Angola Rodeo Thesis

The Angola Rodeo, a tradition held annually in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, is an event inmates die for. Danger not only subsists in the race itself, but also in the fact that the rodeo doesn’t seem problematic on the surface. The inmates are completely aware of the risks which they are willing to take on for their own fun; they even sign a legal release indicating their free will and waiving culpability of the State of Louisiana. Not only so, it’s a scarce opportunity for them to feel liberated, a way of fighting boredom, the only chance to meet the general public or even their families, and the only chance to make big money in a place where they make 4 cents an hour. While this may seem like a fair bargain, it’s important to point out that there is an intuitive moral unease about the Angola Rodeo. It forces one to question whether the prisoners are actually practicing free will, or if certain underlying forces are nullifying a person’s right to a complete free will, or if there are unseen motives that facilitate the actions of the inmates. The Angola Rodeo is an exploitation and a wrongful contract in ways that there is unequal bargaining position and racism.
The Angola prisoners do have the right to the freedom of labor, as written in the Constitution, regardless of the possible threats it may pose to the enjoyment …show more content…
The Angola Rodeo really might be a gift of opportunity that the prison is offering to the inmates, and perhaps the inmates really think so as well. But, despite the fact that the inmates and the prison may be mutually benefiting, objections arise because allowing exploitation is not okay. Allowing exploitation is injecting more racial inequality, allowing unequal bargains, and affecting not just the men in prison but the entire society’s perception, and thus must be criticized and