Wednesday, December 10, 2008

KEEP YA HEAD UP SON


The other day I was talking to my dude up in Indiana. I found out that a good friend of mine is doing a bid (that means prison time for you ebonically challenged folks) for trafficking. Yeah that means drugs dumbass. Without putting all his business out there, he basically was driving his vehicle inappropriately, out of state and was pulled over.

In the car with him was a whole lot of "shit" he was transporting back to Indiana. Sad thing is dude had just graduated from college finally after years of sacrifice. Tragic? Yes. But if *prison is a place to reflect on your mistakes, not plot how to make new ones...maybe there's a good ending in store for him. I’ve never been to prison but if it’s anything like the week I was in jail back in 2001 for driving on a suspended license, then I’m sure he’s uncomfortable.

Yeah, going to jail on Christmas night that year was definitely not in my plans. Surprisingly, the cell I was in had two people and a box filled with Christmas care packages. I thought it was cool that some organization looked out for the people on lock down around Christmas time. I was especially happy that the three of us in that cell/pod was able to eat up all the goodies before the cell was filled to capacity the next morning. I guess the police was busy that night as they are each holiday season.

Much like the hospital, jail is a lonely place where those on the outside forget about you. It’s got to be nice to get a card or something thoughtful from someone on the outside, to help keep your spirits up. The problem is that I’ve walked through Hallmark a few times and there’s no…
”I Heard you got locked up card.”

I thought about sending him some money. But Its not like there are any weekend bus trips to the local mall. I can’t send him CD’s of some of the hottest shit on the streets because prisoners can break the CD’s and use the sharp edges as knives. My dude suggested that I put the CD’s on cassette. I’m guessing I’ll have to do that but I’m pretty sure you can mold plastic into a weapon too. He's big into music so that's a thought.

Oh well, he’s in prison for a while so I guess I have some time to think about it. Hopefully by the time he gets out I'll be rich and I can give him a job. He damn sure won’t be my limo driver. Maybe I should send him some Rough Rider condoms...

*There are an estimated 905,600 African-American inmates in prisons and state and local jails. In several states, incarceration rates for blacks were more than 10 times the rate of whites.

11 comments:

uglyblackjohn said...

LMBAO - Rough Rider!

Anonymous said...

Not cool.
I remember reading some prison stats that claimed a new prison is completed every month somewhere in the U.S. And that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Why aren't the CEO's in jail? talk about crimminality- they've committed fraud, surely.
p.s. you can always offer to look in on/do something for the family he's separated from. make sure you follow through.
Merry Christmas!

Unknown said...

how about send the book, "trafficking for dummies"

achoiceofweapons said...

Thanks for the insight. Sometimes we forget about the sick and shut in.
Jaycee

Thee_Kween said...

CTFU @ them breaking the CD's and using them for knives. I almost lost my damn BREF on that.

Here's a GREAT card, courtesy of Keys!

So, you got caught trafficking and they took you to the pen
And your every waking thought is protecting your rear end
If you think that we've forgotten you all cuz your locked down with no key
Don't you worry, we've got you in our prayers and will visit bi monthly

Sorry about your incarceration,

signX_________________________

Kit (Keep It Trill) said...

Tragic beyond words.

All of it, from your recent college grad friend to the stats. The US has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. One out of four black men have had some experience with brief detention like county jail for a weekend, or prison. Blacks are arrested far more than whites partly because the police are placed more in our communities and the result of racial profiling.

I've known a lot of guys who were or almost were sent to jail - jail - for a first arrest as an adult for possession of a single joint. Whites almost never seem to believe this when told, b/c that kind of shit simply doesn't happen to them, and they are very insulated in the bubble this racist country created for them.

Meanwhile the privatized prison business grows and they pressure local law enforcement to keep up those arrests to keep those beds full. It's a disgrace. They should have decriminalized marijuana decades ago but the alcohol lobby is and again, racism and classism, are a driving force.

Let me stop... too early to get mad.

One Hypo said...

Send the poor guy a chasity belt and some porno magazines.

msladyDeborah said...

It is too bad that your friend got caught up in the fast money game. In the end it is going to cost him more than he would of made of the profits from sales.

I have known pimps who have had valid degrees from college. They grew up in my neighborhood and returned to the life instead.

Hopefully when he is released from the system, he will be able to create a decent life.

Doing time is rough and it is really a rough ride once you get outside with a record.

Kim said...

Wow. You make it seem like going
to jail or prison is a right of
passage for a black man.

Kim said...

mean rite of passage

RiPPa said...

@UBJ: Its the thought that counts right?

@blackberry: The prison industry is a money maker. This is why privatization has been encouraged and fostered. The states and private companies profit in a large way.

@MR CHAP: Nah man...I'm not trynna encourage the brother to do wrong when he gets out. Besides, he has alot of people around him right now who could possibly have that negative influence on him.

@Mister Jaycee: Yes sir at this time of year its important to remember them. Their circumstances may not be the best, but they're still human.

@Kween: You need to go work for Hallmark....RIGHT NOW!

@Kit: Capitalism is a mugg ain't it? Wherever a dollar can be made they'll try and make it. I'm witrh you on the marijuana thing. Its rediculous that people are incarcerated for it. Hell, when was the last time you heard of anyone dying of cancer from using weed?

@msladydeborah: Hopefully he turns his life around indeed. The rate of recidivism is bad enough. Hopefully the ones who turn their lives around can be role models for others.

@Kim: How so?

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