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Urban Decay in Florida

Scott Walker July 7, 2019

Empty, abandoned, deserted or vacant are all similar in so many ways... They are all alone or without any.

Jon Krakauer, author of "Into the Wild" wrote about the detriment of loneliness based on the last days of life for a man named Christopher McCandless who ceased all communication with friends in 1990 after college graduation.

McCandless went on an Alaskan journey where he lived on his own, alone. He lived for 112 days in an abandoned bus before dying.

“Happiness is only real when shared." - Christopher McCandless

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To feel that way or to be in that place is to be without the help of others. It is a humbling experience that some pick while others are forced to receive due to the circumstances of life.
However you arrived at the empty place, you should not make an effort at staying at that location as it will only equal more loneliness.

An article in Psychology Today suggested that being lonely can equal real physical pain. The article stated:

“In one experiment, the use of Tylenol lessened the aches of loneliness. With a dose of acetaminophen, scans of lonely individuals showed reduced activity in pain-processing areas of the brain. In addition, loneliness heightens the fight-or-flight response—a physiological reaction when a person faces harm or danger. This heightened response can make a person irritable, even angry. The sense of threat may feed a detrimental cycle of isolation and disconnection.”

Photo: Abandoned motel on the back roads to Florida.

In magazine, Places Tags Florida, FL, florida, abandoned, motel, sony, alpha, Sony, Al, Alpha, urban decay
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America has one of the largest prison populations in the world

Scott Walker March 4, 2018

Maximum security sunrise: In 2015 Newsweek Magazine reported that over 2.2 million people are incarcerated in American jails or prisons.  America has the largest jail/prison population in the world.

If those numbers are hard to imagine, think of it this way:

If you took the population of Delaware and multiplied it by two and then added the population of Rutherford County, TN - - you would have the number of those behind bars in the United States.

Or… If you took the population of Washington D.C.  and multiplied it by three and then added 156,490 people - - you would have the number of those behind bars in the United States.

The number of men and women behind bars is larger than the population of 16 U.S. states.

Still not easy enough to wrap your mind around? More people are sitting in American jail or prison cells than the population of 87 different countries around the world.

Jail Vs. Prison Basics:

If you didn’t realize it, jail and prison are very different. Those who are in a prison have already gone through court proceedings and were found guilty. Their time behind bars is usually one year to life.

Typically, those who are in jail are awaiting their trial or unable to make bond. Others sitting in jails across the country are being held for misdemeanor crimes that don’t exceed 11 months and 29 days. Of course, you could be in a jail longer if convicted of multiple misdemeanor charges or if you are enrolled in a special program.

Children without Parents:

The Casey Foundation reported that over 5 million children in the United States have had at least one parent behind bars at one point or another. Those numbers equal one out of every fourteen kids who have had a parent behind bars during their toddler, early childhood or adolescent years.  

The cost of bars:

The cost to keep inmates in confinement equals around $70 billion annually, according to WIRED.com.

Why has the prison population spiked since 1980?

Prison and local jail populations have skyrocketed in the United States over the past 35+ years, but why? Some would blame the problem on laws surrounding marijuana or alcohol consumption. Those who blame such are only correct by a fraction.

Mental Illness is the real contributor to the increased prison and jail system populations.

The Urban Institute reports that over 60% of local jail inmates have mental problems while nearly the same number present mentally ill symptoms.  

State prisoners also have a lot of the same issues as local jails. In state prisons, over 55% of inmates have some type of mental problem and another 48% or so show symptoms.

At the Federal prison level, about 45% of inmates have mental issues while 40% show mentally ill symptoms, according to the Urban Institute.

In News Tags prison, jail, inmate, inmates, population, Sony, Al, Alpha, Sony Images, 55mm, razor wire, wire, fence, Scott Walker, empty places
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