Books on Faith Removed from Prisons

“It’s swatting a fly with a sledgehammer,” said Mark Earsley in September tenth’s New York Times. Earsley is the president of the Christian group, Prison Ministries. In prisons across America, chaplains have been told to clear out religious books. The books in the chapels and libraries of prisons must be on an “approved list” from the Bureau of Prisons. What do they hope to accomplish by blocking access to the thousands of religious books? Traci Billingsley, a spokesperson for the Bureau, said in the New York Times that “the agency was acting in response to a 2004 report by the Justice Department. The report recommended steps to take to avoid prisons becoming recruiting grounds for militant Islamic and other religious groups since the September 11 attacks. They are barring access to materials that could “discriminate, disparage, advocate violence, or radicalize.” Apparently only religious books fit the bill. Chaplains, religious groups, and prisoners alike are not happy with this change. “There’s no need to get rid of literally hundred of thousands of books simply because you have a problem with an isolated book or piece of literature that presents extremism.” Mark Earsley quotes again in the Times. Even the general public is in a quandary, a poll was taken on about.com, and over 85% said this reaction to the books was too extreme. Thousands of the old collected books are being tossed; only 150 books on each religion are allowed. "The set of books that have been taken out have been ones that we used to minister to new converts when they come in here," Christian inmate John Okon told a judge last week, according to Christianity Today. “Okon, along with inmates Moshe Milstein and Douglas Kelly, are asking the court to order the titles returned to the prison chapel library.”
Most people argue for their civil rights, yet I agree that anything to curb terrorism in this country should be done. However, this can be done with a fly-swatter, not a hammer. It seems overkill to limit books that are known for their solid teachings on love, forgiveness, compassion, hope, and joy. These things would help, not hinder, prisoners. Peaceful books should be encouraged, not dismantled. What about even fiction books or movies that are full of violence that have completely infiltrated our culture? Why not work to remove books and other media that actually contain violence, not just limit them to religious books? Many religious books have proven a help to social problems, and many turn from the teachings of violence and terrorism. If we are trying to stop violence and terrorism, we should not be removing most religious books. Most religions, such as Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and Mormonism do not advocate violence in any way. In fact, it is strongly discouraged. I doubt Billy Graham or the pope condone terrorism. Many of the books now being taken off prison shelves teach values and morals that could bring light into many lives. So, it seems the sledgehammer is swinging hard, cracking away at a source of hope and renewal in our prisons.

Crime: Saggy Pants

You are sitting at home, watching the afternoon news, dozing off slightly. Suddenly, the phone jangles noisily and you jolt up and shake yourself awake. “Hello?” you say groggily into the receiver. A few seconds later, “Excuse me? Who is in jail?”
“You’re son, ma’am. Please bring at a minimum of 150 dollars with you to pay the fine.” The officer says.
“Jacob is in jail?” you ask incredulously. “What did he do?”... “His pants were sagging?”
What is our world coming to when lawmakers spend their days discussing hip-hop fashion? Sagging pants have become a criminal offense in the town of Mansfield, Louisiana. The New York Times quotes, “pants warn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public and they (Mansfield’s legislature) have enacted indecency ordinances to stop it.” The newspaper goes on to talk about the reasoning behind this. “Critics say this style is warn as a badge of delinquency, with its distinctive walk conveying a thuggish swagger and a disrespect for authority.” So, the question is, is this law invoked for indecency reasons or to attempt to put a stop to this “thuggish delinquency”? According to Andrew Bolton, the curator at the Costume Institute of Metropolitan Museum of Art, “fashions tend to be decried when they challenge the conservative morality of a society.” Yet many people argue for personal freedoms and self expression. This movement is reminiscent of the reaction to the zoot suits in the 1940’s. Latino males distinguished themselves with "zoot suits" - wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coats, high-waisted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains. This dress was associated with gangs. Eventually a riot broke out in Los Angeles between the “zoot suiters” and the American sailors due to racial problems. "The zoot suit had become a badge of hoodlumism," explained Councilman Norris Nelson in the L.A. almanac. A similar instance took place in Alaska. Mindy Gobler, a friend, told me they encountered this on her recent cruise. A dock in Ketchikan made high heels off limit in an effort to stop prostitution on the pier.
To me, the idea that wearing saggy pants makes you a disrespectful thug, or high heels makes you a hooker, is a very broad generalization. Clothing does not always define the person. If the zoot suit was a “badge of hoodlumism” and the saggy pants are a “badge of delinquency”, then does wearing girl scout badge make me a girl scout? The suit, the pants, the shoes all represent something else- problems with gangs, racism, or prostitution. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt commented about the Zoot Suit Riots, "The question goes deeper than just zoot suits. It is a racial protest.” (L.A. Almanac) Why are we not focusing on the actual crimes that the sagging pants seem to embody ... focus on the real thug, not one who has the appearance of it. Does a girl wearing a low cut shirt get arrested for being a prostitute? Do rappers in music videos get fined for indecency? We have moved away from simply the issue of indecency. Discrepancies in modesty occur everywhere you look. The heart of the matter is this, a gang will still exist with or without baggy pants. The girl will still be a prostitute with or without the high heels. We are only doing away with the appearance of evil, instead of the problem itself.