Sounds like what they are really whining about is that they might have to pay for their snacks instead of have them provided just like the meals.

 

They need to call, 1-800-Wah Wah Wah. ;~D

They need to call, 1-800-Wah Wah Wah. ;~D

Exactly!  thank you

Hope to heck neither of you ever have to sit in a COUNTY JAIL awaiting trial!

If I couldn't afford to post bond on my $2500 bail for my grass growing too tall, guess where I'd have sat while awaiting trial? YUP...COUNTY JAIL!!! There are a good number of people in jail who are innocent, as LW pointed out.

Reply By: Gideon MacLeishPosted: Thursday, September 06, 2007 Hope to heck neither of you ever have to sit in a COUNTY JAIL awaiting trial!

Thank you,  however... 

There are a good number of people in jail who are innocent, as LW pointed out.

I haven't read her article,  have to agree that innocent people do sit in jail,  I sat in one for a few hours ( until the Captain of the security company i worked for bailed me out on same day) because my boyfriend got a ticket on my car.  I didn't do anything wrong,  however it was MY car so I was held accountable for the ticket.  Now some people in the cities ( St. Paul) are trying to get a law passed about this kind of thing,  but it's a long story.

Anyway........they gave me black coffee and canned beans for lunch,  with bread.  NO kidding.  If I was doing rotten things like stealing,  robbing at gunpoint, ect.  I'd not deserve a lunch like I can have at home...

I think as long as they're fed,  as long as it's deemed suitable by a registered dietician,  there's nothing wrong with two sandwiches,  fruit,  cookies,  and chips and of course whatever beverage they serve.  Quite frankly,  some of the crimes these people have perpetrated on innocent people,  including children,  are so vile that I don't know why they aren't murdered in the jail, they're fortunate that they live in the good ole USA where we support their asses and more...

It IS a sad fact that some are innocent,  not the drunks arrested on the scene,  not the guy that stabbed his wife and kids (  just last month? I think it was) however the ones that are accused of something and they pick up the wrong guy. 

I believe in our system,  and most of the ones arrested and jailed for 8 or 9 days are indeed guilty,  the so called "lesser crimes".

I still say,  "let em eat bologna" although I doubt it will stop their drinking and driving,  beating their wives,  and whatever else is happening out there that they sit for those appointed days.

 

Yeah, let's pass shivs and let them murder each other in their cell. To HELL with the Constitution.

While we're at it, let's execute everyone who receives public assistance. Can't support THEIR sorry asses, either!

Wow.

Just wow.

You're really rotten, Trudy.

The 365 days a year is a nice attention grabber.  But the truth is most jails only hold inmates for a short period, before they are transferred to a prison or released.  Yea, bologna would be rotten all the time every day, but it is not meant to be a lap of luxury.

I dont know about St.Paul's, but I do know that many jails allow inmates to purchase additional food from a commisary.   So they could supplement their diet with other food stuff as well.

IF they have money on the books. Which isn't as easy as it sounds. Lemme 'splain why, Dr.

Some years ago, a friend's son was in jail. I went to visit, and left some money on the books. The money was used to pay his "booking fee" and he never saw a penny.

It's convenient not tohave any sympathy for the down and out, but we must remember that most people in county lockups aren't the "hardcore" criminals of Oz, they're the lightweights, and, quite frequently, the truly innocent.

I am aware of the situation. I know how it works. I also know it is not perfect. But Booking fees are not something that is practiced everywhere. Quite frankly, I dont know where they are practiced or not. I just know they are not in all jurisdictions.



It is not a lack of sympathy. I neither stated I had some or lack thereof. It is a matter of priorities. Many are suffering far worse fates than a lack of variety, and most of those through no fault of their own. Before changing bologna to cream chipped beef, I would work to make sure that those with nothing to eat are addressed first.

Dr.

Who's starving in America? You know as well as I that there is plenty for the poor to eat in this country.

AS for the other countries, if they would stop feeding their warlords and their armies first, I would be willing to send aid. As long as aid money goes to feed the very people who are the cause of the poverty, we shouldn't dole out a dime.

And, back to America, we must remember that the majority in jails are, according to legal standing, innocent. We hold them for good reason. But we should also FEED them adequately.

Whether they are starving children in Africa (as my mother always told me) or children in Latin America (as Sally Struthers tells us), there are still people out there through no fault of their own literally starving (and I agree with you 100% about the US not starving).

But this is not about feeding them adequately. The article clearly states they are being fed adequately. Just not with a delicious variety. That is the difference and that is why I cannot get upset about it. There are bigger problems in the world than someone who only has bologna to eat for one meal a day (which sounds like my lunches when I was in school - PB&J - and the reason I dont eat them to this day).

Bologna for every meal with chips and cookies is NOT adequate food, Dr. Guy.

As for Latin America and Africa, it is the corruption of their governments that is causing the people to starve, NOT our selfishness, and you know that. Honestly, Dr., I'm a little disappointed that you would even invoke them in this debate, as you well know the forces at play in this regard. An inmate being fed a decent meal in a county jail is NOT keeping poor people starving.

And, btw, as for commissary, the things you buy are usually more junk food. Just for the record.

I was thinking about this statement.....  Not as severe, but if it is OK to feed inmates junk like that (using Trudy's quote: "Why should I feel bad if they're eating bologna for supper?  When I was working for a living,  I worked between 9 and 12 hour days to support my son and myself.  If we ate bologna it was because we had a choice, that we'd earned!") why don't we just give staples to people on assistance?  We used to.  They can go to the welfare store and get dried beans, jars of no-name peanut butter, bologna, bread.  But, I guess that's different, right?

The problem is that you have to decide if one human life is better than another, and what the criteria is for "special treatment" for those living on tax dollars.  People in jail should have the same food supply as those on welfare- both are funded by taxes, neither are helping society.  So, why should one get better care than the other?

Of course, if it were up to me, neither would have fancy food.  Both would be getting just the staples needed to live- proper nutrition, but staples nonetheless.

Not every meal, just every dinner meal.



I did not bring them in from the standpoint of selfishness or their governments. Only from the perspective that they exist through no fault of their own. I said that I feel they are more worthy of MY caring than some prisoners who dont like bologna.

As for the commissary, I never said that was a good diet to have. Only that it is available. Since they are getting fed a well balanced - if bland - diet, the issue then is not nutrition, but taste. And the commissary supplies that to those who desire it.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one, Trudy.  Bologna for every meal is NOT adequate nutrition, period.  Yes, they're in jail because they broke the law (or are charged with breaking the law and may be innocent), but they're PEOPLE.  Human beings.  Fallible human beings.  I'm not saying that they should have steak and lobster every night, but feeding them bologna at every meal and making them go for 14 -18 hours without food is just wrong. 

I'd like for the people who think that this is acceptable behaviour to give it a try.  Do a 'Supersize Me' trial and eat nothing but bologna sandwiches and potato chips for a month.  Space your meals out so they're 14 hours apart on the weekends.  Maybe then they'll have a change of heart about the nutritional requirements of inmates.

Inmates are people too! (that was tongue in cheek, btw)