Sometimes I like to pretend that I’m as hardcore counter-culture as I used to be. So I’ll check out what’s going on in independent media, including some of the extreme conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones or David Icke. Most of these guys are flat out crazy–that’s a given–but I still like to keep my mind open to possibilities, outrageous as they may be.

One recurring theme throughout their rantings is the idea that The Man wants to put everyone into prisons, since the companies that build prisons are big business. What they’ll often present to illustrate that theory are cases where citizens are given heavy prison sentences for trivial crimes.

Most recently, I heard one host discuss how some states have made it so someone can be made to serve up to 10 years in jail for speeding. Yes, that sounds obscene and shocking the way they tell it, however what they fail to include is that in order to be eligible for a sentence that severe, one usually will have a long list of prior offenses–and we’re not talking parking violations; more like DUI, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving resulting in a collision, etc.–and then being busted for speeding to the tune of going 60mph in a school zone. That kind of person is a danger to society and has earned a dime in the joint for being so irresponsible toward the safety of others.

Besides, is it really that hard to find people to put in jail? Have we reached that level of utopia that we’re actually hard-pressed to find criminals among us? What about all those thieves, drug dealers, and wife beaters that get a slap on the wrist by the state before being released back into the public?

I accept that a great deal of our judicial and law enforcement systems are corrupt. Many cities milk their citizens through chicken-shit citations. And too many people are sent to jail for civil affairs like software piracy. But I have difficulty believing that when it comes to filling prisons, the system must be twisted to cull from the innocent, rather than the more deserving. Does the all-powerful Illuminati really have such a hard time finding excuses to lock these jackals up, so they have to resort to picking on harmless tax-paying citizens? Cuz that’s a horrible way to run a secret operation… It would raise far less suspicions to over-punish the guilty than to bully the innocent.

I’m sure that most of those conspiracy nuts would offer some kind of explanation for it. Like maybe that the powers-that-be do this to keep us fearfully in line. All I know is that if it doesn’t make sense, it’s most likely not true. Even if martial law is upon us, I doubt this is one of the precursors. Jello Biafra once said, “Don’t hate the media. Become the media.” I support this idea 100%, but it does us no good if we over-sensationalize minutia just as the mainstream does to distract us from what’s really important.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 6:35 am and is filed under Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.