Propaganda
The complicated world of politics and culture from a Gen Z perspective. In each episode of Propaganda, we rant about current events, politics, societal trends, and the latest in pop culture. DON'T WORRY!! It's anti-woke.
Propaganda
California Gave Inmates Tablets…Then They Used it For Crimes | Episode 42
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This episode we break down California's decisions to give their inmates android tablets and why that was one of the worst choices they could have possibly made. We also discuss the recent shootings in Milwaukee, WI which seem to further prove guns are NOT the issue. As much as we don't like him, we might need to defend James Charles on his recent rant about the job market.
This is Mick and Jacob, and you're listening to Propaganda. Alright, we're back with another episode this week, and today we're talking about uh a few different subjects. The first thing I wanted to cover, which is, you know, closer to home in Wisconsin here. Over the weekend, May 15th through May 17th, there was five shootings. I guess they're classifying as shootings in the north side of Milwaukee. The rest of the state of Wisconsin, there were zero shootings. So it's a pretty safe state for the most part. You have a few bad cities here and there, um, and a few bad parts of those cities. But Milwaukee, that's really it. Okay, why do I have to say the north side? So for those of you that don't know, Milwaukee is a very um, like historically and even currently segregated city. There's a lot of different uh racial demographics living in certain sections of the city. The north side happens to be the black side. And people will say people call this racism, or people will say that this is, you know, unsubstantiated by facts or evidence, but it's it's the opposite. Um and this is especially shown, I would say, in a liberal, democratically run city. Um I mean, that city's been blue my entire lifetime. It's been it's been left wing for longer than that. I'm in so this is this is the light on crime policy. This is they're always releasing criminals back onto the streets. Um and that's the political side, that's the judicial side of it. But there's also, and people will say it's socio socioeconomic factors. Okay. No, just because you're poor doesn't mean you automatically commit crime. Okay, and just because you're black doesn't mean you automatically commit crime. There's a few different things going on here, okay? There's their cult the black culture, there's you can say the socioeconomic uh factors, you can say that there's a lack of fathers, there's a lack of father figures in their communities, in their families.
SPEAKER_04Um family stability.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so all those things play into it. Why why is this though? And why are we bringing this up? I mean it's to show it's to show a few different things. Um just just take for a second. Wherever you live, take the worst city and throw that out of your state. How much better, how much safer, you know, how much different would things be? So it might not affect you like instantly like that, but it's like okay, there's there's a reason cities are like this, and it's partly demographics and it's partly how how they're ran. But the democratic policy, and I'm not just saying like, oh, the blue, the left, the democrats, blaming the democrats, but it's like the judges in the courts, in the system, in it it rewards criminal behavior, it rewards literally, it rewards you for being a minority, and it gives you the benefit of the doubt in every situation, no matter what. They're always released back onto the streets, they're never actually charged with anything or given a sentence for their crimes, and it just creates more problems. It creates a crime culture, it creates a low trust in in that in those cities. It makes it so police don't want to do their jobs, so police can't do their jobs. They defund the police, they like they did in 2020, you know? So it all adds up together. But I'm sick of pretending, I'm sick of pretending, and everyone that has to be a part of polite society or whatever, they have to pretend that this is because it's a poor area and bad things happen in poor areas.
SPEAKER_04And it's like, no, that's honestly more offensive.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, kind of it's like you know what I mean. Because they don't have money, they just you know they don't have values or morals. They have no morals. It's like, no, this is a black society, a black culture problem. And I'm not saying every shooting in Milwaukee is black, not saying every shooting on the north side is black. I'm just using this as an example over the weekend, but their culture, what they value, what is important to them, what they like base their lives after, is not it's not positive, it's not healthy in any way. And this isn't a secret. A lot of black people in the community will admit this, they'll say this. This this is you know, yeah, anyone that's honest about it. Yeah, and it wasn't always this way, it really wasn't. Before the government stepped in and all those social programs stepped in, and like these things lead into things one after the next. And then you have the lack of fathers. I think it's like it's something like over half of black kids growing up do not have a father figure in their house. Think of how damaging that is to someone. Think of how damaging that is to the women in the black community. Think of how damaging that is to the young men that are growing up. So, no, it's not just, and it's not just their race, it's not just their race, but it's not their social, it's not their socioeconomic factors. It's not because they're poor or because they're living off of government subsidies. And yeah, you might see crime in those areas that are lower income, but that's not the cause of it. That's not the sole cause of it for sure.
SPEAKER_04Like And to pretend that there's no issue either is crazy to me because like if you're you're gonna sit here and you're I mean, not the people that are actually listening to this and like to listen to this, but the the people in our in our comments online, they're gonna sit here and call us racists, that blah blah blah. But calling out an issue and wanting to help a group of people and understanding why certain things happen and wanting to fix it, that's not racism. That's quite honestly the opposite. What's horrible is turning around and saying, no, there's no problem, they're fine.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04And not offering the help.
SPEAKER_02Let them be, do whatever they want to do.
SPEAKER_04Pretend you're blind to it.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04That's awful too. If you really had love, if you really had love for a certain type of community, why would you like why would you why wouldn't you want to help them or see them do better? Right. Not just play dumb. You guys are playing dumb. I know you are. You you see it happening.
SPEAKER_02And everyone knows it be to be true. Everyone. Yes. Okay. Um this isn't like a this isn't like a secret either. But black families, black men, black women, when they earn higher income, when they start making money, the first thing they do is they move out of their childhood, low-income, terrible, poor neighborhoods. Okay? Some neighborhoods in North Milwaukee are 80 to 90 percent black. Okay? And the first thing these people do when they get money is they move anywhere else other than there because they don't want to be around it. They don't want to be around the the crime in the destruction and the the overt disturbances that are always being caused, in the constant sirens going on, and this, this, and that. You know, they don't want to be around that. And it's not a secret to talk about. Like that's a that's well known, you know.
SPEAKER_04They'll be the first to admit it. Right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. But it shows that even they are uncomfortable with it. Even they don't prefer it. Even they want a way out.
SPEAKER_04And pretending it doesn't exist won't help it either.
SPEAKER_02Right. The point of me bringing this up is you need the government in a country this big with this many people, the government actually has a role and it needs to do it needs to do certain things, and it needs to actually incentivize people to be morally decent people, morally responsible people, good contributing members of society, and not just people living off of the government dole. Not just men running around getting every girl pregnant and then leaving all of them and that never raising their kids. Like, you used to have a community and a church in families for this type of thing, and all of that got ruined because the government stepped in and said, no, no, we'll pay for it all. Like, don't worry, we'll just charge more people for taxes and we'll give you money, we'll throw money at the problem. And that hasn't worked.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02It hasn't worked since the 60s, it hasn't worked since the 70s, it has not, it's not worked in since it's essentially began. So that doesn't help it. You have to change it at the in their community, in their culture, but the government has a role to play as well in what they're incentivizing, in, in, in what they're punishing, you know? Yeah. And also, it sounds simple, but they never want to do it. If you put criminals in jail, there are fewer of them out on the streets. And eventually, eventually, crime will go down, and you can help aid the problem. I'm not gonna say it's gonna get rid of it, okay, but you can help aid it. But you gotta start somewhere. And right now, they're just like you're saying, they pretend to help them by giving the money, but it's total neglect of that community, yeah, of that area. And I'm not just saying Milwaukee, but any major city, and you guys know this, any major city, um, whether that's on the coast or the south or wherever, wherever you're from. So it's obviously a problem there too.
SPEAKER_04But yeah, I think it's funny too because this shows that it's also it's also not a gun problem either. No, like you're telling me there's no other guns in Milwaukee. There's no guns in the rest of the state, they're all in North Milwaukee, apparently. It's kind of funny how that works.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04Must not be a gun issue then.
SPEAKER_02Right. They weren't just shooting themselves off all over across the state, apparently. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So all right, staying with the criminal thing. I mean, it's no secret that the state of California is absolutely crashing out, right? I mean, rent costs you your soul, homelessness is out of control. Yeah, affordability is gone. Taxes steal half of your income that you earn. But instead of addressing any of these issues, Governor Gavin Newsome's administration, they're busy with his California model of corrections. Have you heard about this?
SPEAKER_02I did. Yeah. I saw it over like last week or over the weekend. Yeah. I saw it.
SPEAKER_04I think it was like May 2nd, it came out. But so starting back all the way in back, like back 2018, this was an effort to rebrand prisons as rehabilitation centers.
SPEAKER_02That's what we need. We need to rehabilitate criminals.
SPEAKER_04They need to take art art classes and films.
SPEAKER_02Talk to therapists, and then they'll be better when they come back out.
SPEAKER_04That'll be great.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's what we need.
SPEAKER_04So their goal is to prioritize, I guess, inmate normalization is what they call it, and have more family contact. They'll be educated in hopes of reducing crime. What do you guys think? Do you think that's gonna work? Let's take a guess. Ready? I don't I'm gonna guess, I'm gonna guess no.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_04So part of the plan that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the CDCR, they gift each inmate um Android tablets. So this happened back in 2018. Each inmate got an Android tablet. Awesome.
SPEAKER_02So they get their own iPad in jail, cool.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So now there's a new contract with with with these old tablets are now being replaced in 2026 because they gotta have the newest model, right? And we can't we can't have them on these old.
SPEAKER_02Gosh. For old laptops or oh, sorry, old Androids that we're gonna do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04God forbid, right? So they're replacing all of these tablets for the inmates with new ones. And this has costed taxpayers of California 190 million. I've seen some reports say around 315 million, but I don't know which one is correct because each one says something different. Point is it costs a lot of money. And the thought is that giving them these new tablets is that they can contact families more, they can watch educational content, they can learn new things, they can read the Bible. Like, okay, yeah. Uh and the CDCR, they claim that these tablets are supervised tightly and they only have access to these educational tools. They have a tight grip on it. Nothing's gonna happen. Nothing bad could possibly happen. There's no way this will go wrong. Well, it's been revealed through an investigation by City Journal that through talking with death row inmates, so other inmates in these prisons, that other prisoners are using these devices to groom minors, watch porn, and sext. Who would have thought?
SPEAKER_02All beneficial things to their uh development and rehabilitation as a prisoner.
SPEAKER_04So awesome. So you can imagine how angering that would be for California residents.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I mean, holy moly, you have like a thousand other issues you could be fixing, and the administration is giving them tablets to watch porn.
SPEAKER_02The the newest, yeah. The newest edition tablets. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You're gonna have good Wi-Fi and you're gonna get it in HD.
SPEAKER_02Right. Okay, so groom minors and sexting, that means they're having they are able to have some sort of communication with the outside world.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Which I feel like, don't they get like their calls? Shouldn't that be good enough?
SPEAKER_04They shouldn't just have like constant part of the program is to get in contact with their family.
SPEAKER_02So what they're like scrolling reels in prison? Like they should they shouldn't just be able to like freely interact with anyone on the outside world for no reason whatsoever. It's like, guys, like prison is supposed to be a punishment. I we forget this. Like like we're talking about in the last story. Yeah, but it's not supposed to be a fun thing. No, you're not supposed to walk into jail and say, oh, here's a 2026 iPad, you know, go crazy.
SPEAKER_04Have fun.
SPEAKER_02Like, I don't know. So it doesn't seem like they're being that strictly monitored or watched or supervised. Of course not.
SPEAKER_04Of course not. How could I?
SPEAKER_02We could have seen that coming.
SPEAKER_04Right. Well, how I don't know. What do you think was gonna happen by giving them giving criminals digital access to the outside world? What do you think could possibly happen?
SPEAKER_02You know, like they're probably not afraid of doing anything worse when they're in prison, as opposed to the outside world because they're already there. Like, what's the worst that can happen? What are they gonna do? Like so, whatever, communicating with minors and who knows what else they're doing? Like, right, like who knows what else? Shouldn't that just that? Shouldn't that be a reason enough to say, hey, right, maybe we'll take the iPads away. You guys are in timeout for a little bit, you don't get your iPads, you know? Like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's so funny too, because I was I uh I was researching this a little more, and I guess the FBI they reported that incarcerated Mexican mafia bosses in California state prisons, uh, they were able to continue their crimes and like manage their enterprises in or in Orange County using contraband cell phones and encrypted communications, even behind bars, even when they're at or we even when they're in prison.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, guys sneak in stuff to prison all the time. Right. You don't need to give them another way to use it. Exactly.
SPEAKER_04So why on earth why on earth would we help them out by giving them something? Right. Yeah, and they track crimes back to these, like infentanol trafficking, illegal gambling, illegal gambling, kidnapping. Yeah, and now we're giving them an opportunity to do it easier.
SPEAKER_02Just one more reason why Newsome is not This could have been done too in a strategic way. They could have given certain criminals certain access to things to reach guys on the outside world, and then that could be monitored and tracked and helped like be used in an investigation or in a court case, or help like you know, a further further pursuit of a crime or whatever they're whatever arrest or warrant they're going after. That's what they could have done.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh, 1000%.
SPEAKER_02If anyone in there had a few brain cells to rub together, they could have come up with something like that.
SPEAKER_04No, it was literally like all 90,000 prisoners. They just got it. Like there wasn't, I don't from what I read it, there wasn't even like an incentive program, like good behavior, here you go, have a treat.
SPEAKER_02Is there like this sounds it sounds dumb, but is there like screen time? Is there like a like like you know where it gets locked after screen time? Or is it like just here's a okay? They can't they can't have things that are dangerous. So how do you give them like they have to be charged? Do they have like what about cords? Like they cannot have cords and stuff like that, right?
SPEAKER_04Huh?
SPEAKER_02Or are there electrical outlets in their cells?
SPEAKER_04There's no way.
SPEAKER_02No, I wouldn't believe that. There's no way. So it's like they probably have super nice cells, who knows? So like are the guards walking around at like breakfast time, like handing them outing out your iPad for the day, like like how does it have a lot of things?
SPEAKER_04And then they must they must have they must get their like same one because if they're able to continue sexing my like minors, like a log on or something, like a California prisoner log on.
SPEAKER_02I don't know.
SPEAKER_04It's like a okay. Anyways, it's a waste of money.
SPEAKER_02It is it's not good, it's not helping anyone.
SPEAKER_04So no leave it up to California, but leave it up to Newsom, honestly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. All right, that'll be great in his his campaign for 2028.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, that'll help. Uh speaking of grooming minors, there's a new James Charles controversy, of course. I feel like there's one every year with him.
SPEAKER_02He's always doing something.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I feel like he low-key does it on purpose because Well, he didn't get caught texting minors on purpose.
SPEAKER_02That was that wasn't on purpose, I don't think.
SPEAKER_04Alleged.
SPEAKER_02Allegedly.
SPEAKER_04Allegedly. Well, anyway, so you might have heard Spirit Airlines, um, they officially closed down in May. All operations, they're out of business. Spirit Airlines no longer exists, which is actually kind of sad. I mean, I I know we make fun of them for their service, but it was a nice cheap flight, you know? I'm I'll miss them. So nearly 17,000 people lost their jobs because of this.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_04One Spirit Airline worker um who had been laid off decided to DM James Charles. And James Charles, if you don't know, he's a beauty YouTuber guru dude. Um, so she decided to DM him, and she asks him, Hey, I just got laid off. It's a tough time right now. Uh, here's my GoFundMe. Would you mind giving money to it? So James decided to make a video response to it, and people were furious with his response. We'll play it for you. And there's there's some language, just a warning. Right? It's crazy.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy.
SPEAKER_04Um, so his main message is that you're lazy and entitled for DMing. You might as well have taken the time that you took to write that message to apply to jobs. Now, listen, everyone has their opinions on this, and I wanted to give our two cents on it. I don't blame the girl. He's wrong, yeah. I don't blame the girl. Like, cause like shoot your shot, you know?
SPEAKER_02It's probably easier to get a celebrity to give you some money than it is to get a job.
SPEAKER_04Probably.
SPEAKER_02I don't know. The job job market's kind of cooked right now, so yeah.
SPEAKER_04I don't know. Is it is it corporate job market though? Is it career job market or is it job market? Like, I feel like if you went if you went to Culver's tomorrow, you could probably get a job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, if you have a college degree and seven years of experience, maybe.
SPEAKER_04I don't know.
SPEAKER_02No, I know what you mean. I'm and I've been a little bit dramatic, but I know, and he's he's right too. She should just go apply and try to get a job somewhere. But like I'm sure she's doing that.
SPEAKER_04Like for him to be like No, it was definitely not the right move to make a video about it. But also, but this isn't new. He's done a video in past, like last, I think it was November, he had a video similar to this with the same kind of message.
SPEAKER_02I'm sure the celebrities can get people asking for money all the time. All the time. I'm sure it gets annoying. And I'm not trying to be like, oh, like poor celebrity, like, no, they're they're rich, they're they're fine. I'm not worried about them. But it's like, I'm sure James Charles, I don't I don't really like him, but I know you guys are making us defend him right now. Whatever, whatever luck James Charles had, I'm sure there's just as much hard work that went into him being successful. So he's successful for a reason. He worked hard, he sacrificed, I'm sure. He might have had help, might have gotten lucky, whatever. But he's got a good point. Like, yeah, you gotta change what you're doing now to get where you want to be, and you gotta work at it and work forwards, like work towards it. So DMing random celebrities for money for what 50 bucks? Don't even make no funny. 100 bucks. That's not gonna solve it. You need to get a job. Like, and yeah, that's terrible. She got laid off. That's like that's it happens, it's life, and it's terrible. But he's got a good point about like, you know, pick yourself up, go look for a job, yeah, get to work. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, don't expect handouts.
SPEAKER_02Right. Okay, but then she's white. What do you say? White pretty and able-body or something. Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?
SPEAKER_04His point is that there's nothing holding you back from getting a job. Like you're not she's white. I know it's the wrong it's it's the wrong complete message, it's the wrong delivery, but the underlying tone is that what is holding you back from going out there and getting a new job.
SPEAKER_01I don't know.
SPEAKER_04You being black wouldn't hold you back from it. I know what you're saying. Like saying she's white, she can just get a job, like nothing.
SPEAKER_02Able bodies is the craziest thing I've ever heard. Well, she's not disabled, like that he knows of, just because he saw a person.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that was an assumption by him.
SPEAKER_02Just because she's normal doesn't mean she has to get in trouble for it, you know.
SPEAKER_04Um yeah, no, definitely wrong delivery and probably the wrong person to deliver it.
SPEAKER_02You shouldn't say that to Gen Z, that's for sure. Gen Z will not like that. No, they won't.
SPEAKER_04But okay, but that's the thing is that there is a nice underlying message to it is that people can be. Lazy and entitled. Yes. And you shouldn't expect handouts. I get it. Shoot your shot, girl. Like, you're right. You probably could get a GoFundMe going before you find a job. I totally understand that.
SPEAKER_02Everyone has a GoFundMe.
SPEAKER_04But everyone has one. And it's, I just I find it hard to believe that after she sent that DM to him and who knows who else or what other influencer, that she then went out or got on her computer or started making calls and doing everything possible. I'm not even talking about just like sending a few resumes to people, like doing everything she possibly can to then get a job. I'm talking like going into the store and being like, give me your manager. I want to sit down with them and show them my resume. And I think that's something that a lot of people don't what? That doesn't work. Yes, it does. No, yes, it does. That's I've done it. I've done it. I'm like, are you guys hiring? And they appreciate that.
SPEAKER_02Saying, are you guys hiring is different than saying this is like the most okay, you should you should work hard. It's the most boomer mentality ever. You walk in there and ask for an application and say, I'm gonna fill it out right here in front of you, and let's go in the back room and talk.
SPEAKER_04You know, it's like no, but it works. No, or if you submit your um in the big 2026. See, I this is where I disagree with you at 100 and 10%.
SPEAKER_02No, yeah, you should be proactive, you should apply and maybe even stop in person to ask about it, call about it. But that's what I'm saying. No, you're saying, don't give me your application. I want to meet with the manager right now. I'm gonna prove that they don't care. The person who hires is never even at the at the place that they're working. The person that they that does the hiring is behind the screen, usually. They you have to do a virtual interview and then a and then an in-person interview, and then then they have to interview everyone else and get back to you.
SPEAKER_04And it's it's not like I I'm I guess I'm imagining like like are you thinking like McDonald's?
SPEAKER_02I'm thinking of if she's working at Spirit Islands, she probably has some sort of experience or wants some real job. But the boomer thing of like put on your suit and tie and you walk in there and say, This is what I'm worth, and I want it.
SPEAKER_04It's like I guess I am imagining more like, okay, if she was really strapped for cash right now and she needed money, who knows what her situation is, yeah, then doing everything in your power, meaning like after you DM all these celebrities, then you go down to Culver's McDonald's, a retail shop, and be like, hey, are you hiring? Give me your application. I agree. What is wrong with that?
SPEAKER_02I agree, I agree. I'm just saying the overarching theme of like, you know, because boomers will always say your generation's lazy and entitled, and they expect this and they don't want to work hard. And it's like, yeah, it's not like that anymore, you know?
SPEAKER_04You're not like I get it, I get it.
SPEAKER_02I don't know, so but yes, she could she could go DoorDash or Uber or do an Amazon delivery thing. Like that's that's totally reasonable. That happens all the time. So I'm yes, she should pick herself up by her bootstraps, but it's not like the go tell them what you're worth, and you get you get that job.
SPEAKER_01You deserve it. Tell them you're a hard worker, yeah. There's like five million.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I feel like some people, I feel like especially Gen Z, we need a little tough love with that. We do. I understand it's hard to get a job. Trust me, I totally get it. Uh, but also clicking the first couple jobs that pop up on LinkedIn or indeed, and just having your automatic resume be sent through, that's not doing everything in your power to get hired.
SPEAKER_02You can do more.
SPEAKER_04You can do more.
SPEAKER_02That's a good point. But he's not wrong.
SPEAKER_04No, he's I'm saying, yeah, I'm agreeing with you. Like he's not, yeah. It was on it was a terrible delivery, and calling out one person in particular, you probably shouldn't have done that.
SPEAKER_03But yeah.
SPEAKER_04Ooh, dare I say it needed to be said. Dare I say a little bit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Not as harsh, but some people need tough love. They do. You got a good point.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I can't believe I'm defending him too, because I don't like him either at all. But here we are. Thanks for listening to another episode of Propaganda with Mick and Jacob. Happy Wednesday. We hope that you have a great rest of your week. If you would rather watch instead of listen, make sure you go follow and subscribe to our other social channels. We have a YouTube that's at propagandamj. We have an ex account that's at propagandmj. There's no a at the end of propaganda. It's just at propagandmj. We have a TikTok, and that is at Mick and Jacob, and our Instagram is at Mick and Jacob. We post all of our video content on there so you can see short clips from this episode. Other than that, we hope you have a great rest of your week and your weekend, and we'll talk to you next Wednesday. Thanks for the listen.
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