Send Them to Iraq

I have this abhorrent love/hate relationship with the ACLU. Our civil liberties need to be protected, I agree, but when organizations such as the ACLU take it too far, it defaults to protecting one’s so-called civil rights at the expense of the general population’s rights.

Last year in one of my Criminal Justice classes, my instructor provided a link to an article on the ACLU’s website, where a Jewish man was revoked from his kosher meal in lieu of punishment. My first thought was 1) What gives these prisons the right to cut off anyone, including a prisoner, their right to food? and 2) Why the hell is this man being served kosher food instead of the same food that the other prisoners eat?

Prisoners in America should be fed three square meals a day and allowed at least twenty minutes of exercise. In addition, prisoners should be working for their room and board. Punishment should not consist of solitary confinement and instead prisoners should be required to do push ups or some form of additional physical exercise. Prisons should be operated like boot camps. The prisoners should be trained for the military. If these criminals are so hell bent on murder, then why not train them to take their aggression out on our enemies? These prisoners could have been put to great use in Iraq; we should have trained them to fight for Operation Iraqi Freedom. After all, they are the ones with the taste of blood in their mouths. I know I’m generalizing here but you have to admit, it’s a great idea.

Starvation should never be used as a means for punishment. I don’t believe in it. I don’t believe in sending your child to bed without any dinner and I certainly don’t believe in withholding meals from prisoners. Maybe our President acts like an animal but that doesn’t mean we have to. If you want to treat your prisoners like animals, move to a third world country where they all behave like animals.

I also don’t believe that your religion should provide just cause for your diet. You eat what is on the prison menu and if you don’t like it, tough shit. Unless you have an apparent allergy to a food, you have two choices; to eat or not to eat, that is the question. I have another idea, if your family is willing to pay for your special meals, and it does not come out of the taxpayer’s pockets, then by all means, please eat your special meals. Aside from that, I don’t feel that my hard earned money should have to provide you with certain foods that your religion dictates.

I don’t mean to be so harsh here but if you are so dedicated to your religion then why the fuck are you in prison?