

the whole prison system sucks... in the uk we have pensioners locked up for not paying their community charge...wtf is that all about...

violent crime is increasing as police continue to go after 'soft' targets.... motorists..soft drug users.. anyone that will boost and help massage the crime clear up rate... its a joke and untill you all make a stand it will continue..

 

Thats right.

 

Throughout the night the police singled out many effeminate men and often beat them. On the first night alone 13 people were arrested and four police officers, as well as an undetermined number of protesters, were injured. It is known, however, that at least two rioters were severely beaten by the police (Duberman 201-202). Bottles and stones were thrown by protesters who chanted “Gay Power!” The crowd, estimated at over 2000, “did battle” with over 400 police officers.

The police sent additional forces in the form of the Tactical Patrol Force, a riot-control squad originally trained to counter anti-Vietnam War protesters. The tactical patrol force arrived to disperse the crowd. However, they failed to break up the crowd, who sprayed them with rocks and other projectiles. At one point they were presented with a chorus line of mocking queens, singing:

We are the Stonewall girls
We wear our hair in curls
We wear no underwear
We show our pubic hair
We wear our dungarees
Above our nelly knees!

 

now the question is whos more of a faget the homos at the bar or the hippies gettting theyr ass beat and jail over pot.

 

lala loving you is easy couse your beutifull .= boy i hated that dam 70s song .. i forgot the artist name.

 

riiiiiight. see, why would the queers fear going to jail anyways, its a utopia to them. why are you gonna give them props anyways? theyr'e no where further than society alone would have took them. as for a pot head "standing up" just to go to jail, yeah right, makes a lot of sense. even non-hippie, pot heads who are law abiding citizens, as well as lawyers can not change anything until certain drug schedule reforms have passed. That is why there are organizations such as NORML since the 70's. Backing queers, sure youre not a rainbow family member? They have nothing to do with this anyways, except their role in prisons, lol. Although the system has been shutting us down for decriminalization which would aleviate so much overcrowding, everybody taking "action" and just going to jail will stress the initial overcrowding problem. In the prohibition era, no exessive action was taken by the people, only underground manufacturing which parallels marijuana today. So I ask why the fuck can one be legal and not the other especially when the cannabis plant has other advantageous uses. Though you are somewhat right, since I have a strong urge to gain serious attention by certain means. But I can bet it wont change a damn thing except more federali attention on us, fuckin federalis. So as far as weed legalization goes, we need to do our part to jab more lethargic bud blazing fornicators in the arm and have them sign legitimate petitions nationwide, maybe online. Might be on to something. As for the prison system, I believe a similar means of petition can be taken. Let us stick up for our weed loving proclomations as well as hopes for a unified humanity and do something.

 

just what we needed a fucking wimp. lets petition the british to leave the american continent. lets petition Hitler not to invade Poland . etc etc.

 

lets petition i kick your ass and see who's a wimp when i hand you over to the boy loving ex-con down the street you smart-assed pussy

you'll prolly just take it with a smile, knowing ur with the 'rainbow'
show some respect boy before you get touched now ya hear?!

 

the last thing in your life you want do . specially right now.

 

Punk

 

^^^mid life crisis...or a small penis...

 

.

 

who the fukk are you, the gay steven segal, bitch please. you obviously are a lil fag who is accustomed to verbal abuse n I wont give you that satisfaction. cant even have a logical discussion
congrats