Blood Money

Bail Or Bleed

There's a story in the New York Times today that's just amazing in its awfulness, but wait for it; there's marketing and advertising later. But first, the story.

In a rural town in Alabama, there's a circuit judge who has decided, in his infinite wisdom, to present poor offenders with the following choice: donate blood or wear handcuffs.

No, seriously.

This isn't a case where you've got a judge who has just gone off the reservation with his own cleverness. He pretty much refused to talk to the NYT's journalist, which isn't what you do when you are in love with your own brain. No, what we've got here is abuse of the underclass, done by people who are acting as if the poor are just a free resource to be exploited. It will likely stop with sunlight, and there's few source of light to equal the Times.

But while I suspect the terrible judge that did this is well on his way to a post-professional career as a cable news pundit, simply removing the egregious problem is far from good enough. The bail system, along with the prison-industrial complex, is just one of those hidden horrors of American life. Feel free to go view the John Oliver clips for more detail on that. And in the extremely unlikely event that you are not getting why it's awful that poor defendants are being given the opportunity to contribute to a blood drive with the promise of a reduction in sentence, well... legal precedent, folks. In that it's not like you need both of your kidneys, either. Or eyes. So long as you are treating the most vulnerable in a society as if they were not worthy of humane treatment, no half measures.

Which brings us to the promised marketing and advertising bridge. Just like our backwater judge, the Web experience without ad blockers has been this forced bargain for users, who have been treated as if they had no palatable choice in the matter. Most have just shrugged and rolled up their sleeve to take the pinch, but once you have an out, you're going to take it. You might have even been inclined to donate before, but being forced to took all of the goodwill out of the equation.

Finally, this is a value exchange that seems antiquated, just because it has been in place for a very long time. That doesn't mean it will continue, of course. But when a poor exchange gets a spotlight, it's usually not long to stay.

With any luck at all, really.

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