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A Different Kind Of Addiction
here was a time when I
wondered why some people would even bother to leave prison once they com- pleted their sentences, know- ing that their only plan involved a return trip. I never understood why they wouldn't just stick around and save their families and communi- ties the heartache of continu- ously watching them being led away in handcuffs.
On the surface, the lives of these kinds of individuals often play out like endless blooper reels. Their frequent screw ups help to build long rap sheets until the day a judge becomes fed up with their shenanigans and decides to throw away the key.
For a long time it was hard for me to have much sympathy for these pitiful "can't-do- rights." But then it occurred to me that it could be more to their commitment to delin- quency than them just being incapable of pulling it to- gether.
It dawned on me that some of these men and women could be suffering from an addiction. Not the chemical type that is often associated with a person becoming a slave to a narcotic.
No, the high these individu- als seek comes with the allure
of the criminal lifestyle.
Some may think it's all about the money but, the sad truth is that, they're simply ad- dicted to what is commonly re-
ferred to as "The Game." The thrill of the chase, the feeling of being hunted, the constant cat and mouse rou- tine with law enforcement, it all provides an adrenalin rush
that can't be duplicated.
They may not have needles stuck into their arms, but that doesn't mean that they're any
less strung out.
I know it may sound a little
far-fetched to believe that a person could actually be hooked on participating in il- licit activities. But the reality is, people become addicts of a host of activities including eat- ing, sleeping, sex and even ex- ercise. Why would committing crimes be considered any dif- ferent?
The idea of criminal addic- tion came to my mind after reading a story about a guy out of San Antonio, Texas. In 2015, he was given clemency from a life-sentence by Pre- sident Barack Obama. Now, a year and a half later, he's headed back to prison after being caught with a kilo- gram of cocaine.
The interesting thing about
this case is that this was a man who didn't fit the profile of the typical repeat offender. I mean who would think that a 65- year-old, who just completed 27 years, would still want to play the role of Pablo Esco- bar?
He didn't have substance abuse issues. He was em- ployed and given a comfort- able salary by a law firm because of his extensive knowledge of the law. And, on top of everything else, he knew that if he got caught, because of his age, any time he received would be a potential death sentence.
What else, other than an addiction he couldn't control, can explain why someone like this would risk so much for so little?
Instead of spending billions of dollars to constantly lock people up for committing the same crime repeatedly, it may be time for the state and fed- eral bureaucrats to focus more on treating the illnesses re- sponsible for the behavior.
It may not be in the best in- terest of those who profit off mass incarceration. But, if law- makers are serious about true prison reform and making the streets safe, helping people kick their costly habits and overcome their weaknesses is the best place to start.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can write to Mr. Barr at: Clarence Barr 43110-018, Oakdale F. C. I., P. O. BOX 5000, Oakdale, LA 71463.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Donald Trump Visits The National Museum Of African American History And Culture
The spirit of Frederick Douglass stepped out of his grave. Harriet Tubman stopped to watch as Rosa Parks’ ghost rose from her seat on a vintage Montgomery bus, and a Tuskegee airman peered out from the cockpit of a dusty bi- plane.
What was the commotion?
President Donald Trump came to visit the National Mu- seum of African American History and Culture, and a breeze blew through that new building as if it were the wind of a hurricane.
But don’t scream “Hallelujah” yet. Many bad men have done good things. Hitler visited monuments of men and women he later committed to genocide. So did Mussolini, Stalin, and many other so-called saviors who were not sav- iors at all, but were savages in savior suits.
But is Donald Trump different?
As he and his wife sauntered through hundreds of ex- hibits in Washington’s newest shrine, stopping momentarily for photo-ops, was his heart softened by what he saw, or was the smile he wore not a grin of contrition, but the smirk of a man who said under his breath, “Wait ‘till they get a load of what I’m really thinking!”
So, after passing a glass case containing the Bible used by Nat Turner to translate his supposed edicts from God, Trump and company went on to view an exhibit dedicated to his friend and supporter, Dr. Ben Carson who clawed his way from poverty up to becoming world renowned, first in medicine and now in politics.
Later, Trump renewed his promise to unite what he said was a divided nation, even as he renewed one of the most di- visive anti-immigration acts in the history of American Democracy.
Trump’s visit also preceded a possible audience with members of Capitol Hill’s Black Caucus unless cold-feet set on either side. Thus, the chess board is set. Feet have crossed the line. But a visit to a museum is like a walk in the park.
curred by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in overtime pay costs to provide additional security and avoid traffic congestion. The federal treasury must reimburse the county for those expenditures.
Reportedly, the Secret Service has been facing budget shortages, low morale, staff burn- outs and leadership changes. Of course, because the Department of Defense and Homeland Security has to guard Trump’s four adult children, multiple homes in Washington, D. C., Florida and New York, and all of their personal business travel across three continents, the operating costs for the department have increased dramatically.
Just recently, the Secret Service and the U. S. Embassy spent $100,000 in hotel room bills for Eric Trump’s trip to promote a Trump-brand condominium in Uruguay. We can’t imagine how much it cost for Eric and Donald, Jr., to attend the recent opening of a Trump-brand golf resort in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, City of New York officials are perplexed about the $500,000 to $1 million per day cost to guard Trump Tower, which could reach an astronomical figure of $183 million a year.
Someone said, not since the Roman Emperors Nero and Caligula has the world seen such lavishness. We disagree. Not even Imperial Rome could keep up with Trump and family.
History Note:
Can America Afford A Rich President?
resident Trump had criticized past President Barack
Obama as “a habitual vacationer” because of Mr. Obama’s “golf get-a-ways.” Over an eight-year period, Mr. Obama spent $97 million in vacationing travel cost. After 30 days in office, Trump has spent $3.3 million or more in fed- eral funds for each of three trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In total, nearly $11 million have been spent. At that rate, Trump will have spent more in nine months than President Obama spent in eight years. Mind you, this does not include an estimated $500,000 to one million dollars per day in-
New Photo Found Of Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman appears “proud” and “beautiful” in a newly-un- earthed photo of the famed slave abo- litionist.
The newfound photo was discov- ered in an album owned by Tubman’s friend and fellow abolitionist, Emily Howland.
Born in Maryland in 1820, Tub- man escaped slavery in her late 20s, and fled to Philadelphia. She returned to Maryland to free her family mem-
bers, and would spend the next decade leading hundreds of slaves to freedom. During the Civil War, Tubman worked in the Union Army, as a spy and scout. In 1863, she became the first woman to lead an army expedition in the war, freeing more than 700 slaves in the the Raid at Combahee
Ferry.
New York City’s auction house,
Swann Galleries, will auction off the photograph of Tubman on March 30.
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