There is a point I liked especially, about how California Proposition 2, which decried cramped quarters for chickens, passed and became law in 2008.
Yet many prison inmates live in Security Housing Units (SHUs) — 7½-by-12-foot windowless concrete cells. It is not like they have a bookshelf in there, for furthering their education. Au contraire.
Basically, we Californians are interested in prison reform for chickens, and we are overlooking the humans in the same predicament.
Compute, compute?
It seems to me, the thing that might make the most difference might be a simple shift of emphasis, from punishment to rehabilitation, instruction in a well-paying trade, and a chance for education in the realm of spirit, whether it be a traditional faith, meditation, or another path of their choosing.
And then, why make upset, angry men more upset, more angry? Why not allow conjugal or even sex worker visits, as in Mexican prisons? We could quibble over details, but the thought’s the thing. Upliftment, a chance to live a happy life on the outside.
Remember when we were children, and a quarrel came up? Was there a time when a parent smacked you? What did you feel? Did you feel like being a productive member of your family? Or did you feel like hitting your parent back?
The very next step, psychologically speaking, is ‘projection’ … the little child walks out and smacks the dog ….
So smacking just makes matters worse. Why should we Americans continue an ineffective mental filter instilled in us before the age of 5? We’re brighter than that!
Filmed on 1 March 2016; published on 12 March 2016
Written in Santa Clarita, California, on returning from a trip up the California Central Valley in springtime.
Previous title: The Great Depression, Homelessness Today, and Criminal Justice Reform
VIDEO BY ALICE
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
My Mother’s Story About Employment of the Homeless for Public Works in the Great Depression
A Recent News Story about a Homeless Encampment
On Restorative Justice and Work Ethic Education of Prisoners
HOW SAN FRANCISCO IS DEALING WITH ITS 6,000 HOMELESS
THE SHANTYTOWNS OR ‘HOOVERVILLES’ OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
THE NEW DEAL AND PUBLIC WORKS TO EMPLOY THE UNEMPLOYED
FOOTNOTES
Dear Ones,
A video about the homeless encampments of the Great Depression, the situation in America today, and the solutions implemented by President Theodore Roosevelt long ago. What answers to this problem might be usefully considered today? Also, American work furlough programs as the wave of the future for prisoners convicted of less notably violent crimes.
There is an edited Summary after the video. Then there are additional sections that supplement the topic of the video.
VIDEO BY ALICE
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
Hello, Dear Ones, It’s Alice. I Am of the Stars.
I thought I would tell you a story that my mom told me, in relation to a newspaper story that I saw the other day. The two are related, but they are miles apart in terms of years and generations …
My Mother’s Story About Employment of the Homeless for Public Works in the Great Depression
When I was very young, my mother told me the story of the Great Depression. That was the time she lived through before I was born. In the time of the Great Depression, there was no work to be had. There were a number of reasons why many men could not find work at all. And so, she said, they left their homes and their families, in hopes of finding work elsewhere. And they roamed around and lived under bridge abutments, off the sides of roads, in crude encampments of tent dwellings … and looked for work from there, in hopes that they could get money to support their families.
These tent villages were huge sometimes; and there was some lawlessness there … sometimes fighting and brawling and alcohol drinking, and maybe even occasionally murders … and of course there was a problem with sanitation, and how they might find enough food to eat; and whether their tents would hold up in a rainstorm, whether they could be warm in the snow, and so forth.
These were desperate men. And the people in the towns, who lived near these homeless encampments, would come to the tent villages, and there would be huge fights and killings and drivings off of people, and so forth.
Then finally it came to the attention of the government, and they tried to think of a solution to this problem. One of the things they came up with, was the idea of hiring these people to do public works projects all over the United States … and often in areas that were rural.
So they would hire them. And in that way these people would have just enough money to support their families. And the Works Progress Administration would hire them; and in that way these people would have just enough money to support their families. And they would transport them to very rural locations.
One of the ideas I have is that then they could get into no trouble; there would be no alcohol; they could get their food supplied for them; and they would be with other people who were in equal economic straits, in a place where there was really nothing to be done but very hard work … with good results too, because among these public works projects of the 1930s, many still remain today. Bridges were built all over the United States. They worked on all kinds of public projects, including roads. And they did great work, very enduring work that is still there. They built the transportation system of America.
During a time when there was no hope, the government helped to supply them with a living for themselves and their families.
A Recent News Story about a Homeless Encampment
That is mom’s story. And so now to get to the story that I saw in the newspaper that I saw in the newspaper the other day: I saw a story about a homeless encampment in San Francisco. There wree problems that were reminiscent of the homeless encampments in the 1930s, problems with lawlessness, sanitation, the use of drugs, and so on.
Consequently the government ordered that everyone leave that area. Some people complied, and some people would not comply. At the time that I read this newspaper article, there were people who were determined to stay and express their right to be where they were.
I feel it is time for the government to consider what can be done to employ these people. For instance, there was a nurse there who had lost her work. What can be done to turn around this situation? How can these people be housed? How can they receive medical care? How can they get hope back into their lives?
It is important. This time is now. We do not want homelessness and lawlessness in our cities. But the answer is not violence. The answer is not government edicts to move on. The answer is some constructive thing that can help them to achieve whatever goals they may have that are positively oriented towards society.
I hope this will be considered in the near future, for America. We thought of it long ago. This is just like a redux; it is a return to something to help them maintain their ideal of the American dream, just as we who are homed hope to maintain that ideal.
On Restorative Justice and Work Ethic Education of Prisoners
There is one more thing that I found out during my recent road trip north through California. I was in Ukiah, the county seat of Mendocino County, where there was a work realignment program that allowed all but violent criminals to work at jobs like emptying trash receptacles and road work, and so forth, and then just be in prison at night.
I believe this was for people who had been convicted of crimes that were not notably violent. This seems to be the wave of the future for criminal justice: Not so much to house people in hopeless circumstances, where they simply scheme to get back at society for what has been done to them, but instead to allow them a chance to work towards a change in their attitude … a chance to have jobs like other people have, and a chance to be treated more humanely, so that they can begin to learn the true rules of society. I say this because I feel it likely that people who operate from the perspective of the criminal mind have not been granted that kind of view of the way that society functions, that most people get. So this is a chance to do that.
You all take care. Love you lots. Bye bye.
Photos by Alice
Image: “Central California 1,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Central California 1,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Central California 2,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Central California 2,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Central California 3,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Central California 3,” by Alice B. Clagett, 1 March 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0
[This is the end of the video. The following are supplemental sections …]
HOW SAN FRANCISCO IS DEALING WITH ITS 6,000 HOMELESS
I recently perused an article that mentioned there are now 6,000 homeless in San Francisco …
San Francisco’s response to this problem was to evacuate a tent city on Division Street, citing health problems. Of course, the larger problem is: What to do about the homeless all across America.
THE SHANTYTOWNS OR ‘HOOVERVILLES’ OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
This Wikipedia article describes the homeless encampments of the Great Depression …
In the early 1930s, millions were homeless. Those living on the streets numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
In bitter derision of then-President Herbert Hoover, homeless shantytowns were termed ‘Hoovervilles’. Homeless families were camped out in New York’s Central Park. There were eight Hoovervilles in Seattle. There was a very large Hooverville in St. Louis as well, with 4 districts and its own mayor.
“The Bonus Army” was a group of World War I veterans who established a Hooverville in the District of Columbia. At its peak, this shantytown numbered 15,000 veterans seeking their benefits. Apparently, there was much violence surrounding this encampment. Here is a very famous photo of veterans fighting with law enforcement …
The Bonus Army shantytown was finally burned down …
Image: “Shacks, Put Up by the Bonus Army on the Anacostia Flats, Washington, D.C., Burning After the Battle with the Military. The Capitol in the Background,” Signal Corps Photographer, 1932, in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evictbonusarmy.jpg … public domain
Image: “Shacks, Put Up by the Bonus Army on the Anacostia Flats, Washington, D.C., Burning After the Battle with the Military. The Capitol in the Background,” Signal Corps Photographer, 1932, in Wikimedia Commons … https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evictbonusarmy.jpg … public domain
President Roosevelt’s Public Works program, mentioned in the video and in the Wikipedia article, put many homeless men to work building bridges, dams, courthouses, post offices, and roads. It might be good to have such a government program today to employ the homeless and help build a better America.
ascension, homelessness, employment, Hooverville, Great Depression, New Deal, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, criminal justice, work furlough, prison reform, American Dream, shantytowns, economics, current affairs, community health, history, sanitation, sustainable living, alternative housing, public works, stories, stories by Alice, law enforcement, lawlessness, drug use, American dream, felon rehabilitation, restorative justice, politics, United States,
Filmed on 11 October 2015; published on 13 October 2015; transcribed on 24 January 2019
VIDEO BY ALICE
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
Postlude: Music of Chris Zabriskie and Photos by Alice
MORE INFORMATION
Dear Ones,
These are my thoughts on the increasing clair perception of all humankind, and how this may result in prison reform. The Postlude features the beautiful instrumental music of Chris Zabriskie along with images from the natural world. There is an edited Summary after the video …
VIDEO BY ALICE
SUMMARY OF THE VIDEO
Hello, Dear Ones, It’s Alice. I Am of the Stars.
I have just a few things to say about the prison system. What I have been noticing, as the Ascension process continues, is that there are quite a few what you might call ‘misqualified’ energies that are coming up and leaving Earth. I got to thinking that some of these … because they express a kind of energy that society would judge criminal.
And I got to thinking that some of these energies may be coming from the prisons all over the world. I got to thinking: What would be the course of action for the future, during the New Beginning on New Earth, with regard to crime and prison systems, and so forth.
It seems to me that, because the whole world is becoming telepathic, and clair in many ways, clairvoyant and telepathic, that the misqualified energies in the prisons worldwide will be broadcast to everyone on Earth, both as far as astral hearing is concerned, and as far as astral visions are concerned.
And the broadcasting that will take place will be uncensored. So very small children will hear it; teenagers will hear it; and older adults will also hear it. Everyone on Earth will hear it and be affected by it, in a way that has not been so in the past … because, in the past, people were not as aware of the astral plane as they are becoming now; and they were not as clairly gifted as they are all becoming now, you see?
So the question arises: What would be best for everyone on Earth, under these circumstances? Everyone can hear what is going on in the prisons, as if it were right next to them. So then, what would be the best course, as regards crime and criminals, for everyone on Earth, right?
I know some people would summarily say: Well, of course, they should all be dispatched. Let’s not have them around!
But this kind of understanding is not an understanding of what happens on the astral plane, after passing on: For, when a criminal is executed, at least according to Arthur Powell and the School of Theosophy of the early 1900s, when a criminal is executed, he still haunts around the places he used to know.
So he still causes some kind of trouble and commotion in the communities or families that he came from. At least, that is my thought on it:That a holistic approach to crimes and criminals and prisons needs to be considered and worked out by all humankind.
I think that this awareness will become more clear to everyone on Earth in the coming years. You will have your own thoughts on it, I am sure; and I welcome them.
Take care. God love you and bless you all, and bring you safely into the new life, into the new transformation on Earth.
Postlude: Music of Chris Zabriskie and Photos by Alice
[The follows the beautiful instrumental “Prelude No. 23” from the album “Preludes” by Chris Zabriskie, CC BY 4.0, along with these photos and a short videoclip of a monarch butterfly on a yellow flower.]
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 32,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 32,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 33,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 33,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 4,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 4,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 34,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 34,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 13,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 13,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 14,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 14,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 15,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 15,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 17,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 17,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 19,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 19,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 27,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: “Navajo State Park, Colorado 27,” by Alice B. Clagett, 11 October 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
. . . . .
In love, light and joy,
I Am of the Stars
Here are more photos from that day … Link: “Navajo State Park, Colorado,” photos by Alice B. Clagett, filmed on 11 October 2015; published on 24 January 2019 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-bpM ..
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MORE INFORMATION
Link: “Capital Punishment … ‘Do No Harm’,” by Alice B. Clagett, 18 June 2015 … http://wp.me/p2Rkym-3of ..
Chris Zabriskie, capital punishment, clair plane, criminal energies, misqualified energies, prison reform, prisoners, School of Theosophy, ghosts, restorative justice, transformation, photos by Alice, New Beginning,
