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Sociological theoretical perspectives
War on drugs esaay
War on drugs esaay
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By Michelle Alexander I agree with the sociological perspective presented and identified by the group for the social artifact, which was the conflict perspective. The conflict perspective views this problem as a definition to a person’s social status because of how the person is viewed and treated by law enforcement. It explains that an act is not naturally a criminal act, it is society that defines it that way. Michelle Alexander talks about her new book called “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”. A very evident social problem that the social artifact faces is the war on drugs currently in our society because it is exclusively fought about in poor communities. This has branded African Americans and has …show more content…
One was mainly Hispanics and African Americans. The other is mainly Whites. With this said it is understood that there is a negative connotation with blacks and Hispanics especially when it comes to drugs. I know many people who have been in jail because of the use of weed. There is a particular story that stands out. A very close person to me was stopped by the police and asked if his car could be searched. When his car was searched and weed was found. He was sent to jail and had to do community service. What strikes me is the fact that my friend is a Black male of Hispanic ethnic background and he had his white girlfriend inside the car with him. The girlfriend was not charged with anything although the weed was found under her seat. Hispanic and black communities are constantly being searched and looked at closely because that is where the most “drug users” are located. That is not true. If police where to have the same kind of control in white communities, the same amount of people will be buying and selling drugs. Drugs or in this case weed is something that in my opinion should be legalized because it will minimize the act of racial profiling. It will alleviate the constant problem between
The fact that War on Drugs and incarceration is a rebirth of caste of America, is correct. If you are African- American you will go to prison because of the caste system. People choice to be what they want to be. Yet Michelle point is correct, human beings need to realize everyone is different. Problems are created because one it creates them. Also we talked about the nullification system in class, and is one way in solving racism in the justice system and the government. Michelle Alexander uses statistic through the book. She explains the difference from 1990s to today’s world. This makes it easier for the reader to tell the contrast.
Jim Crow laws, a serious blemish on America’s legislative history, were measures enacted in the South to impose racial segregation. Beyond this, they were a code that allowed, and essentially encouraged, the disenfranchisement and oppression of African Americans. With such a cruel ordinance in place, African Americans had to learn to adjust their mannerisms and lifestyles accordingly in order to survive. However, this learning process was far from effortless or painless, as evidenced through Richard Wright’s work “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”. This piece is paramount in understanding the African American personality and response during the Jim Crow laws, as well as for comparing today’s society to those especially trying times.
“Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.”(Lyndon Johnson). For generations in the United Stated, ethnic minorities have been discriminated against and denied fair opportunity and equal rights. In the beginning there was slavery, and thereafter came an era of racism which directly impacted millions of minorities lives. This period called Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system up in till mid 1960s. Jim Crow was more than just a series of severe anti-Black laws, it became a way of life. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were positioned to the status of second class citizens. What Jim Crow did is represented the anti-Black racism. Further on, In 1970’s the term “War on Drugs” was coined by President Richard Nixon . Later President Ronald Reagan officially declared the current drug war. In reality the war had little to do with drug crime and a lot to do with racial politics. The drug war was part of a strategy of used by the government. The President identified drug abuse as national threat. Therefore, they called for a national anti-drug policy, the policy began pushing for the involvement of the police force and military in drug prohibition efforts. The government did believe that blacks or minorities were a cause of the drug problem. They concentrated on inner city poor neighborhoods, drug related violence, they wanted to publicize the drug war which lead Congress to devote millions of dollars in additional funding to it. The war on drugs targeted and criminalized disproportionably urban minorities. There for, “War on Drugs” results in the incarceration of one million Americans ...
Furthermore, our current education system places blacks and Hispanic students on a trajectory towards the cyclical pattern in our prison and incarceration systems. Our educations disciplinary system is ineffectively enforced, which leads to blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups to be picked out at early ages. If these students are being suspended without school work, supervision, or an established routine, where are they going to be hanging out? In the New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander presented the parallels that exist between the school to prison pipeline, where 37.2% of African American students are locked up before they finish high school. The statistics she presented may push some people to make the assumption that higher education
"The New Jim Crow" focuses on the racial views of the War on Drugs. Michelle Alexander argues that federal drug policy unjustly targets communities of color, leading to the cycle of predominately black males in jails and living under the poverty line. She begins her book by stating that claims of racism are not dead. Those who believe that equality has been achieved are mistaken and should open up their eyes and notice the life of many African Americans today. Alexander also points out that a huge portion of blacks are still not allowed to vote because in almost every state a convicted felon cannot vote. Alexander reveals the truth of mass incarceration a system built of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control criminals even after being
Another reason racialized mass incarceration takes place is because of the high rates of poverty and unemployment for inner city African Americans, especially those with low-education and low skill levels. Urban ghettos have been associated with the problem of social disorganization and crime. The biggest reason for this is the war on drugs. There is no substantial proof that verifies African Americans are more involved in illegal drug consumptions than other groups are. However they are arrested more than other groups. Bobo and Thompson stated that blacks are almost 34% involved in drug-related arrests though only 14% of those are among regular illegal drug users. Among drug related convictions, African Americans make up half of the cases whereas only 26% of the white population is convicted. As Bobo and Thompson stated, “Illegal drug consumption seems to know no race. Incarceration for drug-related charges, however, is something visited in a heavily biased manner on African Americans.”
The New Jim Crow is the direct consequences of War on Drug. That aimed at reducing, preventing and eradicate drug usage in America through punitive means. The effect of the war on drug policies returned de jure discrimination, denied African Americans justice and undermined the rule of law by altering the criminal justice system in ways that deprive African Americans civil rights and citizenship. In the “New Jim Crow” Alexandra argues that the effects of the drug war policies are not unattended consequences but coordinated by designed to deny African Americans opportunity to gain wealth, excluded from gaining employment and exercise civil right through mass incarceration and felony conviction.
Boxing, wrestling, and fencing were used as practice for physical culture schools and were articulated in their own right. Key events in American history can be explained by sports, which also shows how society has dealt with racial, economic (gambling), ethnic, and regional differences in our nation. Heavyweight champion of the 1900’s, Jack Johnson illustrated a prime example of nationalization of white supremacy during the Jim Crow era. Individuals are shaped by our everyday society, in essence portraying is it not biological. Norms have grouped people in today's society by classifying a human by the color of their skin, their cultural standing, and by their socioeconomic standing. Through society setting norms of how you should be portrayed
Alexander (2010) describes the New Jim Crow as a moment where society have already internalized the stereotypes of African American men as violent and more likely to commit crimes and where mass incarceration has been normalized – especially in poor areas– . That is, today is seen as normal that black parents are missing in their homes because they are in institutions of control (p.181). She also stresses American society denies racism when they assume the justice system works. Therefore, she claims that “mass incarceration is colorblind” (p.183). American society does not see the race biased within the institutions of control.
Michelle Alexander. The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2010.
Lynchings, the KKK cross burnings, and slavery, are some of the most obvious acts of racism in American history. However, racism isn’t always this obvious. It’s all around us and everywhere we go. Some racism is subtler now that we’ve moved past slavery and the Jim Crow laws. Despite these changes we all have some amount of internalized racism that started back when people began imagining themselves as better than others based on the color of their skin. Even though racism is still a problem today we wouldn’t be as far as we are now if not for the many brave people who protested against unfair and racist laws. People that were very influential in getting these laws abolished are individuals such as Martin Luther King JR, Ida B.
The five most critical social issues facing our society today are The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, Due Process Inequality, Lack of Punishment towards individuals of higher social, economic classes, and inequality in criminal law when comparing crack and powder cocaine sentencing. As a result of all these societal problems today millions of our fellow Americans have had their livelihoods ruined, and these issues have been a result of bad public policy and has led to unintended racial outcomes.
A racial caste system is a hierarchy of races within a society. This term was popularized by Michelle Alexander in her novel “the New Jim Crow”. In today’s current society, I agree with Alexander that there is a racial caste system that disproportionately affects people of color. The racial caste system in America is used to keep some races, specifically whites, in a position of authority and privilege. It creates a power imbalance by through stereotypes and corrupt laws that primarily affect people of color. The racial caste system should be dismantled by ending laws that work against people of color, removing stereotypes from the media and changing the conversation in regards to the lives of African-Americans.
Marijuana use and possession has been illegal across all states since the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. However, its usage and abuse were relegated more to the minority populations and had little to do with most of mainstream America. Laws were in place to punish offenders and since most were minorities at the time, there was little to no sympathy for the sentences being handed out from the courts. The outcry from those in mainstream America didn’t come until the 1970’s during President Richard Nixon’s proclaimed “War on Drugs.” This followed a massive increase in drug use during the 1960’s. People blamed the music of the era, politics and mostly the war in Vietnam for the sudden spike in users and ultimately abusers. The difference was that this time it wasn’t just isolated to the minority communities. Educated Caucasian students and even professionals had begun to use drugs and were very open about it. Thi...
Marijuana has been proven by numerous studies to be used among all races equally. No study on Marijuana has ever identified a particular race that uses the substance more than others. While all races share the usage of marijuana equally it is people of color are often the victims of marijuana arrests. Jesse Wegman the author of the article “The Injustice of Marijuana Arrests” states that, “Blacks and whites use marijuana at comparable rates. Yet in all states but Hawaii, blacks are more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana offenses (6).” The ONDCP is aware of the unfairly biased arrests, but chooses to do nothing about the situation except for making excuses as to why these arrests needs to be done. To understand the reasoning behind the specific targeting of the arrests, one must read between the lines of the arrests. The people who are targeted by the police for marijuana possession are minorities living in the ghettos. These minority groups have a much harder time using marijuana recreationally due to the confinement in the ghetto. Minorities in this situation are easier to target since they have no choice but to engage in marijuana based activities in the open, with the fear of being reported to police officers by neighbors or being caught by the police officers themselves. The situation is completely different, however for the whites, who have a higher probability of living in the suburbs. It is much harder to target whites as a result of this. They are able to engage in marijuana usage on the porch of their own homes without the fear of neighbors or police officers noticing. The ONDCP is also able to control political influences and limit the rights of minorities by targeting specific races for marijuana. Being charged for