Is it better to be poor or a prisoner?
That question has plagued me for some time now. In fact, I touched upon the analogy of poverty being a prison in a video blog this past summer. (
"And Now For Something Completely Different" ) And, to be honest, the answer to the question really depends on
where you are prisoner . . . and
how poor you are.
The reason I am finally writing about this question is because of something I heard on the radio the other day. The news commentator was speaking about how confessed Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik, was determined by psychologists to have been in a psychotic state and insane at the time of the horrific killings. Accordingly, it was recommended that he be sentenced to compulsory mental health care. A reporter from Norway then described that this would mean detention in a mental health facility, likely for life but subject to periodic reviews, and that the prisoner would have all of his physical needs looked after including all of the medication he requires.
I don't disagree with providing for a person's physical needs while in detention, even if they have killed 77 people.
(Although I suspect that some would disagree with me.) However, that is not the point I wish to make here. What occurred to me was . . . how many homeless people suffering from some form of mental illness would give their eye teeth for this level of care?
In fact, that is the decision that some people who are homeless make, particularly as winter approaches, when they decide to commit a crime in order to get the warmth and care of prison. Isn't something a little backwards when someone who commits a crime has it better than a person who doesn't commit a crime?
I'm also not advocating that we make prison conditions worse. I'm simply saying that we should improve "freedom conditions" to ensure that everyone who hasn't committed a crime has at least the standard of living as someone who is locked up. Doesn't that make sense? Isn't it humane?
Let's try this another way.
Prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" is a legal concept that originated in the
English Bill of Rights in 1689. It was later adopted by
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the
Charter of Fundamental Freedoms of the European Union and many others. While there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, definitions tend to include things such as . . . unacceptable suffering or humiliation . . . so excessive to outrage the standards of decency . . . torture or degradation or punishment too severe for the crime committed. I cannot help but wonder - what crime did people in poverty commit that allows them to remain in suffering that may include lack of shelter, lack of food, lack of clean water, humiliation, inadequate health care, etc.?
I'm serious.
If there are things that are so severe as to outrage the standards of decency regarding punishing a prisoner, then why is that same standard not enforced in society for people who have not committed crimes? Even if you buy the bogus argument that people in poverty are suffering by their own doing, how can we stand by to let someone who has only hurt themselves get a much worse deal than someone who has hurt another? And, of course, most people in poverty are not in their situation by choice or due to their own fault. There's a plethora of reasons why someone is in poverty ranging from being born into poverty, victim of trauma, suffering illness, subject of personal or natural disaster, and so on and so on. Yet, these innocent people find themselves in situations that would violate international standards for prisoners of war and they're subject to situations that would likely contravene any definition of cruel and unusual punishment. And, sadly, many people in poverty have been handed a life sentence.
But there's good news. There IS something we can do about raising the standard of living for everyone above that of the best kept prisoner. First, we must be aware that the situation of extreme poverty exists, and it exists everywhere. Second, we must notice the outrage that burns deep within ourselves that anyone anywhere should have to live in conditions of absolute squalor.
(If you have trouble recognizing the outrage, then simply ask yourself how you would feel if you lived in those conditions.) Third, we must take action. Most importantly, we must raise our voices to say that WE CARE and that no one should be without their basic rights . . . unless, perhaps, they have
actually been sentenced to prison.
We must open our eyes to see what is there.
Then, open our hearts to show that we care.
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Phase II - Struggles of the Working Poor Daily
Report
Day 34 & Day 35 (December 4th – 5th)
Weight at Beginning of Project: 233 lbs
Weight
at End of Phase One: 216 lbs
Weight
at Start of Phase Two: 221 lbs
Weight
at Start of Today: 216 lbs
Available Funds: $46.15 (Leftover)
+ $7.50 (Dec 4) + $8.00 (Dec 5) = $61.65
Funds
Spent Today: $0.00
Remaining
Funds: $61.65
New Loan: $0.00
Loan
Due Today: $0.00
Loan
Payment: $0.00
Outstanding
Loan: $135.00 @ 2% per month (non-compounding) . . . payments due as
follows: $34.38 due Dec 8th;
$34.22 due Dec 15th; $34.07 due Dec 22nd; $33.91 due Dec
29th.
Items Purchased: Nil
Free Stuff: Free Pass
to Festival of Trees Exhibit
Gas Purchased* & Remaining: $0.00 (i.e.
0.0 litres @ $1.089 per litre . . . 0.0 km @ 10 km/litre) + 3.81 litres (gas
remaining) = 3.81 litres (38.1 km)
Driving
Today: 18.0 km (i.e. 1.80 litres)
Gas
Remaining: 2.01 litres (i.e. 20.1
km)
*Will not include
any fuel or driving related to work that is paid for by work.
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Hey!! I'm That Poverty Guy . . . let's make a world of difference together.
