I was listening to the Joe Madison show this morning and Dr. Michelle Alexander was his guest. It was a previously recorded show, but the topic was her book, "The New Jim Crow". I listened to her and while I agreed with a lot of what she was saying, I disagreed with a few things. To be honest and fair, I have not read the book but I plan to order it this weekend- but what I gleaned from her interview is that she made excuses for bad choices rather than calling it what it is. At some point, it becomes less about the "man" and more about the "man in the mirror".
Dr. Alexander kept saying that there are scores of "non-violent" offenders that are locked up for drug crimes. If she means addicts- the fact that they are non-violent is partially true. Anyone that has ever seen a crack fiend with no money and no crack knows that they will do whatever it takes to get high- including robbing, stealing or even killing. I don't consider that non-violent, but they need treatment and not incarceration so we agree there. Where I do not agree is that drug dealers that get caught with crack or powder or weed should be considered non-violent offenders. The drug game is the most violent enterprise on the planet. If you are a drug dealer, street level, you have to carry a gun or at least have muscle that carries guns. You have to be willing to use that gun if someone messes with the money or the product. So the question is, is there really any such thing as a non-violent drug offender? I think not. If you want to find out how non-violent a drug dealer is, mess with the money or the product. Start selling dope on a corner in his territory and then you will find out first hand how non-violent these folks are. Houses get sprayed up with machine guns, brothers get murdered over drug debts and innocents fall in the crossfire- and this is all stuff that I have witnessed first hand. I have a hard time seeing anyone involved in the drug game as "non-violent". It is an ugly, nasty and cut throat enterprise. As a scenario, let's say that you are delivering 10 kilos. The person with the money is trying to figure out how to get the product as well as keep the money. The person delivering the dope may or may not have the same intentions. How does it all end? Either the transaction goes smoothly and no one pulls out guns, or a robbery/rip-off happens and someone winds up dead. Either way, the potential for violence is very high in these situations.
She went on to say that there are scores of young men being rounded up and it is racial and political rather than criminal. I have an issue with that as well. Is the justice system skewed to disproportionately lock up African-Americans? I would say, yes. The drug laws of the 90's were horrifically designed and politically motivated to create a panic in white America. The stereotypical thug with an assault weapon was promulgulated and believed to exist on every urban block in America. However, there were some folks that just lived in these areas and had nothing to do with anything criminal- but they were caught in the crossfire. Iran-Contra and the flooding of inner-city streets with high-grade cocaine was a detriment to black America and America as a whole! But having said that, drugs are a choice- not a mandate. Is the system designed to keep African-Americans down in some aspects of society? I would again answer, yes. So, is the high number of drug arrests in poor and depressed neighborhoods directly connected to race- I would say, no. Neighborhoods that are econmically depressed are that way because they are normally high in crime already or crime gradually increased driving businesses out. If the streets are lined with droves of criminals and drug dealers, businesses are not going to come there. The amount of criminal activity that occurs, in my opinion, is directly proportional to the dearth of jobs in a particular area.
So, are these young black men being forced to sell drugs? Again, I would say NO. People that sell drugs do it for the money. The love of money is a root of all types of evil. I know people that have sold drugs to make ends meet, and not one of them has gone to prison. The ones that DID go to prison are the ones that were trying to be "ghetto superstars". They love the money, the cars, the women, the jewelry, the parties, the power and the "respect" which is really fear from others. By the same token, people that get high do so, not because they are forced to, but rather because they enjoy getting high. A life lived for pleasure will end abruptly, that is for real.
I wouldn't really call this Jim Crow because Jim Crow of the 50's and 60's was inescapable. The social and political barriers that African-Americans faced during the Civil Rights movement were phenomenal. Education was limited, access to equal and adequate resources was limited and people were genuinely oppressed by the government. With the advances that have been made, [particularly in the area of education] we have no excuse now. Racism is alive and well, but there are choices to be made as it relates to what occupation we undertake. Selling drugs is an easy way out but it is a trap. The ones at the top never go to prison, only the ones at the bottom. The drug game is set up just like the economy- the top 1% takes in all the profit and the 99% at the bottom give it to them. In the drug game, it is designed for the mid level and bottom feeding players to lose while the ones at the top (including corrupt politicians and government officials that work conjunction with cartel leaders, etc.) never spend a day in prison and never have to show their face.
The way to level the playing field is through education- at least in my opinion. Sure, the school may be crumbling- my high school was, at least- but what's on the pages of the book is the same at every school. The way to escape the trap is to never enter it in the first place. Interview 100 drug dealers or offenders and 95 of them will tell you that they did not complete high school. What we have to do a better job of is prevention. We need to teach our babies at an early age that education is power in America. You want respect, earn a Ph.D. and watch the respect flow down like a mighty rushing river. If you want to live comfortably, manage your income well and avoid going into debt via credit cards etc. We need to start training our youth how to be self sufficient, how to milk this rotten education system for all it's worth and how to find different avenues to channel their energies into. We need more prevention, more teaching at home and more encouragement of our young people. We also need to help them see that an education, while it may not ensure a job, it will make you more competitive. It is something that no one can take away from you and it something that everyone has to respect. We need to develop a spirit of economic empowerment such that we don't need to grovel and beg for employment because we are the employer.
So, is the drug game or the "war on drugs" the new Jim Crow? Only if you choose to play that game.
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