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X_PRSN t1_irivpa8 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in A Pennsylvania prison gets a Scandinavian-style makeover – and shows how the US penal system could become more humane by JBupp

I think where you and I have an opportunity to come to further agreement is find common ground on the definitions of "comfortable" and "nice." See, I think prisons should, in fact, have swimming pools and tennis courts. But I also don't think of them as luxuries. I think of them as necessities - because attending to one's mental health means more than weekly visits to a shrink or going to group. It's also finding good outlets for stress, and because people are individuals, it's logical to offer as many recreational and creative outlets as can be practical. And I really don't think I'm suggesting anything that's out of reach for any working class citizen.

More than that, though, and for better for for worse, prisoners live in a community of their own. The more reflective that community is of society in general, the more well-adjusted they'll be, which I believe will lead to lower recidivism, and maybe - just maybe - begin to transform the US into a less violent culture. Not saying it'll happen overnight, obviously, but an evolution in that direction, starting with how we treat the people who break society's laws, can be a good thing.

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[deleted] t1_iriwegu wrote

[deleted]

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X_PRSN t1_irixruv wrote

Frankly, yes.

I mean, we don't have to be talking about the local country club. Any YMCA is going to have these. (Since we're talking specifically about swimming pools and tennis courts, I happen to know of several in my town that are free.) And there are programs for lower income folks to assist with fees, as well as access to mental health care. It's really not as impractical as you're suggesting.

But this is a tangent from my original point, which is that as a society, we owe it to ourselves to ensure that the people we remove from society for a time don't make things worse for themselves or us when they come home. That means changing our collective attitude. Discussions like ours are part of that evolution.

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LittleLight85 t1_irizsr2 wrote

A Y membership is like $50/month. I wouldn’t say lower income people are utilizing that much.

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Relax007 t1_irkpfzh wrote

My local YMCA has free or reduced rates for low income families. Is that not done everywhere (or is $50 the reduced rate)? I haven’t been a member in years and I can’t remember how that program works.

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devinchi18 t1_irjkhbf wrote

I like the way you think and speak. Have an ASU

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[deleted] t1_irj3y2j wrote

[deleted]

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random6x7 t1_irjae9w wrote

Once upon a time we did. My mom basically used the community pool as our summer babysitter (ah, the 80s). The one we went to as kids is gone now, but we were in an emphatically working class neighborhood to the point that we got free lunches at the community center in the summers. That park, with the community center and the pool, didn't have tennis courts, but it had baseball diamonds, soccer fields, a street hockey rink, and basketball hoops, both indoor and outdoor. And a playground, and free events like concerts. Our disinvestment in our communities should not be an excuse to treat people who are even worse off in an even shittier way.

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