this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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No state has a longer, more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners out to private companies than Alabama. With a sprawling labor system that dates back more than 150 years — including the brutal convict leasing era that replaced slavery — it has constructed a template for the commercialization of mass incarceration.

Most jobs are inside facilities, where the state’s inmates — who are disproportionately Black — can be sentenced to hard labor and forced to work for free doing everything from mopping floors to laundry. But more than 10,000 inmates have logged a combined 17 million work hours outside Alabama’s prison walls since 2018, for entities like city and county governments and businesses that range from major car-part manufacturers and meat-processing plants to distribution centers for major retailers like Walmart, the AP determined.

https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-alabama-3b2c7e414c681ba545dc1d0ad30bfaf5

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

"Work makes free", was written on the german concentration camps entries.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 hours ago

Slavery never ended.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 hours ago

You can hate other empires as well, and I do, but the US has the largest prison population on Earth, and that isn't even per capita. 2 million prisoners. We should all be ashamed of that.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 hours ago

And you know that small businesses and independent establishments aren't seeing one minute of that free prison labor under their roof. It's all going to large companies with connections to government.

I'm not arguing that either should benefit from effective slave labor, but the fact that the biggest players get this insane advantage just rubs extra salt in the wound.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Last year I have been learning we are doing everything from the slavery era. It only got renamed.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 hours ago

It had a PR campaign, but it's still here. That 13th amendment needs to be amended anew

[–] [email protected] 19 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Wait, could I move to the US and rent a sexy inmate for my mansion? To parade in front of my geek friends? And play video games with?

(I mean I'd cruelly punish him of course, being in the US, like I wouldn't put any toppings on his ice cream, or something unusually painful, or whatever the law says you have to do).

[–] [email protected] 29 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Oh this is delicious. Keep in mind they hate abortion and hate sexual education. It's not a conspiracy any more. They want the poor to be uneducated and reproductive to have a jailed bottom slave minority.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

Bingpot, indeed!

[–] [email protected] 85 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (3 children)

Yep. And it’s perfectly legal, because the US never banned slavery.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

I think we’re one of the only countries in the world who still has legal slavery. Pretty awful.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

The accurate term for prison labor is involuntary servitude - and it's right there in your quote - but nobody ever gets internet points for using it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

If you’re arguing whether something is involuntary servitude or slavery, you’ve lost the plot. Both are unethical and inhumane, and involve coercing someone to work against their will to benefit another.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 minute ago* (last edited 35 seconds ago)

How much more ethical is confining people in a small room against their will for years or decades? - Let alone executing some of them?

There are distinct differences between prison and slavery. With slavery you're kidnapped with no justification and no trial, somebody literally owns you, and you have fewer rights than farm animals. Prison is a punishment for a crime. Miscasting anything involuntary as "slavery" to make an argument have more dramatic impact is what loses the plot - it misappropriates the experiences of millions of people who were shipped across the ocean and actually enslaved.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 17 hours ago

There are a few sharia lands and a bunch of not-yet-sharia lands with like half the population dreaming of it.

Taken together - a huge chunk of the globe.

There are also a few countries where the Western concept of slavery wouldn't work, but with pretty feudal-despotic cultural legacy, like, ahem, Japan and Thailand and what not, which may have something similar to slavery again in future.

So I wouldn't say USA is that different.

And in Russia there are whole small towns functional because of prison colony facilities there where prisoners work.

Still, prisoners working for private companies with prisons collecting their wages, - seems kinda uncomfortably close. Because, yes, if they are safe enough to be let out into society, they are safe enough to not be prisoners.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Anytime you see one of those “silly laws” - stuff about not being able to ride a horse on Sunday or whatever - that’s why. “Vagrancy” laws were basically put in place to funnel black men into legal enslavement.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 18 hours ago (4 children)

Why do they call it "land of the free" again?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

It's something to do with guns I think.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Cognitive dissonance. Discrimination is illegal, so obviously anyone who experiences it is crazy or lying. Clearly, they should have just followed the law against selling loose cigarettes if they didn’t want to die.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago

For the same reason narcissists like to say they're the best.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 14 hours ago

“They Thought They Were Free: [German society 1933-1945]”

[–] [email protected] 7 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

I put it to you that this might, with a few tweaks, actually be a step in the right direction. I'd rather be at work than in prison. Community service is a thing. This is clearly coming at it backwards on pretty much every count, but there's a kernel of a good idea in there.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 hours ago

To back you up: In Norway (and quite a few other countries I assume), job training and/or education are typically included in a prison sentence as a way to re-integrate inmates into society. Norway also happens to have one of the lowest repeat offender rates in the world.

Of course, this has to be voluntary on the inmates part, and they have to be paid some compensation for the work they do. I believe a part of the system involves inmates being placed for job training in some company that's willing to employ them, but the government pays their salary, because the employing company is expected to spend resources training them. This also incentivises the company to hire them once they finish doing time, as they've now been trained in the job.

Inmates that are regarded as too dangerous to be outside the prison can typically get jobs within the walls. In Norways highest-security prison, there's a Gardening businesses, where inmates grow all kinds of flowers, and inmates run a shop where people from outside can buy them. It's regarded as a huge success in helping the inmates prepare for an ordinary job.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago

Here, they let you learn for a job instead in prison. Seems the better option, imo.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago

Fair enough, but for this to be just it must be voluntary for the prisoner and it must not be used as a motivation to deny parole.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Do you trust not being put in jail for anything they come up with?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

Goodness no, I'd more or less expect it. The whole model is upside down.

[–] [email protected] 149 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

Yes, convict leasing was designed to be a direct replacement for slavery. It was used that way right after slavery ended when you could arrest a black person for anything you could think of. No job? Arrested, leased. No home? Arrested, leased. Etc....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convict_leasing

[–] [email protected] 72 points 1 day ago (4 children)

So slavey never ended! Cool cool. Totally not a corporate dictatorship masquerading as a democracy...

[–] [email protected] 40 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

the laws never pretended it ended. the thirteenth ammendment very plainly allows it:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

emphasis mine. it never said you can't have slavery any more, it just said if you're gonna do slavery you have to convict someone first.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

That’s how propagandized Americans are. lmfao They act as if this is some shadowy hidden part of our culture

[–] [email protected] 6 points 16 hours ago

It's not like you'd expect people to be closely acquainted with an obscure legal document like the constitution.

Oh, wait...

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 20 hours ago

Dylan roof got Burger King and Luigi is facing terrorism charges and the death penalty.

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[–] [email protected] 175 points 1 day ago (5 children)

It's legal per the 13th Amendment.

Doesn't make it right, and it says a lot about how little both parties value human rights that it's allowed to stand.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Cmon buddy. I get that the "both sides" argument is lame and tired when it comes to things like abortion and women's rights but this is a perfect example of it being true. I know you identifying as a Democrat believe that they couldn't possibly support slavery but they do. Slavery as punishment for a crime is universal in American politics as a policy neither side would ever go against. This is a real example of capitalism triumphing over morals that is prevalent in neo liberalism. The first step to making sure your party is better is to acknowledge that they ain't being better when its pointed out. Aka, don't defend the slavers

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

First, I didn't say the Democrats didn't support slavery for felons, I called out the fact that you think there's only 2 sides. So, you know, maybe take a breath before making assumptions and responding next time

Seconably, there's a huge political cost to amending the constitution. You think the political party that just lost to a convicted rapist and multi-felon has the kind of clout to amend such an obviously terrible thing when they're too busy trying to prevent anyone younger than 70 years old from fighting against billionaires? GTFO with that!

Long story short: we know "one side" would do it if they had the power, but they don't, because they suck up to the same billionaires the "other side" does...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

First, the words you said have meaning. They have cultural history. It's not assumptions it's called context. Ain't my fault if you didn't mean what you was saying. Typically the response to that is "sorry, let me try again"

Second. Slavery apologist in the year of our Lord 2024. You ain't a strategist. Your a person. Have a soul. Be angry. That gives the "political capital". Christ alive, don't do slavery apologia

[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 day ago

Oh, that's nothing. Ever wonder who tough on crime legislation actually benefits, and who's lobbying for it?

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Government: "WELL ACHSHUALLY, They aren't slaves because they consented...

~under~ ~the~ ~threat~ ~of~ ~23~ ~hour~ ~solitary~ ~confinement~ ~with~ ~zero~ ~amenities~ ~and~ ~nothing~ ~to~ ~do~ ~and~ ~shitty~ ~food~ ~and~ ~absolute~ ~boredom~~,~ ~and~ ~practically~ ~psychological~ ~torture"~

[–] [email protected] 11 points 20 hours ago

Oh no that's most states. Alabama is straight up sentencing them to labor. There's not even a fiction of them volunteering.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 day ago

America calling slavery slavery challenge impossible!

[–] bdonvr 78 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"dates back more than 150 years"

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Interesting timeframe

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 children)

Meet the new boss. 🎵

Same as the old boss🎵

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

This is how states fight wildfires

[–] [email protected] 12 points 20 hours ago

And then they don't qualify to work as firefighters after they are released.

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