I love to read "Mom Blogs" and the latest blog I read was about how the blogger was planning to let her 12 year old son sign up for a Facebook account a year early so long as he adds her as a friend and lets her set up his account and settings. My humble opinion is that this mom is caving into tween pressure.
It is illegal to buy and sell data from a person under the age of 13. That is why you must be 13 to have a Facebook account. I started to think about my own use of Facebook and came to the conclusion that Facebook is way too much "social media" for a 12 year old, even a 13 year old. Personally, I have emotional connections to multiple people, all in different cities. Reading their status updates, no matter how exciting or mundane they may be, makes me feel like I'm still connected with them even though we're far apart. It's an easy way to keep in touch and feel like I'm an important part of their lives. (Which I know I am with or without Facebook!)
I also use Facebook to look at pictures of myself that my friends took, to share the pictures I took of my friends with them, and to plan parties and to find out about gatherings and get-togethers. Nobody wants to use hotmail to email pictures anymore and nobody wants to send a mass text about a party and then spend the next hour responding to 25 people's texts.
Does a 12 year old really have that much of a life that he or she needs a social media site to contain it all? I highly doubt it, but I suppose it's possible that the whole family moved to a new city and the child wants to stay connected to his hometown friends. Or maybe he takes part in extra-curricular activities and is friends with people he doesn't see at school every day.
Either way, there are age restrictions for a reason. You don't forge your birthday to get a drivers license and those who do are charged because that's illegal. Providing false information to create an account is a violation of Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. If you are caught, your account is shut down.
Think of all the rights of passage we go through. You have to be 16 to get a full drivers license, 18 to vote, join the army, and in some places, 21 to purchase and consume alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets.
You have to draw the line somewhere. I believe social media should be another right of passage. Those age restrictions are there for a reason and I truly believe tweens don't have any business keeping a Facebook page. I already live in a world of instant gratification; I know my future children will most likely live in a world of hyper-instant gratification. Waiting just one more year to get a damn Facebook account won't kill your kids. If anything, it will prove that some things are worth waiting for and life goes on without Facebook. If your friend doesn't invite you to his birthday party because he couldn't send you a Facebook Event Invitation, perhaps he isn't a true friend. There will be plenty of parties to go to later in life. So many in fact, you'll actually chose to stay home once in a while.
And let's say you are a parent and you decide it's okay for your 12 year to get a Facebook account a year early, but only if your kid befriends you, gives you his password, and allows you to control all of his settings, perhaps neither of you are ready for Facebook.
Yes, you should go through the settings and make sure your kid's page is protected and restricted as much as possible for privacy and safety sake, but obtaining their password so you can spy on them later is uncalled for and a breach of trust between you and your child. Also, being their friend online is really uncool and akin to hanging out with your kids and their friends in real life.
Plus, if your kid is smart enough, he can post anything he wants on Facebook and hide it from your view, change his password, and do other things to limit what posts and pictures you see. All these "safety precautions" are completely useless. All you can do is limit your children's time online, talk about your expectations, and follow through with consequences when needed.
Allowing your underage child to provide a false birthday in order to get a Facebook account teaches your kid that it is okay to lie to get what you want; rules can be broken to get what you want; and it encourages impatience.
My mom refused to let me watch The Simpsons back in the day even though I cried that every single person in my grade and beyond was allowed to watch it. She stuck to her guns and guess what.... Simpsons reruns play constantly on TV and I'm all caught up to date. Therapy averted! Facebook isn't imploding anytime soon. Your kids can wait!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Celery Fasts
My twice weekly one day fast hasn't happened yet this week. I was aiming to fast every three days, but I kept forgetting and not timing my meals properly, so today I am fasting, but I'm not very happy about only fasting once this week.
Fasting wasn't difficult at all last week. I was doing lots of writing and reading and I never even thought about eating. Today though, my stomach is growling because I was snacking late last night and then slept in this afternoon. I'm trying not to eat until tomorrow morning. I have a headache. It's possible I may break the fast early because I don't feel good today. (Gotta listen to your body)
In the past, I've read a lot about negative calorie foods. Obviously during a fast you don't want to consume any calories at all, but out of hunger I started to formulate a plan that maybe ingesting negative calorie foods during a fast would be okay. It's a stupid idea, I know. Calories are calories and it's not possible to exactly determine how or when those calories are burned once ingested.
It lead me to the celery diet though. People actually eat only celery and water for a week, sometimes 2 weeks, in an effort to lose weight. A few pieces of celery is okay, but to eat stalk after stalk, day after day. I'd barf.
Four inches of celery is about 1 calorie. If you're looking to fill up your stomach without ingesting too many extra calories, celery is your food! I wonder if I did a celery fast every three days instead of a normal fast? I'm not a huge fan of celery, so I may only ingest 15-20 calories worth. Or would a water only fast be healthier?
I hope that the celery wouldn't become a gateway food and suddenly I'm preparing a big-ass salad with croutons, cheese, and dressing! Or worse, forget about the celery, just start eating ice cream and crackers!
I'm actually having a terrible time on this diet. Now that the boyfriend isn't working, all I do is eat crap because neither of us wants to cook a real meal and we watch TV all day and night. Bob doesn't believe in fasting. He's a terrible influence on my eating habits, but I need to find a way to stand up to it. If he wants to bake a frozen pizza at midnight, fine, he can eat the whole thing for all I care, but I need to learn to say no.
Fasting wasn't difficult at all last week. I was doing lots of writing and reading and I never even thought about eating. Today though, my stomach is growling because I was snacking late last night and then slept in this afternoon. I'm trying not to eat until tomorrow morning. I have a headache. It's possible I may break the fast early because I don't feel good today. (Gotta listen to your body)
In the past, I've read a lot about negative calorie foods. Obviously during a fast you don't want to consume any calories at all, but out of hunger I started to formulate a plan that maybe ingesting negative calorie foods during a fast would be okay. It's a stupid idea, I know. Calories are calories and it's not possible to exactly determine how or when those calories are burned once ingested.
It lead me to the celery diet though. People actually eat only celery and water for a week, sometimes 2 weeks, in an effort to lose weight. A few pieces of celery is okay, but to eat stalk after stalk, day after day. I'd barf.
Four inches of celery is about 1 calorie. If you're looking to fill up your stomach without ingesting too many extra calories, celery is your food! I wonder if I did a celery fast every three days instead of a normal fast? I'm not a huge fan of celery, so I may only ingest 15-20 calories worth. Or would a water only fast be healthier?
I hope that the celery wouldn't become a gateway food and suddenly I'm preparing a big-ass salad with croutons, cheese, and dressing! Or worse, forget about the celery, just start eating ice cream and crackers!
I'm actually having a terrible time on this diet. Now that the boyfriend isn't working, all I do is eat crap because neither of us wants to cook a real meal and we watch TV all day and night. Bob doesn't believe in fasting. He's a terrible influence on my eating habits, but I need to find a way to stand up to it. If he wants to bake a frozen pizza at midnight, fine, he can eat the whole thing for all I care, but I need to learn to say no.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Fasting
Today I am fasting for the first time in years. I did it once as part of one of those 36 hour famine things and it was terrible and I hated it. To begin with, I didn't want to do it, but my friend was doing it and she asked for my support, so I decided to do it with her. I swore I'd never fast again.
Then I got to thinking... While I'm snacking in front of the TV at 9:00 pm, am I really hungry? Do I eat because my body is in the habit of sitting on the couch, eating. When I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV, am I also turning on my stomach to say, "Hey! We've assumed the position. Where are the munchies?"
What does hunger feel like? It's hard to tell when the last time I felt like I was starving. My stomach never growls. Sometimes I skip a meal on purpose because I'm in a hurry to get out the door and sometimes I skip a meal because I was too busy to think about food. Then I gorge, justifying the calorie overload as being a part of the meal I skipped.
Fasting can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but not like how I've been unintentionally doing it in the past. I've been doing a lot of reading today while fasting. I like the idea of intermittent fasting. Some people will fast for 12 or 24 hours at a time, making sure that when they break the fast, they're still only eating a normal 400-500 calorie meal and not eating two meals at once like some of us tend to do without realizing.
It's also an alternative to cutting calories. If your goal is to eat 2000 calories a day, (but you're used to eating much more) that would be 14000 calories a week. If you divide those calories up between 6 days instead of 7, you're eating 2333 calories a day. Fasting one day a week to eat an extra 333 calories a day for the rest of the week is easier than trying to cut back on calories every single day.
A lot of people think fasting is bad for you. They believe you need to eat 6 meals a day and if you miss a meal you're metabolism is shot to hell and all kinds of stuff like that. They're right to some extent. If you fast for too long, say days at a time, you will feel weak and could encounter several health problems. If you break the fast improperly, for example, by eating excessively after the fast, or not eating clean after a fast, you will encounter health problems.
At the end of the day, it's calories in, calories out. How you divvy up your calories is up to you. Fasting for a single day will not throw you into starvation mode and make your hair fall out and your menstrual cycle stop.
Personally, I found restricting my calories to such low levels made eating a balanced diet near impossible. One day I'd be short on carbohydrates, and the next I'd be short on iron. I just couldn't balance my body's intake of essential vitamins and nutrients. Fasting for a day gives me a couple hundred extra calories to play with and ensures that I'll be meeting all my dietary needs in a single day, every day, and not spacing it out across the week.
Those first few days that I was restricting calories, I wanted to eat and eat and eat and I was bitchy and miserable. Fasting is different. Food has not touched my lips today and even though I'm writing about food now, was reading about food earlier, and am cooking a vegetable soup in my slow cooker for when I end my fast later this evening, I still feel really strong and in control of my cravings.
Of course, I could always up my calorie intake and then increase my exercise, but my collar bone gets sore when I'm out and about and exercising with a sling on is really annoying. I can't do high impact exercises, and taking a 3 hour walk out in the snow is not my cup of tea. Fasting in the comfort of my home is the way to go right now.
Then I got to thinking... While I'm snacking in front of the TV at 9:00 pm, am I really hungry? Do I eat because my body is in the habit of sitting on the couch, eating. When I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV, am I also turning on my stomach to say, "Hey! We've assumed the position. Where are the munchies?"
What does hunger feel like? It's hard to tell when the last time I felt like I was starving. My stomach never growls. Sometimes I skip a meal on purpose because I'm in a hurry to get out the door and sometimes I skip a meal because I was too busy to think about food. Then I gorge, justifying the calorie overload as being a part of the meal I skipped.
Fasting can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but not like how I've been unintentionally doing it in the past. I've been doing a lot of reading today while fasting. I like the idea of intermittent fasting. Some people will fast for 12 or 24 hours at a time, making sure that when they break the fast, they're still only eating a normal 400-500 calorie meal and not eating two meals at once like some of us tend to do without realizing.
It's also an alternative to cutting calories. If your goal is to eat 2000 calories a day, (but you're used to eating much more) that would be 14000 calories a week. If you divide those calories up between 6 days instead of 7, you're eating 2333 calories a day. Fasting one day a week to eat an extra 333 calories a day for the rest of the week is easier than trying to cut back on calories every single day.
A lot of people think fasting is bad for you. They believe you need to eat 6 meals a day and if you miss a meal you're metabolism is shot to hell and all kinds of stuff like that. They're right to some extent. If you fast for too long, say days at a time, you will feel weak and could encounter several health problems. If you break the fast improperly, for example, by eating excessively after the fast, or not eating clean after a fast, you will encounter health problems.
At the end of the day, it's calories in, calories out. How you divvy up your calories is up to you. Fasting for a single day will not throw you into starvation mode and make your hair fall out and your menstrual cycle stop.
Personally, I found restricting my calories to such low levels made eating a balanced diet near impossible. One day I'd be short on carbohydrates, and the next I'd be short on iron. I just couldn't balance my body's intake of essential vitamins and nutrients. Fasting for a day gives me a couple hundred extra calories to play with and ensures that I'll be meeting all my dietary needs in a single day, every day, and not spacing it out across the week.
Those first few days that I was restricting calories, I wanted to eat and eat and eat and I was bitchy and miserable. Fasting is different. Food has not touched my lips today and even though I'm writing about food now, was reading about food earlier, and am cooking a vegetable soup in my slow cooker for when I end my fast later this evening, I still feel really strong and in control of my cravings.
Of course, I could always up my calorie intake and then increase my exercise, but my collar bone gets sore when I'm out and about and exercising with a sling on is really annoying. I can't do high impact exercises, and taking a 3 hour walk out in the snow is not my cup of tea. Fasting in the comfort of my home is the way to go right now.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Life Number: 12 in a Nutshell
My life number is very complicated to explain to others, however, I have been asked to explain myself so I will do my best. I believe in pseudo-sciences that are laughable to others - zodiac signs and hypnosis - but my life number is different. It's not numerology, nor is it pseudomathmatics. It's not a lucky number or even a number that represents a bad omen. It's just a reoccurring number in my life that significant events in my life correlate to.
Now for the eerie examples as noted in my diaries over the years and that come to me from memory:
1998 - baseball jersey was #12 for the next four years. It was randomly assigned to me and I didn't pick it out.
1999, 12 years old - got my very first boyfriend and also my first period.
January 12, 2000 - told I need to get braces
January 12, 2001 - funeral for my dog, Paddy and started my period that day.
March 12, 2002 - got into a big fight with Jessica McCarthy (Kelly)
January 12, 2003 - Mom's Plymouth Acclaim is stolen for a joy ride while visiting Grandma in Winnipeg.
February 12, 2003 - Abe Lincoln's birthday and also the first time I told Tommy I loved him. He didn't say it back.
March 10, 2003 - 12 days after Tommy broke up with me, I showed up at school with a hickey on my neck and made him jealous.
March 12, 2003 - I wrote about feeling like I was in a downward spiral.
April 12, 2003 - Cried because I thought Kevin Vandal was moving away. Questioned why I was even dating Tommy.
June 12, 2003 - Had phone sex at midnight with Tommy even though he was dating someone else.
August 12, 2003 - my friend lied to me about fooling around with my boyfriend and I was mad.
Grade 12, 2005 - experienced more prolonged periods of depression and became more promiscuous.
February 12, 2006 - realized I had a crush on Shane McComb.
September 2008 - After being rejected everywhere, Dave and I finally were accepted to move into the apartment on Dorchester Ave. I knew we'd get accepted because the buzz code was 12.
May 10, 2009 - while sitting at table number 12, my Great Aunt faints just days before her 90th birthday and I thought she died. It was mother's day.
December 25, 2009 - Became engaged to my 12th sexual partner.
June 12, 2009 - "I am not responsible for my parent." One of the best pieces of advice given to me.
July 12, 2009 - Named my first cow on the Van Den Bossche farm, Sambuca. It was a big deal.
March 12, 2010 - I broke off the engagement with David.
April 10, 2010 - 12 days after having the most incredible, hottest sex ever with David, we broke up for good via Facebook chat.
April 27, 2010 - Ryan Cooling keeps me on the phone until exactly midnight so he can be the first person to wish me a happy birthday.
May 12, 2010 - "My triple 12 moment" Twelve days after I last had sex, I had plans to hook up with someone at midnight for sex on this day.
June 12, 2010 - First kiss with Bob Drysdale.
July 12, 2010 - Bob has his first experience dealing with drunk/crying Chelsea and he still wanted to date me!
August 12, 2010 - Got in a huge fight with Ashley while living in the basement and decided to go to Regina on a whim for the weekend.
September 12, 2010 - Met Bob's friends from hockey for the first time.
October 12, 2010 - my SAD lamp comes in the mail and I decide to be a Hutterite for Halloween, the best costume idea I ever had and executed perfectly.
December 12, 2010 - I'm convinced I'm pregnant, but it's just the side effects of my Celexa I'm taking LOL.
March 12, 2011 - Had my housewarming party for my Midwinter place and was upset that one particular person didn't show up.
April 12, 2011 - Another pregnancy scare ends as I get my period on this day.
August 12, 2011 - Left for Snow Lake to visit Steph and her family for the first time.
November 12, 2011 - diagnosed with a broken collar bone at 12:45 am.
Sometime in 2012 - will have collar bone surgery
Plus there are major events that happened either on the 11th or the 13th that I reflected upon, or had premonitions about on the 12th. There's also the 12-days-later thing that happens. I can't remember them all, nor could I be bothered to search through all my journals to find them, but they happened. It's all very weird to me. Even my name has 12 letters in it!
I don't look for it either. Sometimes a few hours later, or a day later, I'll realize the number 12 was involved somehow and it makes the event that much more significant to me. I do admit that I get cautious when I notice a 12 and nothing memorable happens, but that's why it's a life number and not a special number. It is my favourite number though. I would go as far as to have that number tattooed permanently on my body because it is so significant to me.
Many feel as though this "12" business is a coincidence and shouldn't be concentrated on, while others believe that I should spend more time on the lookout for 12's because it's obvious that the universe is trying to communicate with me in some way. The 12th of every month is just another day to me. December is just another month and noon or midnight is just a time of day or night.
I do secretly hope though that December 12, 2012 something so brilliant will happen to me. I really look forward to it! Maybe I'll be proposed to, or Bob will win the lottery or something really fantastic like that. I could go the other way though. Perhaps my entire family will die all at once in a terrorist attack, or maybe I'll get diagnosed with HIV that day. Who knows? Twelve is twelve. Maybe on that day I'll sit at home and watch tv while eating ice cream and then masturbate on the couch until I fall asleep.
There you have it. Twelve in a nut shell.
Now for the eerie examples as noted in my diaries over the years and that come to me from memory:
1998 - baseball jersey was #12 for the next four years. It was randomly assigned to me and I didn't pick it out.
1999, 12 years old - got my very first boyfriend and also my first period.
January 12, 2000 - told I need to get braces
January 12, 2001 - funeral for my dog, Paddy and started my period that day.
March 12, 2002 - got into a big fight with Jessica McCarthy (Kelly)
January 12, 2003 - Mom's Plymouth Acclaim is stolen for a joy ride while visiting Grandma in Winnipeg.
February 12, 2003 - Abe Lincoln's birthday and also the first time I told Tommy I loved him. He didn't say it back.
March 10, 2003 - 12 days after Tommy broke up with me, I showed up at school with a hickey on my neck and made him jealous.
March 12, 2003 - I wrote about feeling like I was in a downward spiral.
April 12, 2003 - Cried because I thought Kevin Vandal was moving away. Questioned why I was even dating Tommy.
June 12, 2003 - Had phone sex at midnight with Tommy even though he was dating someone else.
August 12, 2003 - my friend lied to me about fooling around with my boyfriend and I was mad.
Grade 12, 2005 - experienced more prolonged periods of depression and became more promiscuous.
February 12, 2006 - realized I had a crush on Shane McComb.
September 2008 - After being rejected everywhere, Dave and I finally were accepted to move into the apartment on Dorchester Ave. I knew we'd get accepted because the buzz code was 12.
May 10, 2009 - while sitting at table number 12, my Great Aunt faints just days before her 90th birthday and I thought she died. It was mother's day.
December 25, 2009 - Became engaged to my 12th sexual partner.
June 12, 2009 - "I am not responsible for my parent." One of the best pieces of advice given to me.
July 12, 2009 - Named my first cow on the Van Den Bossche farm, Sambuca. It was a big deal.
March 12, 2010 - I broke off the engagement with David.
April 10, 2010 - 12 days after having the most incredible, hottest sex ever with David, we broke up for good via Facebook chat.
April 27, 2010 - Ryan Cooling keeps me on the phone until exactly midnight so he can be the first person to wish me a happy birthday.
May 12, 2010 - "My triple 12 moment" Twelve days after I last had sex, I had plans to hook up with someone at midnight for sex on this day.
June 12, 2010 - First kiss with Bob Drysdale.
July 12, 2010 - Bob has his first experience dealing with drunk/crying Chelsea and he still wanted to date me!
August 12, 2010 - Got in a huge fight with Ashley while living in the basement and decided to go to Regina on a whim for the weekend.
September 12, 2010 - Met Bob's friends from hockey for the first time.
October 12, 2010 - my SAD lamp comes in the mail and I decide to be a Hutterite for Halloween, the best costume idea I ever had and executed perfectly.
December 12, 2010 - I'm convinced I'm pregnant, but it's just the side effects of my Celexa I'm taking LOL.
March 12, 2011 - Had my housewarming party for my Midwinter place and was upset that one particular person didn't show up.
April 12, 2011 - Another pregnancy scare ends as I get my period on this day.
August 12, 2011 - Left for Snow Lake to visit Steph and her family for the first time.
November 12, 2011 - diagnosed with a broken collar bone at 12:45 am.
Sometime in 2012 - will have collar bone surgery
Plus there are major events that happened either on the 11th or the 13th that I reflected upon, or had premonitions about on the 12th. There's also the 12-days-later thing that happens. I can't remember them all, nor could I be bothered to search through all my journals to find them, but they happened. It's all very weird to me. Even my name has 12 letters in it!
I don't look for it either. Sometimes a few hours later, or a day later, I'll realize the number 12 was involved somehow and it makes the event that much more significant to me. I do admit that I get cautious when I notice a 12 and nothing memorable happens, but that's why it's a life number and not a special number. It is my favourite number though. I would go as far as to have that number tattooed permanently on my body because it is so significant to me.
Many feel as though this "12" business is a coincidence and shouldn't be concentrated on, while others believe that I should spend more time on the lookout for 12's because it's obvious that the universe is trying to communicate with me in some way. The 12th of every month is just another day to me. December is just another month and noon or midnight is just a time of day or night.
I do secretly hope though that December 12, 2012 something so brilliant will happen to me. I really look forward to it! Maybe I'll be proposed to, or Bob will win the lottery or something really fantastic like that. I could go the other way though. Perhaps my entire family will die all at once in a terrorist attack, or maybe I'll get diagnosed with HIV that day. Who knows? Twelve is twelve. Maybe on that day I'll sit at home and watch tv while eating ice cream and then masturbate on the couch until I fall asleep.
There you have it. Twelve in a nut shell.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Prison Wages
Just a few days ago I was having a very interesting conversation about prisoners being paid a fair wage while working factory type jobs while incarcerated. Without getting too specific or technical, I will state what I've read, what's been said to me, and then of course my editorial version of events.
First of all, inmates have responsibilities while incarcerated. They cook, they do the laundry, they pick up trash on the highway and they work in factories assembling and building whatever widgets. They are expected to follow a strict schedule without any lip and do what they're told when they are told to do it.
Second, there are three purposes to imprisonment: Deterrence, Punishment and Retribution, and Personal Reform. Whether or not these work in practice is another thing, but I digress.
Some people feel that while incarcerated, prisoners should be focusing on rehabilitation and should not be working or earning money. Others feel that if they do work for a wage in prison, they should be earning a fair market wage for their efforts. Essentially, an inmate will earn between 20 cents and $1.50 an hour while a large private company rakes in billions of dollars in profit. Some claim this is bordering on slave labour and is no better than outsourcing the work to a sweat-shop.
It is my belief that the prison system in Canada and the US alike is ineffective and doesn't focus enough on actually rehabilitating offenders. Prison is a place for stronger gang ties to form, gambling, and learning how to be a better criminal. I wish there was more focus on higher education and learning practical life skills.
Like most deterrents, it doesn't actually deter anyone. Those who speed while driving don't slow down forever because they don't want a ticket. They just slow down when approaching a cop or red light camera and then speed right back up again. Nobody wants to go to prison, but that obviously doesn't stop people from committing crimes. They find clever ways to have their cake and eat it too - until caught.
Prison is a form of punishment. It's not supposed to be a nice place to stay. It's not supposed to reform you or help you become a better person. That's what you get for breaking the law. You pay with your time because universally, time is everybody's most precious resource.
Now, inmates forced to do hard labour for free is something most people would expect. Visions of men donning striped pajamas in a chain gang swinging a pick ax at boulders often comes to mind, but it's not like that anymore. Nowadays they're sewing clothing, making license plates, furniture, and all sorts of other stuff and getting paid for it. For some, it's the first time in their life they're making an honest wage. For others they're learning a new skill that can be utilized once free. That's the closest thing to rehabilitation prison offers!
Who cares if they're not making minimum wage! For all intensive purposes, they could be working for free. The option of having commissary is a luxury really. Many inmates need money to pay for stationary and stamps and their family can't or won't send them money.
Most items that inmates buy are way under $5. Coffee, snacks, and toiletries are the most popular. I think if every inmate made $80 a day there would be a lot more problems with gambling and drug smuggling. More fights would break out and the cost of goods sold at the commissary would go up.
It's by no means a perfect system. It's unfortunate that the private sector benefits greatly from cheap prison labour, but so many prison systems encourage it and even advertise that their inmates will work for next to nothing. The penitentiaries even get a cut which helps pay to keep the offenders in prison. It's kind of messed up.
It's a good idea, but we just need to regulate it properly. And instead of privatized companies making loads of money, the inmates should be working for the government or the prison itself, earning money that doesn't necessarily go all to them, but back into the prison to keep funding for school and other useful resources for actual rehabilitation up.
First of all, inmates have responsibilities while incarcerated. They cook, they do the laundry, they pick up trash on the highway and they work in factories assembling and building whatever widgets. They are expected to follow a strict schedule without any lip and do what they're told when they are told to do it.
Second, there are three purposes to imprisonment: Deterrence, Punishment and Retribution, and Personal Reform. Whether or not these work in practice is another thing, but I digress.
Some people feel that while incarcerated, prisoners should be focusing on rehabilitation and should not be working or earning money. Others feel that if they do work for a wage in prison, they should be earning a fair market wage for their efforts. Essentially, an inmate will earn between 20 cents and $1.50 an hour while a large private company rakes in billions of dollars in profit. Some claim this is bordering on slave labour and is no better than outsourcing the work to a sweat-shop.
It is my belief that the prison system in Canada and the US alike is ineffective and doesn't focus enough on actually rehabilitating offenders. Prison is a place for stronger gang ties to form, gambling, and learning how to be a better criminal. I wish there was more focus on higher education and learning practical life skills.
Like most deterrents, it doesn't actually deter anyone. Those who speed while driving don't slow down forever because they don't want a ticket. They just slow down when approaching a cop or red light camera and then speed right back up again. Nobody wants to go to prison, but that obviously doesn't stop people from committing crimes. They find clever ways to have their cake and eat it too - until caught.
Prison is a form of punishment. It's not supposed to be a nice place to stay. It's not supposed to reform you or help you become a better person. That's what you get for breaking the law. You pay with your time because universally, time is everybody's most precious resource.
Now, inmates forced to do hard labour for free is something most people would expect. Visions of men donning striped pajamas in a chain gang swinging a pick ax at boulders often comes to mind, but it's not like that anymore. Nowadays they're sewing clothing, making license plates, furniture, and all sorts of other stuff and getting paid for it. For some, it's the first time in their life they're making an honest wage. For others they're learning a new skill that can be utilized once free. That's the closest thing to rehabilitation prison offers!
Who cares if they're not making minimum wage! For all intensive purposes, they could be working for free. The option of having commissary is a luxury really. Many inmates need money to pay for stationary and stamps and their family can't or won't send them money.
Most items that inmates buy are way under $5. Coffee, snacks, and toiletries are the most popular. I think if every inmate made $80 a day there would be a lot more problems with gambling and drug smuggling. More fights would break out and the cost of goods sold at the commissary would go up.
It's by no means a perfect system. It's unfortunate that the private sector benefits greatly from cheap prison labour, but so many prison systems encourage it and even advertise that their inmates will work for next to nothing. The penitentiaries even get a cut which helps pay to keep the offenders in prison. It's kind of messed up.
It's a good idea, but we just need to regulate it properly. And instead of privatized companies making loads of money, the inmates should be working for the government or the prison itself, earning money that doesn't necessarily go all to them, but back into the prison to keep funding for school and other useful resources for actual rehabilitation up.
My New Year's Resolution 2012
There are a number of blog ideas I have on draft, but I need to write them in order. First things first, the inspiration for this blog, My Resolutions:
A year ago I resolved to 1. Live within my means. 2. Get back to working on my second novel. 3. Learn to play my ukulele or harmonica or both.
I failed on all three accounts, in fact, I didn't even attempt number 3. I did make a valiant effort in trying to cut back on miscellaneous expenses and getting my debt under control, but I'm still no further ahead compared to where I was at last year. I'm in more debt probably.
No matter, no matter... I have an entire year to try again I suppose. I haven't been giving my new New Year's Resolutions as much thought as I usually do, but I have to list something because every year I list three. They are as follows:
I had high hopes for 2012 because 12 is my life number, but the year is starting off so rocky:
A year ago I resolved to 1. Live within my means. 2. Get back to working on my second novel. 3. Learn to play my ukulele or harmonica or both.
I failed on all three accounts, in fact, I didn't even attempt number 3. I did make a valiant effort in trying to cut back on miscellaneous expenses and getting my debt under control, but I'm still no further ahead compared to where I was at last year. I'm in more debt probably.
No matter, no matter... I have an entire year to try again I suppose. I haven't been giving my new New Year's Resolutions as much thought as I usually do, but I have to list something because every year I list three. They are as follows:
- Completely pay off my credit card and line of credit.
- Lose an unspecified amount of weight
- Avoid pole dancing while drunk
I had high hopes for 2012 because 12 is my life number, but the year is starting off so rocky:
- I have to have surgery for my collar bone at an undecided date
- I have to go through rehab all over again
- Bob needs to find a new job by September
- I most likely will need to find a new job too
- My step-father may or may not be allowed to move to Canada this year
- Bob and I might move again because he doesn't like Sage Creek
- I'll be attending a few weddings
- I'll hopefully be starting school
- I might go to Vancouver to visit a friend
