Public Reaction to Violence

Pillsbury goes on and on in his column about how apathetically Los Angeles citizens react to the sorry shape our criminal justice system is in. Rather than dictating to the people how they should or shouldn’t react, Pillsbury ought to accept this public silence as indicative that only a silent minority believes in this criminal justice system and its unsung goals. In his first line, Pillsbury points out a cause (drugs) and the effect (gangs, overburdened police, crowded courts, prison overpopulation). Times have changed, Mr. Pillsbury. Whether you like it or not, 2 Live Crew and marijuana alleviate the stagnation of yesteryear while we move into a new age.

If Pillsbury wants a real public outcry, let’s educate the people about the sleazy tactics of prosecutors to gain convictions and the unconstitutional antics of judges who push intimidated, plea-bargaining drug users into long periods of incarceration. Maybe then Pillsbury will get his outcry. As a major minority grows to be the new “convicted society” of tomorrow, the government takes away their right to be counted (vote) and makes it increasingly harder for both the ostracized citizen and the criminal justice system to succeed. Drugs are not the cause for our failing criminal justice system. A contaminated democracy, tainted with over-regulation, misused responsibility and a lack of social understanding play a major role.

People should not believe one word from someone who attempts to dictate how “we” should react to a system that can’t balance a budget, imprisons us and our children and would like us to believe that a police state disguised as a democracy can be anything other than a police state.

DOUGLAS L. MARSH

Boron