San Quentin from Corte Madera (1714)

San Quentin State Prison, from Corte Madera. San Quentin's location makes for a strong example of the inequalities that are perpetuated through American incarceration policies. Like the rest of the U.S., California's culture and economy steers the non-white and working class to working outside the system, then the criminal justice system catches them and steers them to long-term incarceration (while bankers who rob the economy don't even get a slap on the hand). Yet the famous and historic prison is within one of the most expensive counties (Marin) in the U.S., on a piece of property with a view that people pay millions to have, where the county population is highly unlikely to ever have to face being in that prison. I wonder how often local residents, when driving past in their expensive cars or taking the ferry from the SF financial district, reflect on this contradiction.