Jailbirds - Human Commodity

The so-called Conservative Party of Canada recently fouled my mailbox with a flyer that I can only describe as ugly hate speech against persons charged with petty crimes.

Don't let the name "Conservative" fool you. These people are not Tories; they are Reformers in Tory drag, predators who prowl for profit-generating motes in eyes not their own.

Here's the text of the flyer:

"Why should convicted thieves, arsonists and vandals serve their sentences watching TV, playing video games and surfing "websites" on the internet? They shouldn't. The Conservative Government Supports Ending House Arrest for Serious Offences.

"Theft and arson are serious crimes. Destruction of property and theft are hard on our communities. These criminals deserve serious jail time. Yet Liberal governments let these criminals serve their time lounging around at home. The Conservative Government wants criminals to go jail (sic). That is where they belong."

Under a maple leaf it says: "Strong Leadership. A Better Canada."

Better than what, you may well ask.

Reformists sure do love capital letters, don't they? And did you notice the quotes around the word "websites"? What do you suppose that's intended to get across? Whatever it is, I guess it takes one to know one.

Then it says: "Compliments of Laurie Hawn, MP" - as if it were a free gift, this piece of hate junk. But in truth, the sender wants something from me. Laurie Hawn - who isn't my MP by the way, doesn't represent my riding - wants me to feel hatred, wants me to want revenge instead of correction, wants me to feel superior to my fellow humans who ... but for the grace of God and all that.

Laurie Hawn wants me to tick the box that says "AGREE" under "I think thieves and vandals should serve their sentences in jail." He doesn't want me to wonder how little was stolen or how low the cost of the vandalism really was.

Take a look at the poor sod in the photo. We don't know what he did, but you can bet his crime wasn't as serious as Hawn wants you to fantasize, or the judge would have had no choice but to recommend jail time. Look at his body posture. Does it suggest he's enjoying himself? No, he's just waiting it out like any jailbird does.

Try sitting around your house for a week and see if you don't go stir crazy. It's punishment alright, even though the system is euphemized as "Correction".

But it's better than putting him in with a bunch of hardened types who can give him a boost down the crime ladder. And he's drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, which may not be healthy but are still preferable to prison smack - and don't tell me there aren't prison guards and administration profiting from some of that.

The "Conservatives", however, are not interested in Correction. In fact, they don't hate petty thieves at all; they love them and would like to see more of them created. What is glaringly omitted from Hawn's flyer is that the Harper bunch see prison inmates as a profitable commodity. They only want you to hate them so that you will support the "Conservative" plans for them.

See, the Reformists are sycophants of people who are just itching to own Canada's prisons the way they're owned in the States (jam-packed with Afro-Americans on minor charges and often on the skimpiest of evidence). But dang it all, Canada's crime rates have gone down! We've got to increase the potential inmate population to make this a truly profitable venture. It's that simple. We've got to get Canadians on board with privatization in general. It's already begun with the health system, and now we're being nudged to hand over the prison system.

But think who you'd be crawling into bed with! You can dress these MPs up, mousse their hair (or their rugs), veneer their teeth, truss in their ample guts and butts, and you can even send them to church, but you can't take out the sleaze and you can't put in a soul or any common sense.

It's never even occurred to them that the guy in the photo should be getting simultaneous supervised group counseling on how to improve his lifestyle. Why? Because that would come under expenditure, not revenue. That would come under decency, not crass opportunism and racism.

Yeah, racism. Oh sure, I saw that the guy in photo was white. I saw that they only included thieves, arsonists and vandals in their rhetoric. But don't think this isn't a window into getting tougher on people of colour, street people, drug users (except the rich, white or famous ones who get wasted in the privacy of their split levels), and small time drug dealers who only sell enough to be able to buy their own fix (not the drug lords, no sir, nor the "respectable" physicians who write prescriptions for a little extra grease to the palm).

The folks behind all this don't give a tinker's dam if our prison populations end up drug addicted or hardened criminals. They love return business. By the same token they don't mind if inmates end up disease-ridden and dead. They can pride themselves on reducing the population of those they consider less than human.

And don't forget the abortionists. As it stands right now, good Christians like Paul Hill have to shoot them because "God hates murder". With any luck, the Reformists will get back the death penalty as well.

Don't let Canada go to hell along with the Reform party. Here's Laurie Hawn's address: House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6, and here's his email address:

Hawn.L@parl.gc.ca

I personally refuse to dignify his hate flyer by sending it back to him, but whatever you decide is okay by me as long as you feed back human decency. Better still, here's where you can download the email addresses of all members of Parliament. If any Americans are reading this, please feel free to contact our MPs and give them the benefit of your first hand knowledge of private prison systems.

Don't ever be shy about invading MPs' mailboxes. They don't mind invading yours or even knocking on your door or phoning you up at dinner time to ask for a handout. They call it democracy, but more and more our government reveals that it practises Malthusianism.

And if you haven't already seen it, do take a look at Michael Moore's footage on Norway's prison system. If only to get the bad taste out of your mouth.