People think incarceration does matter or doesn’t count if you didnt do 20 years standing on your head.
5 DAYS in jail can cost a person $30,000. 5 days. Not to mention years of fighting for their civil rights to be restored, the loss of work for no-showing, and loss of housing, food, and medical care access. Arrests ALONE destroy people’s lives.
Zohran Mamdani spoke at a Rikers Island graduation ceremony honoring 57 incarcerated people who earned their high school diplomas.
One graduate, Elijah Smith, said he didn’t expect the mayor to show up, but his presence meant something: “It helped. Someone cares about the incarcerated individuals in this jail.”
Sometimes dignity starts with simply showing up.
there is something so deeply vile about how people can GRADUATE from school in the time they’re at rikers, A PRE-TRIAL JAIL, NOT EVEN A PRISON. THESE PEOPLE HAVE NOT BEEN SENTENCED WITH ANY CRIME
i may be biased but my brother is the smartest and most principled person i know. i highly recommend you hear him (and alex) out if you care about humanity!
I love when people are like “if the roles were reversed” and it’s like okay so then the entire social context would be different so it would be a bit different, innit!
Nate Soares and I are publishing a traditional book: _If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All_. Coming in Sep 2025.
You should probably read it! Given that, we'd like you to preorder it! Nowish!