Working on my blog voice...before i continue I want to try revising the three I've posted...feedback is welcomed.
PSA for the Blogger-World::
Why aren’t we listening to or caring for the voices of the future?
Is it because of their age? Do the experiences of prejudice only seem to matter only when one reaches the age of 18 or older? My not-so-subtle questions lead to the reason why I write, why I want to write, why I feel a responsibility to do so. For all the voiceless young men and women out there, I write to share your story in hopes that the rest of the world will begin to listen. My name (for all intensive purposes) is Judge Juvi I am deeply invested in the stories of Incarcerated American Youth.
California is considered one of the most progressive states in the country.
#FAIL. The California juvenile justice system has been severely oppressive and ineffective for over a decade now. Stories of
beatings and
caging is only a small glimpse at their abuse…
who knows what else was going on when there were no cameras around?
The result of this neglect?
The children of the future are ignored.
The result of that neglect?
A custom fit
cradle to prison pipeline for the juveniles that this country vowed to rehabilitate within the juvenile justice system.
Through studies, stories, and second-hand experience I have developed a pessimistic world view about being young and brown in California. Famous accounts of the prison industrial complex and Rodney King versus the LAPD explore institutionalized racism within the courts, there has yet to be the same clout or attention given to the youth experiencing the same injustices.
In theory juvenile justice is supposed to emphasize reform and rehabilitation more so than any other form of justice. Of the thousands of minority youth in camps, juvenile halls, and the CYA of California, 70% of them return to one of these places within two years of their release. In no way is that reflecting rehabilitative structures.
I will attempt to take on these questions: why the system is failing- especially in such a seemingly progressive state? What went wrong? And who is working to correct those mistakes? There are after school programs and non-profits out there who care about those neglected by their society…how do they propose revision and reform?
This blog is not lighthearted or carefree, and maybe I would be better off writing about something that is. It is supposed to be provocative, volatile, engaging and informative on a level that hopefully many of you reading out there will respond to…perhaps some will even take action in their own ways.
DISCLAIMER! :: In talking about systematic oppression of minorities, I acknowledge and accept the risk of being accused of using racism as an excuse for incarcerated minority youth [mostly because racism is a concept/term that many believe only existed during the civil rights era]. Within my blog I will attempt to explain how relevant and prevalent race and racism are in our society today- especially within the juvenile justice system.
Profiling others to get a sense of what NOT to do.
Juvienation is a blog creation by Mark Sorkin. Sadly, this blog is “on hiatus”. The format and perceived intent of the author is quite similar to what I am trying to create for my own blog. Juvienation pulls from current events pertaining to justice (or lack thereof) in the United States. And of course, no post is complete without opinionated commentary on the topic.
The brilliance of the blog is that it comes from a well known and respected author on justice (title of the blog is the title of his book) which attributes greatly to the number of hits he gets.
In searching for blogs around the topic, I found a huge lack of intriguing forums that focus on analyzing the systems we trust to uphold the law. Many of the sites were linked to non-profit organizations that work on these issues, or sites were started and never finished, OR we have those who are on “hiatus” like Mr. Sorkin. The voices of these incarnated youth are left unheard.
Anyone that is not a non-profit worker or criminal justice author that is interested in the topic of juvenile justice? I am sure of it. The number of hits on juvienation’s blog while it was active proves that there is a population that is interested…unless parents only visited the site to find a way to discipline their children…
The one thing I appreciate about this blog is its linking and quoting- every post has facts that you can read and analyze for yourself. Granted, the purpose of blogs is to present opinions…but with this subject matter in particular, facts are equally strong and important.
The titles of each post coupled with the writing style sucks the life out of the topic. “Kansas Supreme Court Grants Juvs Right to Jury” “State Budget Crisis, Cont.”, “Backlash in Kansas?”…WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS!?! Talk about them, to them, from them, with them…I don’t care but do SOMETHING! It is almost as if Sorkin is observing a unique species and we are reading his field notes…these kids Are people. And if you are going to write a whole book about them, then I suggest you have a conversation with one or two of them.
DISCLAIMER!: I have not read Sorkins book (but if it is anything like his blog, I do not intend to)
When I read a blog about something I am interested in, I want it to express wit and passion. The titles and writing style the blogger uses is much more newspaper ready than I feel any blog that is trying to catch the attention of a larger pop culture population should be. Of course, juvienation is a blog created by a published author so I can’t expect many contractions and shortcuts…but it is too dry for such “wet” information!
If anything, this blog shows me where to go to get information, and what not to do in my own posts. Since I am not a well known author/scholar in the field of juvenile justice, all I can do is try to express my passion and investment in my
language,
visuals, and
content for as long as this blog can last. Hopefully I can do a good job of keeping the attention of the cyber-public (and myself) and escape the limbo that many blogs fall into after the first couple months of life…only time will tell. Blogger out!
Oh, and if
Mr. Juvienation happens to read this blog post, please, Come back! Revamp the internet-public’s need for the forums of provocative information around important issues...let’s make it spicy!
Find your voice!
California’s Fresno and Butte county give America’s ostracized youth a vehicle in which they can express themselves. The teens writing on this blog were not writing a structured essay- they were writing in a very raw and poetic way.
The first post I chose to analyze opens with “Time sits on my hands like a whale”. Alone, this sentence is a simple simile worth praise had it come from a 3rd grader. Contextualized, the sentence evokes strong sentiments of nostalgia and regret. This writer successfully makes the reader empathize with them. Not by using exclamation points or several adjectives. In fact, the writer uses very short and blunt sentences that come off as cold and lonely. This is probably the only context in which writing without any stylistic additions comes off as an intriguing style in itself.
The author of the entry lets the audience know they are a juvenile delinquent: openly and unapologetically. They admit that the crime they committed was one that they have “already done a thousand times”. This gives us the idea of getting a experienced/veteran juvenile delinquents perspective of what it is like. That in itself is intriguing because both criminals and young people are rarely listened to…the combination makes the chances even slimmer.
While the voice of the reader is incredibly strong in being so simple, I don’t think the author thought to intentionally write in one way over another. However, their repeated description of
the time is one aspect of their writing that seemed intentionally positioned to make the post seem as long as their prison sentence!
There were no complaints about the work, the environment, or any other aspect of life behind bars. The only concern was
time, and the
time away from their family. Check out the blog for yourself! It is surreal how the lack of structure, description, and creative punctuation make for such a strong voice.
The second post on this blog that stood out was in the form of a poem. Once again, the writer is writing while incarcerated. Her voice can be described in one word: “nostalgia”. She writes about her past as if she woke up in a cell and had no idea what she did to get there. Each line in the poem starts with either “I am” “I will” “I was” and it is like being transported into her deepest self-reflections. Again, the language is simple, accessible, and clean. Every sentence has a point and it is clear from the beginning until the end.
This writing exercise is an effective way of reflecting, rehabilitating, and engaging the public. The posts that are on the site are full of regret and hope. The American Juvenile Justice system is (in theory) dedicated to rehabilitation over punishment so that those who are young can have a life outside of incarceration. However programs like that of Fresno/Butte county that allow for this type of program come far and few in between. Even when there is a venue for the young incarcerated voice, the judicial systems continue to conveniently seem deaf to their voices.
