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@mattmcirvin @sangster @ajsadauskas

One of the best ways to close the gap between the way that most white Americans see criminal justice and mass incarceration, and most Black Americans see it, is to watch 13th by Ava Duvernay (Netflix movie, available to stream for free in many places)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8

The recent California fire fighter vote was shameful. By definition, if you trust someone to fight a wildfire, you trust them to be:
* Employed
* Out of prison / jail
* Unsupervised / under-supervised
* With dangerous weapons
* And plenty of opportunity to flee / overpower guards / escape
* Capable of working together for a common goal
* Capable of acting bravely in defense of others

In short, you need people that are incarcerated that probably shouldn't be incarcerated. A hardened career criminal, or unpredictable and violent person, or flight risk, or person incapable of working on a team, is not a good candidate for a fire team. Instead, for firefighters, you need to lock up people like this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8GJL11WaG2s

Years ago there was pushback on paroling non-violent inmates, because it would then be harder to recruit firefighters. The same thing happened during Covid.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ub8MgvMLBa8