Jan. 20, 2013

Good Or Bad?

by Ronald E. Blount (author's profile)

Transcription

"Good or Bad?" 12-30-12

Good or bad, right or wrong, is a common debate amongst inmates in North Carolina institutions. But what's really bad and what's really good? I am going to use myself for the examples. For the first example:

All my life, well, from my teens on up, I have been getting into trouble for either possession or selling marijuana. I am currently doing 90 to 117 months on a habitual felon (selling marijuana to a C.I.). Now the government are trying to legalize marijuana use so they can sell it to make money. It is good for the government to grow and sell marijuana but it is bad if anyone else to do it. I never forced anyone to spend money with me, they did it out of their own free will, but I was labelled as a bad guy by the media and the government. Now they are doing, in a few states and trying in other states, to do the same exact thing that got me 7 1/2 to 9 years 9 months. So was I right or wrong? What I was doing, was it good or bad?

Please keep in mind this example above isn't to encourage, not to promote breaking any of the laws of society. I just wanted to show how one thing can be bad for one but good for another.

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Replies (3) Replies feed

T121584 Posted 11 years, 2 months ago. ✓ Mailed 11 years, 2 months ago   Favorite
Hi Ronald,

To answer your question about are you wrong for selling marijuana simce now governments are legalizing, yes you were Lol. It doesnt make you bag guy but at the same time you knew it was illegal but you did it anyway. And if they labeled you habitual, I assume you've been in trouble more then once. Dont get me wrong, im not judging in anyway,but just because its slowly being legalized doesnt mean all those in prison for selling it should just be free to go either. try to understand it from lawmakers point of view: drugs are destroying communities especially the black community. And while you may not have forced someine to buy from you, your actions contributed to destroying your community. I mean the justice system is designed to hopefully teach people a lesson before sending to prison for a long time. Is it really fair for you to blame the justice system, when its really your fault?

And believe I had a not so good upbringing from bad neighborhoods in Detroit, to seeing my own family use and sell drugs and go in and out of prison like a revolving door. Who do we blame dor that?

Now I must be transparent, I just finished law school, Go Blue, so i take a variety approaches to our legal system.

Look forward to reading your response. And I promise I was in no way tryimg to be mean or attack you, I was merely attacking your argument ;).

Tim

Voice12 Posted 11 years, 2 months ago. ✓ Mailed 11 years, 2 months ago   Favorite
Hi Ronald - While I don't really believe that morality is relative, clearly society's ideas of right and wrong evolve over time. And, as in the case of the "war on drugs" can often be influenced by the media or other messaging. Certainly you're not alone in questioning this. I'm honestly not sure what my opinion is, but I think it's important to ask the questions!

Ronald E. Blount Posted 11 years ago.   Favorite
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