The Technology Liberation Front - Latest Comments in Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

Re: Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

Facelift — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:07:45 -0000

Unless you believe that the optimum way to manage a prison matches exactly with reactionary rantings containing barely disguised sadism, well, there's a problem.

Re: Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

Jonathan Richards — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:59:25 -0000

As a former federal prison inmate, I can say without hesitation that TV is essential to keeping the peace in prison. It provides something for inmates to look forward to and of course occupies endless hours of time that would otherwise be spent in less docile ways. Congress needs to expand the subsidy to cover prisons now!

Re: Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

Seth Finkelstein — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:53:33 -0000

@Berin - the article above shows the reason why. Mean-spirited right-wingers will play politics with it, demagoging and sneering about e.g. how they "sit in stunned silence for a moment". Unless you believe that the optimum way to manage a prison matches exactly with reactionary rantings containing barely disguised sadism, well, there's a problem.

Re: Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

bszoka — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:00:09 -0000

One would think that if television were truly essential to control of the prison population, prisons might invest in the DTV converters, which start at about $50/each (not counting the coupon):

Re: Dead Air Walking: Prisoners Face Loss of TV After Digital Transition

BubbaDude — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:49:35 -0000

Well, you know. Maybe the question is what the guests of the state would do if they didn't have TV to watch. Perhaps the list includes things like:

1. Plan break outs
2. Deal more drugs
3. Lift weights
4. Read the Bible, Koran, and L. Ron Hubbard's books
5. Riot
6. Rape each other
7. Beat the crap out of the guards
8. Attend Aryan Brotherhood meetings
9. Illegally download stuff from the Internets
10. Steal your identity

TV is one of those things that help the guards maintain order. That's what they mean by "normalcy."