I had never heard about the Attica Prison uprising — a fact which happened to be significant to Dr. Heather Ann Thompson’s Tuesday Talk. The levels of deception and misdirection employed by the state of New York in order to cover up the fiasco seem limitless. By controlling the media that was present during the uprising, they effectively snubbed the free press, and instead created their own press which would broadcast the message that they wanted  the public to know. The already high resentment towards prisoners was used to the advantage of the state, because they knew that they could attract an angry mob of followers who would not only passively go along with the story, but who would also actively participate in the crimes against the prisoners.

The prisoners were surprisingly coordinated in their attempt to bargain with the system. Not many would have guessed that a group of prisoners would be able to work together and achieve a social goal. However, their intentions were muddied by ridiculous request on behalf of some of the prisoners. There were many things wrong with the system that could have been fixed such as better living conditions, food, and resources.  These commodities were well within the reasonable range of things to ask for. Unfortunately, some of the incarcerated were requesting things like complete amnesty or passage to another country. These requests undermined the intent of the group of men who were advocating for a better prison system. It would be ridiculous for the state to give a group of prisoners amnesty simply because they managed to overthrow the guards and take them hostage. And even though they couldn’t be sure that the state would actually see all of their demands through, asking for reasonable demands would have been a more effective bargaining method.

Because of the extreme demands of some of the prisoners, the state was able to make a case for ignoring all of their demands. And, given the high racial and social tensions of the time, was able to galvanize a group of angry young men to retake the prison under the banner of justice.

The incident raises good questions about the nature of our justice system. Our current train of thought seems to err on the side of simply locking someone up and not allowing them to come back to society for a long time. While they’re gone, we forget about them, and when they come back, we treat them as if they are tainted with something foul. Dr. Thompson adeptly pointed out that if someone feels like the system is terminally against them, they will be terminally against the system and never will be able to function as a productive member of society.