The children are crazy.

[conuly]

First they wake me up an hour early to go to field day... then, when I finally manage to get up and to the store to get food for field day they fall asleep and I keep having to shake them awake to get dressed and eat something!

They did, of course, complain (and rightly so) that they hadn't spent enough time with other kids this year... but when I got to field day (up in the freaking East Meadow, which is an act of love for me to go there) they complained that they didn't WANT to go out and spend time with people.

I finally got them to eat something, which perked them up, so Ana went off with a friend of hers from book club and Eva joined in the activities and never spoke to anybody. Between the two of them we officially accomplished Mission: Socialize! Maybe next time around they'll both talk to people and both join in. An aunt's dreams must exceed her grasp, right?

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Comments

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I have thought for years, ever since I read about the organism that makes ants stand on a tall piece of grass, waiting to be eaten by a cow so the parasite can finish its life cycle, that gut bacteria likely affect our brains. That one was a cool article. And the prison nurseries one too.

[conuly]

Did you read the one a few days ago on prisons in Germany? They have a new article up. I never thought I'd ever find prisons so interesting!

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Ooh, awesome, I'll check that out. I found it fascinating. Thanks.

[conuly]

Yet another way that Europe beats out America. (Like so many liberals, I'm semi-conditioned to view the EU and Canada as socialist paradises of a sort. I console myself with the thought that, if internet comments are anything to go by*, Europe has a freaking lot of racists.)

* I choose to assume that they're entirely accurate with regards to other people, but don't remotely represent Americans at all.

[sayga.livejournal.com]

I had put that one in my bookmarks so I could come back and read all 5 sections. I did that yesterday and they were great. I mean, really it comes down to a basic question: what is the point? Is prison a way to punish people and strip them of everything we possibly can, or is it a way to protect the public from dangerous or sick individuals, with the goal of eventually rehabilitating the dangerous/sick so they can overcome their issue and re-enter society?

For those who will never re-enter society, do we want to make the rest of their lives a living hell, or are we just separating them forever for general safety?

For those who WILL re-enter society, it's an easier question. If COURSE we want to release a healthier, more stable person into society that the one we removed. So why are we making them harder, meaner and tougher? They should be receiving/learning life skills, education, resources and counseling until they can overcome their issues, whether it was a bad childhood, abusive relationships, poverty, addiction, or whatever else.

I'd been asking myself the same questions after watching Orange is the New Black. What is truly the goal of prison? To punish offenders, or to remove and re-teach offenders?

[conuly]

In today's US there is a third goal: To pad the pockets of the for-profit prison industry and I really wish that was sarcasm right now.