...Response paper #2 Name: wenjia geng This paper provides an analysis of human rights catastrophe in our jails and prisons that people have to confront. And the author points out prisons’ growth can't be isolated from problems of our society, such as racism, poverty and global capitalism. And I want to talk about is the time for the prison approaching an end? Since 1970s, prisons have grown exponentially, because there exist a cycle of joblessness and incarceration. A plenty of people lost their jobs and prospects when corporations and deindustrialization migrate to another area. In the mean time, prisons will provide a lot of jobs and bring economic growth to some specific area that need help. When these depressed area gradually recover the economy. The cycle will set up naturally. Then the prisons offer an opportunity let people have excuse to disassociate from problems in our society, such as racism and economic and societal imbalance. Just like a sentence in the article ”It relieves us of the responsibility of seriously engaging with the problems of our society, especially those produced by racism and, increasingly, global capitalism.”(Are Prisons Obsolete? pg. 16) People most of time used to overlook problem of prison system. Conversely, people would like to regard the prisons as a solution to deal with some problems in society. This behavior not only let people ignore how much of a problem prisons are, but also helps us forget about how much we should...
Words: 544 - Pages: 3
...Jail and Prison Paper Ramsen Karaman CJA/204 When I think of the difference between Prisons and Jails, I think of short-term and long-term. Jails are most often managed by sheriffs and/or local governments and are designed to hold individuals waiting for trial or serving short sentences. Prisons are managed by state governments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and are for individuals convicted of crimes. Modesto Men's Jail located in downtown is the jail I'm familiar with. Not that I've ever been in trouble but its the only jail near the area. The Average inmate population is 376. The Men’s Jail receives approximately 1489 bookings (arrests) per month. which I think is crazy! I've heard that if you get booked for 6 months in jail, you only serve half the time if you're behaving well. I have actually visited this jail for a school field trip in High School. It was very interesting. I had to sigh a document that stated that if anything happened that it would be my responsibly. The inmate were not shy to talk, they constantly said "Don't get in trouble, its not worth it, the food here sucks." I thought that was funny because that's really what they're complaining about, FOOD!! They were dressed in all types of colors (orange, blue, white). I also remember seeing Scott Peterson's files in the office. He had a huge section just for his files. I was shocked, it was a interesting experience. The prison that I know is near by...
Words: 356 - Pages: 2
... Psychologist Phil McGraw starts his show every day saying, "This is going to be a changing day in your life.’’Dr. Phil wakes up every day at seven in the morning without a alarm. His plan for the day is to help people make their life better than the day before. If he does ever have a bad you would not be able to notice. It’s hard to make Phil mad but it does happen. He would not be where he wanted to be without his good friend Oprah. The professional Phil McGraw was born September 1,1950 in Oklahoma. As a young boy in high school he loved to play football. Phil received a scholarship from the university of Tulsa. He was not big on where he was playing so decided to transfer to the midwestern university. His life in other people’s eyes seemed to be great. Which it was excepted back at home.He went to work early, not to earn spending money, but to help put food on the table. Not always the best kid, at times, Phil says now, he basically raised himself.His dad had a huge alcohol addiction. He would go out every night and get drunk. His excuse was he needed to escape from his problems.Phil did not like his dad being gone every night. He thought that his dad was going to hurt himself. He may not be a practicing doctor, but he is a practicing businessman.McGraw and his father joined Thelma Box, a successful Texas businesswoman, in presenting "Pathways" seminars, "experience-based training which allows individuals to achieve and create their own results.Critics claim that...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...English 100 March 17th, 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Question 6 on page 177 Have you ever thought about integrity? We all have at some point in our lives. The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines integrity as “the quality of being honest or fair and the state of being complete or whole.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Stephen L. Carter spoke about this and defined it in their own ways. Stephen L. Carter wrote in “The Rules about the Rules” that “integrity requires 3 steps: (1) discerning what is right and what is wrong; (2) acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and (3) saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong.” During a major protest of unfair business practices in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested and put into jail for his actions. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he gave evidence of Stephen L. Carter’s definition of integrity. “Discerning what is right and what is wrong.” In 1954, the Supreme Court came to the decision to outlaw segregation in public schools. Even though this was Federal Law, the community still chose to obey the city ordinances of segregation. Dr. King stated that for the African-American people there was “grossly unjust treatment in the courts, and there were more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any other city in the nation.” Despite strong efforts made from the leaders in the African-American community...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. During his time in jail, he wrote what became to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King wrote this letter to explain his actions to the other clergymen who disagreed with his protests and actions. This was very effective in getting more blacks, and even some whites, to join King’s group of peaceful protesters. It was effective because he appealed to the emotions of the reader, and he used vivid analogies to make the content of the letter easier to understand. The writing of this letter was a vital point in the Civil Rights Movement. After the letter was written, many people joined the Movement. Without this letter, the Civil Rights Movement may not have been the success it was. At the time this letter was written, the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to gain momentum. King had become the face of the fight against discrimination. People in the movement knew that they needed to start having bigger protests to gain statewide and national attention. So in April of 1963, King started doing lunch counter sit-ins, and later they marched on Birmingham City Hall. After the march on City Hall, King and many of the other protesters were arrested and put in jail. This is where King would write his letter. He wrote the letter in response to other articles in the paper saying that the protests were unwise and untimely. There was a statement in a newspaper which was written...
Words: 1244 - Pages: 5
...ENC 11102 August 15, 2009 Genre is a term which defines the different categories which things are categorized into. For example, when defining different forms of music; music is put into categories in which we use the term genre. Different music is put into these genres depending on the different rhythms used in it. It allows Rhythm and Blues to be differentiated from and Rock and Roll, and Rock and Roll to be differentiated from Gospel. In writing, a writer’s choice of style is the determining factor in how we choose his/her genre. When the genre of the writing is determined, then the particular audience can be determined to who its interest of reading might be. The audience in writing is defined by the person or group of people that is reading or listening to a certain choice of writing. Depending on what kind of writing genre is presented, determines the audience of the writer and how the writer choose to reach his or her audience. In order for a writer to reach a particular audience, the writer has to be able to compose his writing. The writer can do so in such a way that a rhetorical situation is formulated in a particular genre which reflects the type of audience that it interests. A rhetorical situation is situations in which a story and a scenario is presented and explains a situation that could possible occur in real life, therefore giving a situation in which the reader can assume the outcome; a certain form of communication...
Words: 1571 - Pages: 7
...Engl. 1213-009 29 November 2010 Letter from Birmingham Jail In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King expresses his grief for his fellow black people, after seeing and hearing about the injustice that was taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King is very explicit in the letter; he makes a very obvious argument on the immeasurable amount of injustice taking place. A reader experiences firsthand that it was about time for necessary action to take place, considering how long the black people had waited for equality through nonviolent protest. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight clergymen’s letter called “A Call for Unity”. In the letter, Dr. King addresses his critics that believed his actions were “unwise and untimely” (King 204). To achieve his personal proposal, King uses ethos, pathos and logos to convey a sense of understanding a reason for equality and sympathy. The main point in Dr. King’s letter is that black people have patiently waited long enough for their God-given rights; “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights” (King 207). And despite what anyone might have said, it time for change to take place. He starts his counterargument towards the clergymen, ministers and civil leaders of Birmingham adequately; he wrote “You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, but your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
...Letters from Birmingham PeeJay Nowling Argosy University Online Letters from Birmingham 1. King was in Birmingham to address the issue of injustice by organizing a protest. Define the injustice and the protest and explain how Judeo-Christian ethics were applied to allow for civil disobedience. How was the injustice in Birmingham tied to all communities in the south? Dr. King had the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization in every southern state. Their headquarters were in Atlanta, Georgia. They had 85 affiliated organizations and one of them was the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. They shared staff, educational and financial resources with their affiliates. Several months back Dr. King and members of his staff were invited because they had organizational ties there and they were asked to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if it were necessary. Dr. King was in Atlanta and could not stand idly by while there was injustice in Birmingham. He said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King, 2006). “He wanted to carry the gospel of freedom” (King, 2006). King claimed without direct action there would be no change. 2. King lists four steps to nonviolent campaigns. Name them. “There are four basic steps to any non-violent campaign...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...Letter from the Birmingham City Jail When Martin Luther King went to jail after he led a protest in Birmingham City against the moderate, his fellow clergy men wrote him a letter, showing their disapproval for his actions. Luther then replied, explaining why he did it and let them know it was to be this way if they wanted a change. They asked him if he could’ve negotiated instead of direct actions. Non-violent directions from people who wouldn’t think of negotiating to confront issues at hand that can no longer be ignored. He also said that non-violent tension is necessary for growth. He uses Socrates’ example when he thought that it was needed to create tension amongst others in order to rise above bondage and myths. His fellow clergy men also accused him of carrying out his actions in an “untimely” manner. He told them that actions unwanted are always untimely. Without non-violent pressure they have not gain anything in the civil rights. He explains that people in authority don’t volunteer freedom and that justice that is delayed is justice not granted. There is a time when everyone gets enough of injustice. Just Law: 1. A man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. 2. Uplifts human responsibility. 3. A code that a majority inflicts on a minority that is not blinding on itself. Unjust Law: 1. Not rooted in internal and natural law. 2. Degrades human personality. 3. All segregations statuses (distorts the soul and damages...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
...MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis- w/ focus on Ethos “...we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders…” In this quote, from the third paragraph of the letter written by eight Alabama clergymen, the term outsiders is used. Early on, this creates a label for Martin Luther King, outsider. Throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail, King is able appeal to ethos in order to refute his title of “outsider” and generate a connection with his audiences, the clergymen and the people of America. King is able to do such a thing by alluding to multiple passages from the Bible as well as the figures it contains, which is done so that he may identify with the clergymen. When not speaking in reference to the Bible, King makes allusions and references to specific points and people in American history, which allows him to connect to his larger audience, the people of America. By demonstrating his practical wisdom, through the use of allusion, King attempts to strengthen his character with a visible appeal to ethos. King alludes to the Bible multiple times throughout his Letter From Birmingham Jail. These allusions are notable in paragraph three, where king refers to the biblical figures “Jesus Christ” and “the Apostle Paul.” The context in which these two are used is to reiterate the story of Paul leaving Tarsus, which King also mentions, to spread the word of Christ. In paragraph...
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...Summary of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” In the featured article, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, an imprisoned Dr. Martin Luther King, on the date of April 16, 1963, composes a response to his fellow clergymen addressing their criticism of his activities and beliefs. He begins the note with an explanation for his presence in Birmingham. An associate had invited him with the request of initiating an immediate action, nonviolent plan, to fight the segregation, racial issues, and injustice found in Birmingham. The author suggests there are 4 steps to building a nonviolent campaign: verifying the existence of injustice by compiling evidence, negotiating with the power, self-purification to prepare for the event, and immediate measures to deal...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...Nick Genaris Professor Ngoh Protest Literature 21th October 2015 Letter from Birmingham Jail-Rhetorical Analysis Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in order to address the biggest issue in Birmingham and the United States at the time (racism) and to also address the critics he received from the clergymen. The letter discusses the great injustices happening toward the Black community in Birmingham and although it is primarily aimed at the clergymen King writes the letter for all to read. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses logos, alliteration/repetition, and ethos to back up his belief that nonviolent protesting and disobedience is the most effective means to protest anything that needs to be changed, in this case segregation. After reading King’s letter I, and almost anyone, would come to the conclusion that King is deeply motivated to help against any injustice in the US. Who else would go to such lengths if they didn’t? He knows how persuasive he can be by using his knowledge of the English language, and he uses this to speak out against people who doubt him (clergymen) and to incite a different way of thinking into the people in hopes of change. Dr. King’s letter is extremely effective because it provides an enormous amount of evidence to the reader that he and his company are being treated unjustly and also that King truly cares about making a change for the good of the city. It also re-directs attention...
Words: 1884 - Pages: 8
...Civil Freedom On April 12, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in a Birmingham jail for demonstrating/protesting without a permit. During this time, he wrote a letter to eight dissatisfied white clergymen on behalf of a public statement of concern. In this lengthy, strong-handed letter, Dr. King did not argue; he did not get angry, but rather, he provided views of brotherhood and peace within his rebuttal. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses a variety of rhetorical strategies in order to persuade and inform his audience of the benefits of equality. Dr. King was thrown in jail due to illegal protesting. During his time of being locked up, “[he] came across a recent statement calling their present activities ‘unwise and untimely”. (King 1) During the time that King was locked up, he had plenty of time to think and release his anger, but it wasn’t until later when he began to write a rebuttal of the recent criticisms made by the eight white clergymen. In the letter, King does not release any anger, nor does he argue with the clergymen’s response. In fact, he writes in a calm manner that sends a message of peace, as well as comfort. On the other hand though, he doesn’t simply ignore the fact of the utter ignorance of what was said. A main strategy that King uses is one that...
Words: 1254 - Pages: 6
...“Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham” was a letter written by Martin Luther King in a time and place that reveled in the prominence of segregation. Birmingham was a city in Georgia known for its inequities in its treatment of African Americans. Martin Luther King wrote the letter after being imprisoned for leading marches of the Equal Rights movement in Birmingham. The letter is a response to many of the dissenters and critics of King’s tactics, most notably his belief in the importance of non-violent protests and marches. His masterful use of rhetorical devices as well as his enthralling form of syntax and diction allows King to show the reader his full range of emotions and thoughts on the topic of Civil Rights for African Americans. To make a point throughout the letter, King uses many periodic sentences interjected with anecdotes that emphasize the point King is trying to make. An example of this would be in Paragraph 14 of his letter stating “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim… I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” using an anecdote to fully exacerbate the inequality and injustice suffered by African Americans. His use of the anecdote within the periodic sentence allows King to communicate his emotion towards his audience and allow them to empathize with King’s struggle. It also allows his audience to see a new perspective on the abuse African...
Words: 697 - Pages: 3
...The purpose of Martin Luther King’s words used in the letter from Birmingham Jail was to correct the misconceptions and to advocate the approach of nonviolent civil disobedience. Martin Luther King wanted to get rid of racial injustice by writing the letter. Therefore, the cause is the words he used in the letter, the effect is the civil rights act. First, the cause in the letter was to correct the misconceptions held by clergymen. He wanted to make his point clear in order to get the effect he was hoping for. For example, on page 187, paragraph 3, Martin Luther King states, “But more basically, I am here in Birmingham because injustice is here.” This means he is simply trying to gain justice, and not trying to start a rampage. The tactics...
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
