In this viral thread, a “journalist” takes us back to the late 19th century good-old-days of media propaganda for a *railroad monopoly.* He even throws in a little science-denying innuendo that more human caging would make it all better. A few thoughts:
https://twitter.com/johnschreiber/status/1482120875180580866
First, there is not a single shred of evidence that more prosecution and caging would reduce any supposed theft. This is the most studied and settled question in all of criminology. Just ludicrous, irresponsible propaganda to suggest otherwise.
https://mobile.twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1454486985943535624
Second, take a look at how similar this media panic is to the fabrication of low level crime hysteria in victorian England as soon as reform became popular. It’s both profitable to people who own things and a cultural pathology in media. daily.jstor.org/how-crime-stor…
Third, this is part of a Los Angeles media assault on the most minor reforms to make punishment less harsh, and part of a corporate press release deluge to extract more tax $ to pay for corporate security. This story has all the hallmarks of a simple corporate press release.
Fourth, it repeats outlandish corporate/police speculation that this is “organized criminal syndicates,” just like they did with the shoplifting panic. Notice that the cops and this journalist don’t offer a single piece of evidence for that. It’s designed to scare you.
Finally, not every problem in our society has something to do with police, prisons, and punishment. In fact, few of them do, and they never meaningfully reduce crime or make us safe compared to reducing inequality. Read this:
https://mobile.twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1476221720621166601
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