Video Games Vs. Punishment: A Metaphor for Prisons

When I was a kid, my parents would ground me for playing too many video games--they tried to make me go to video game rehab, but I said no, no, no! It didn’t stop me from gaming, because my parents couldn’t catch me button mashing my XBOX controller while they were at work, or on my TI-83 while at school, or playing 2048 in the bathroom. The issue was instead of telling me why I shouldn’t be playing, they went right to punishment. And just as my parents style of punishment over rehab didn’t change my behavior, our State and Federal prison system isn’t keeping XBOX controllers out of inmate 's hands… that’s a metaphor. But this problem is no joke. With over a third of released prisoners arrested again within six months of their release, and,

It’s easier to punish, harder to rehabilitate, but their is long term detriment. In a speech addressed to the NAACP, President Obama stated “the United States is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Our incarceration rate is four times higher than China’s and our prison population is higher than than the top 35 European countries...combined.” And why is this statistic so skewed? Profit. Because of the boom in the prison population caused by the War on Drugs during the 1980s, prison overcrowding and rising cost became problematic for local, state, and federal governments. In response, private business interests saw an opportunity for expansion, and consequently, private-sector involvement in prisons moved from the simple contracting of services to contracting for the complete management and operation of entire prisons, aka spoiler alert: Orange is the New Black Season 3. The privatization of Prisons creates new prisons for profit, prisons that need to be filled. In 2012, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation 's largest operator of for-profit prisons, sent letters to 48 states offering to buy their prisons as a remedy for "challenging corrections budgets." Meaning, the CCA offered to run the prison in exchange for a 20-year management contract, plus an assurance the prison would remain at

Section 3: More tax money put to expand preventative programs in communities with at risk youth. This will allow us to eliminate the upbringings and necessities that result in crime. In a study about the preventative program, Quantum Opportunities (QOP), proved that preventative programs like QOP, result in an increase of 21% in graduation rates and a 26% increase in college attendance. This is a huge impact since 68% of prisoners don’t have a high school diploma and estimates suggest that education should reduce crime in youth and in their future because they put more time in education rather than crime.

Today, we have broken this barrier that divides us to realize we are not that different, and seen that the problem lies with the prison system and not these so-called “criminals.” And with this legislation, we can end this epidemic of problem removal that has plagued us since the moment we set sail to this land. And make our correctional facilities actually correct behavior through rehabilitation. Actions must have consequences, but we must give the time, money and energy towards creating a system that puts rehabilitation above problem removal. Now with my kids, I will not ground them for playing too many video games, rather I will tell them why it is important to