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The United States imprisons more of
its citizens than any nation on Earth.
£ f Seriously: Google that shit. By anyone's
I -j^ w count—the United Nations, the U.S.
y l -V Department of Justice, academics—the
United States keeps a higher percentage of
M its (otherwise quite free) citizens behind bars
W than anyone else, and often for a very long time. Not
Cuba, not China, not Russia—no one puts so many of its
citizens into prisons. In Georgia, one in 13 citizens is in jail,
prison, on parole or probation, or otherwise subject to the cor
rections system.
Yet, we're the wealthiest nation on the planet by any count.
It doesn't seem to make much sense. Anyone with faith in the
American people eventually realizes that it is not some sort
of criminality specifically endemic to Americans, some sort of
inordinate propensity for evil deeds, that necessitates so many
prisons. Rather, it is the eagerness with which the system
devises means to imprison. To believe otherwise is to assume a
criminal defect in the American mind.
That's why it might come as a surprise to many to learn
that Georgia prisons erupted in open protest last December.
Called by many the largest prison strike in the nation's history,
the peaceful protest was coordinated throughout as many as
10 separate state prisons, and involved tens of thousands of
inmates. The typical racial and gang-defined divisions which
mark the U.S. prison population were set aside to present
a unified call for basic human rights. The prisoners' primary
grievance was the unpaid labor forced upon them. "No more
slavery," demanded the prisoners' press release, which they
managefi to disseminate outside the walls. "Part of our purpose
for doing this is that Georgia is the only state that does not
pay its inmates at all," said one inmate, requesting anonymity.
"Some guys in here work seven days a week and they don't get
a dime." The 13th Amendment, while permitting the practice,
names unpaid prison labor "slavery."
The strikers' list of demands addressed concerns related to
a general deterioration in conditions in prisons. It is simply
a case of too many prisoners and too little money. Trying
to have it both ways, the state adds more and more prison
ers to the rolls while trimming its corrections budgets by,
according to the inmates, significantly reducing vegetables
in meals and demanding new fees on medicine for those with
chronic illnesses, among many other tactics. Of course, it is
only penny wise and pound foolish to feed unhealthy food
to people for whose health care you are-likely liable. One
inmate with chronic hypertension feared that the steady diet
of cheap starches and fats (instead of healthy, vegetable-rich
meals) was exacerbating his condition. With medical care
reportedly something of an afterthought in the overfilled and
underfunded prisons, this particular inmate's needs are of life-
and-death importance. Nutritional and medical negligence can
become a death penalty by another name.
The cake-and-eat-it-too mindset of many state and federal
legislators has led to millions of citizens in a system that
government revenue cannot support. Last week, in a land
mark case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the State of
California, which had sought the ultimate cost-saving measure
of simply overcrowding its prisons to nearly twice the state
facilities' capacity. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the
Court's majority opinion, called the state's astounding over
crowding a "serious constitutional violation," and the ruling
demanded that California figure out how to release as many as
37,000 inmates.
Regardless of how you view the penal system, it eventually
becomes an implacable fact that a nation cannot embark on a
project to imprison millions it does not intend to pay for. It is
difficult to imagine the "correctional system" correcting much
in these circumstances. In fact, the system might be harden
ing the vast majority of citizens who enter prison very much
capable of redemption. An unjust penal system stands the risk
of actually creating more crime.
Matthew Pulver
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Multitasking: Usually, trying to give your attention to many
things at once leads to failure on all counts. We can't all
spread ourselves as thin as we think we can without quality
suffering. So, when Kabana (211 Tallassee Rd.) first put up its
sign promising American, Indian and Jamaican food, skepticism
was the appropriate reaction. Happily, exceptions exist.
The American selections include hot wings, burgers and hot
dogs, which is great if you're dining with children or picky eat
ers, but I'd skip them and go to the more interesting parts of
the menu. Service is enthusiastic and occasionally flaky, but
its unpredictability may result in your receiving an unexpected
and superlatively wonderful plate of lima beans as an extra
side. Flavored with a subtle tang of something that tastes like
sumac or za'atar, they have a beautiful texture and marvelous
savoriness. Eating something like that, you don't miss meat at
all, and Kabana has a great selection of vegetarian and vegan
dishes as well as lamb and pork.
The samosas are the best I have had in Athens: large, crisp
rather than soggy, fresh, full of tender ground beef, onion and
vegetables. They come with two tasty sauces that aren't even
necessary. Like the empanadas at Cali 'N' Tito's, they are the
apotheosis of pocket foods. Not everything is awesome. Jerk
pork was good but a little tough, and the tandoori chicken is
entirely skippable; the bits on the bone are fine, but the rest is
dry, even with a well-executed raita. I've had better naan. But
most things are lovely, ren
dered with flavors both subtle
and strong.
The Jamaican cabbage is
gently sweet, not sugary. The
lamb saag (in spinach sauce)
is buttery and silky. I assume
that both the chicken tikka masala and the korma incorporate
the house-made yogurt, which is thin but wonderful. And
while the vegetable biryani isn't tremendously exciting, it's
still without obvious flaws. If both the large TVs under the
overhang are tuned to CNN, you may feel a bit like you're in an
echo chamber, but there's plenty of umbrellaed seating around
the lot. Kabana is open for lunch and dinner daily, plus Sunday
brunch, and doesn't have a liquor license at the moment but
does accept credit cards and offers free wi-fi.
t
Pleasantly Unusual: It is a strange experience indeed to sit
right next to the kitchen of a restaurant and hear the expe
diter, servers and cookstaff conversing with one another in
moderate tones of voice and an ample amount of pleases
and thank yous, but it is emblematic of just how darn nice
everyone is at Viva Argentine Cuisine (2270 Barnett Shoals
Rd.). Viva is operated by Gaby Lindsey, former manager cf the
Eastside Taco Stand, which used to occupy the same space,
and her husband, Jesse, and it has made a nice transition from
grungy local burrito joint to sweet family restaurant.
The Argentine cheesesteak is a magical thing, a large but
light sandwich of grilled ribeye with white American cheese
sauce, mayo, caramelized onions and a zippy chimichurri that
serves as the abracadabra that binds the whole thing together.
Not many sandwiches in town can hold a candle to it (although
the tortas at Sr. Sol and Tlaloc can compete), and nothing else
has its particular combination of flavors that delight the roof
of your mouth as much as your tastebuds. Another great dish
is proveleta, an appetizer of grilled, smoky, thick-cut Provolone
served with French bread and dressed with sun-dried tomatoes
and herbs. Yes, it's a plate of melted cheese, and it's hard to
go wrong with that, but, like raclette, it somehow transcends
its simple composition while remaining wonderfully mstic.
The steak Viva offers is nicely seasoned, well cooked,
dressed with the same great chimichurri and accompanied by
excellent, buttery mashed potatoes. Pastel de papa, a sort
of Argentine shepherd's pie minus the crust and topped with
cheese, isn't quite as thrilling as I had hoped, and the empan
adas, while available with a wide array of fillings, can be had
better elsewhere in town. On the whole, Viva cares, and you
can tell. The house salads have pretty, thin-shaved radishes in
them, and the cupcakes are filled with mousses from blueberry
to salted peanut and strawberry. The restaurant is open for
lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with a slight break
in between. It does to-go orders rapidly and takes credit cards.
Hillary Brown food@flagpole.com
...a beautiful texture
and marvelous
savoriness...
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JUNE 1,2011 FLAGPOLF.COM 9
