Why toxic relationships are so draining. And when to break them off.
Who you let into your mental space matters.
- Wanting to be a "nice person" often stops people from establishing the boundaries they need to protect their mental space from toxic people.
- For Shaka Senghor, self-pity and pessimism are two traits that turn relationships toxic. Consider that people may not know what they are doing: "[T]hey're just repeating the cycle of hurt people hurting people," says Senghor.
- It takes courage to confront a problem head on, but an honest conversation is often the best way for things to change – and if nothing improves, value yourself enough to walk away.
The 13th Amendment: How companies are turning prisons into cash cows
Here's how the 13th Amendment allows companies make a dubious profit off the backs of prisoners.
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery—but it still remains legal under one condition. The amendment reads: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Today in America, big corporations profit of cheap prison labor in both privatized and state-run prisons. Shaka Senghor knows this second wave of slavery well—he spent 19 years in jail, working for a starting wage of 17 cents per hour, in a prison where a 15-minute phone call costs between $3-$15. In this video, he shares the exploitation that goes on in American prisons, and how the 13th Amendment allows slavery to continue. He also questions the profit incentive to incarcerate in this country: why does America represent less than 5% of the world's population, but almost 25% of the world's prisoners? Shaka Senghor's latest venture is Mind Blown Media.
How Prison Sets Inmates Up for Failure after Their Release
Shaka spent nearly two decades in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, and spent 7 of those years in solitary confinement. But he says that it's life after prison that can be much more shocking.
Shaka Senghor spent 19 years in jail — 7 of those in solitary confinement — after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. It gave him time to think extensively about the nature of prison system itself and why so many African-American men are incarcerated. He also found that it doubly failed him once he left prison. The world had changed enormously since 1991, and he almost wasn't ready for a digital culture (not least one that required you to say you'd committed a felony when applying for an apartment or a job, as all inmates are required to do). In this video, he tells us that the system is designed for failure once you get out as mental illness is left untreated in prison, and combined with the Department of Correction's inability or refusal to assist prisoners after they leave, often sends former inmates right back to jail. The day that Shaka left he was told he'd be back within six months. Luckily for us, he proved both them and the system itself wrong. Shaka's latest venture is Mind Blown Media.
