"They're hope dealers"

August 12, 2019 1:24 PM

Money-Making Schemes That Ensnare Prisoners and Their Families [The Marshall Project]
posted by readinghippo (6 comments total)

I just read this article from The Marshall Project, discussed in the FPP link. It was fascinating, as most stories about cons are, but so infuriating.
posted by Grandysaur at 2:22 PM on August 12, 2019

jesus christ. this world is crawling with predators. i legit don't understand how people can do this to other people.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 2:49 PM on August 12, 2019 [10 favorites]

jesus christ. this world is crawling with predators. i legit don't understand how people can do this to other people.

Congratulations! You have a GOOD soul.
posted by mikelieman at 3:00 PM on August 12, 2019 [5 favorites]

i mean look i don't have a good soul. like, i call for violent revolution on the regs.

but these people. these people would do anything.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 3:05 PM on August 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

Then congratulations, you have A soul...
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:53 PM on August 12, 2019 [11 favorites]

The US prison system has been based around the creation of captive economies since the Crime-Bill days. Certainly since CA's Three-Strikes laws. I'm not saying this was necessarily the intent of those that backed such laws, but! When you incarcerate such a large population, you can't help but create a network of black and gray markets. A large group of needy people is going to trade. And if we've learned nothing else from capitalism: once a market exists, people will bend over backwards to preserve, promote, and exploit it. Morality doesn't enter into the conversation.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:36 PM on August 12, 2019 [1 favorite]