"Not In My Neighborhood" Welcoming a new neighbor. . .The Jail

click to enlarge The Tombs

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I was walking near my work the other day, when I stumbled on this sign at a site that is currently a garbage truck depot. This neighborhood is a mix of office parks and industrial. If this sign went up in my, or your neighborhood, no telling what kind of a brouhaha it would raise. But in the anonymous area where I work, near the borders of Kirkland, Woodinville, and Redmond. . .well, really?, what better place to put a jail than a spot where the nearest house is at least a mile away.

click to enlarge the Brooklyn House of Detention for Men

We lived across the street from the Brooklyn House of Detention for Men on Atlantic Avenue for two years. It never seemed unsafe, and there were no escapes as far as I can remember. You would see girls and women on the street yelling up at the windows sometimes, and there were usually plenty of police coming and going. . .all in all, it probably made for a little safer neighborhood. It was a grim structure...but nothing like, say The Tombs.

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1 out of 99 Americans are now in prison: we've cracked the 1 in 100 barrier

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We've finally cracked that elusive barrier: more than 1 out of 100 Americans are now in the hoosegow, calaboose [1], jail, prison, penitentiary, and medical lockup.

According to an Associated Press/CBS story, for the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison. I was going to do the math to figure out when 10%, and even when all of us, will be in jail. But I didn't; it's too depressing.

[1] A word I learned of reading Herman Melville, my favorite American novelist. [cal·a·boose /ˈkæləˌbus, ˌkæləˈbus/ noun Slang. jail; prison; lockup. Origin: 1785–95, Americanism; (<>
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