Equal Rights Equal Wrongs
Every so often the same old news is reported about how gender discrimination leads to pay inequity, glass ceilings, etc. Recent articles have pointed out that, at least in higher education, the tables have been turned, and most college and grad students are female - evidence that inequities can be rectified with the proper progressive legislation and attitude. Bravo.
Now it's time to turn our attention to that other institution so many adults enroll in - prison.
The disproportionate ratio of women in prison compared to men is reprehensible. After all of the efforts to change the rules of entry and adjust opportunities in the workplace and academia to ensure equal, or at least sort of equal, gender participation, the penal system is operated like a throwback to the dark ages.
Steps must be taken to ensure equality of gender representation/opportunity in prison. For starters, laws should be analyzed to determine which ones are disproportionately offering prison opportunies to males, and adjusted to be more fair and equitable. Affirmative action might be called for. Perhaps adjusting sentence lengths by gender would help to reduce the disparity as well. I am sure there are plenty of good ideas to fix gender bias in prisons, and it's time to get started.
Now it's time to turn our attention to that other institution so many adults enroll in - prison.
The disproportionate ratio of women in prison compared to men is reprehensible. After all of the efforts to change the rules of entry and adjust opportunities in the workplace and academia to ensure equal, or at least sort of equal, gender participation, the penal system is operated like a throwback to the dark ages.
Steps must be taken to ensure equality of gender representation/opportunity in prison. For starters, laws should be analyzed to determine which ones are disproportionately offering prison opportunies to males, and adjusted to be more fair and equitable. Affirmative action might be called for. Perhaps adjusting sentence lengths by gender would help to reduce the disparity as well. I am sure there are plenty of good ideas to fix gender bias in prisons, and it's time to get started.
posted by Steve at 2/02/2006 04:55:00 PM
3 Comments:
This is a hate crime against women.
Don't you know that women are incapable of doing anything wrong?
Any killing by women is righteous, since they were invariably driven to do it by the patriarchy, an abusive spouse, PMS, childhood sexual abuse, etc. Remember, it is never, ever permissible for a man to strike a woman, and always an act of incredible heroism and self sacrifice when a woman kills a man, or destroys his life by proxy in family courts. For example, look at that Yates woman who drowned her kids. She spent about 2 years in jail, and now she is having her illness treated in a mental health hospital. Lets see that happen the next time some man kills 5 of his own children. What we need to do is start holding women accountable for their own actions, but I don't see how we can possibly defeat a force which accounts for 54% of the electorate, 70% of the nations wealth, and the minds of virtually 100% of the next generation.
Maybe it is your own fault... Maybe it is all that testosterone coursing around in your body, (that you men are so fond of bragging about) that is to blame. Maybe aggression makes men commit more crimes. What would you know about crime and punishment anyway? I am sure you represent 40ish, white, upper class, republican/libertarian America. What do you know about what is really going on in the streets?
Anonymous -2/20.
Maybe? Maybe, indeed! Your argument assumes that when things turn out in an unequal fashion, then it must be the fault of those who get the short end of the stick, in this case, the men in prison. If this argument held any water, then women, minorities, and other "disadvantaged" groups, would best be left to participate and ultimately, excel, in school, business and life in general without the government intervention which has favored them for several generations... say, you may be on to something! Another libertarian in the making? We can only hope.
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