I wish HN was more inclined to vote up articles like this and figure out how the tech community can effect change. Most of us will never be subject to this injustice, so it is ever so easy to avert our eyes and focus on topics such a Apples Products are Getting Harder to Use and the 1983 version of Unix System V Release 1 Programming Guide, both of which are ranked higher and have more comments despite being posted 9 hours earlier.
I agree with the first two sentences of your post, but I am left to wonder where the places for these kinds of articles are. I have little reason to believe that these problems are going to get more public attention in the future than they are getting now, which is to say that I have little hope of fixing these issues.
> I am left to wonder where the places for these kinds of articles are
Sites that are not specifically about other topics? How about places that are primarally focused on the US, because as discussed, it really is a US only problem.
Should every site everywhere only be posting about social problems? Can no other topic ever be discussed until every socail problem is solved?
HN is actually pretty broad given its topic of things that are of interest to 'hackers' which is why articles like this will be posted and discussed but there are other things that are also of interest to 'hackers.' Those will also be posted and discussed.
Unfortunately, there's a gigantic blind spot: the politicians supported by the tech community tend to be, despite occasional rhetorical nods, extremely bad on criminal justice issues. People are nevertheless reluctant to criticize "their team," so instead hideous injustices like the ones described in this article, or the milking of low-income minorities for fines and penalties in towns like Ferguson, Missouri, just sort of... happen, and the blame is directed towards vague targets like "cops" or "the system" or "racism" or "America" instead of the politicians who are currently in office and either letting the situation fester or actively making it worse.
This isn't to say that most alternative politicians are better, of course, but the only voice you truly have in a democracy is to vote the bastards out. And keep voting them out year after year until the survivors finally get the idea.
