Anesa Toolsee
“The New Jim Crow”, by Michelle Alexander shows the issue of there being a “new Jim Crow” here in the United States. The Jim Crow that we know of is the laws that segregated blacks and whites, forcing blacks to stay below the whites. Alexander brings to the light that we have these over populated prisons that are filled with majority of African Americans. As a result of being labeled as a person that went to jail, the government legally can deny access to employment, housing, public benefits, and the right to vote. These are things that African Americans during the Jim Crow Era were denied. It seems like a coincidence but Alexander believes that it is being done deliberately to African Americans.
The crime rates in the United States compared to Germany and Finland was almost identical, yet the incarceration rate in the U.S was 4 times higher. This confirmed that the U.S was doing something that did not seem logical because majority of the people that committed a crime were black and was incarcerated because of a drug felony. Alexander believes “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it”. I completely agree with her because minorities today are always below the higher class. They just set up this system in a way to make sure the lower class stays in their place in the lower class. This system is invisible to the world because everyone is playing their role in society and many may believe that the issue is too big to face and may just choose to conform and work within society.
I just can’t believe that these sociologist have come to the conclusion that prisons are a complete failure 30+ years ago and today it has evolved into this necessity to have in a society. To me it shows that maybe they knew this would be a good way to keep the segregation alive and legal at that.
Alexander says that drug abuse is a public health problem, not a crime. Most of the crimes that African Americans are put in prison for are drug offenses. This would lead me to think that if drug abuse were to be looked at from a health issue rather than a crime, alot of these “criminals” would be helped and there wouldn’t be part of this mass incarceration.
Alexander states that in America you can move up class although it may be difficult. That is the slogan that The United States of America runs off of. Everyone believes this is the land of opportunity but they’re these systems in place that are hidden right in front of you like the prisons that help to hinder the movement up in class. Some may believe it was their unfortunate luck to have to grow up in that unsafe neighborhood, with the bad schools, single parent home, or drug infested area. In reality as it was once thought but not to the extreme that the CIA was bringing in crack-cociane to poor neighborhoods to kill off the African Americans. The system is meant to be this way and it’s a cycle to the people that need to stay in their place will have no choice but to stay in their place.
This book wants to inform people of the discrimination that is happening but nobody seems to notice. I believe she is touching on a big part of the issue in this society but this is just one book that only so many will read. These racial injustices need to be addressed and improved to benefit everyone.
Do you agree with Michelle Alexander when she says that drug abuse is a public health issue and not a crime ?
Why is this issue not more aware of in the United States?
SOC320: Law, Society and Civil Rights 
Well, I agree with Melanie that rehab centers are necessary — and as Alexander points out in Chapter 1, as funding for new emphasis on drug busts by federal law enforcement increased, the amount of government funding going towards rehab & prevention centers decreased — but I’d like to add that rehabilitation facilities are needed IN ADDITION TO prevention. I’m doing some shallow searches (like, literally just googling and trying to piece together some info) on Portugal’s drug prevention policies. Supposedly by decriminalizing possession of drugs, that is, being referred to the Commissions for Drug Addiction Dissuasion instead of being arrested, detained, Portugese drug users have been destigmatized. The idea, as Portugal’s national drug coordinator (funny title) puts it (http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/17/lowering-the-deadly-cost-of-drug-abuse/decriminalizing-possession-of-all-illicit-drugs), is to treat drug abuse as a social health concern. And I think that definitely goes hand in hand with what you two are discussing. Drug use is a public health concern, but how can it be addressed as such? Do you guys think decriminalization is possible in the U.S.? I don’t know of any country besides Portugal who has experimented with policies such as this.
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Drug abuse is indeed a public health issue because there are many articles that state how people succumb to drugs, including celebrities. The main reason behind these uses is being unable to cope or deal with the stress the individuals are currently facing and instead, abusing drugs as a mean to escape reality for a temporary reprieve.
People misusing these drugs should be place in rehab facilities instead of prison, because it is clear that they need help, not punishment.
On the other hand, what about the dealers? The people that sell these harmful, illegal drugs? No, I’m not talking about pharmacies where you have a doctor prescription (because in those cases, you obviously need those drugs for health issues). I’m talking about dealers that sell drugs just to get you high, addicted, hooked, turning you into a junkie without a regard to the impacts of your health as their only concern is making a profit off your demise. Those dealers should go to prison and be held accountable for selling these illegal drugs because they are a danger to public health. Do you agree?
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Yes i do believe with Michelle Alexander on how she believes drug abuse is a public health issue versus a crime. I believe people get involved with drugs because of the society they are in. If someone grows up in an environment where they are lacking parental supervision or their parental superiors are alcoholics (etc), they are more likely to use drugs. This unfortunate phenomenon should not be punished with prison sentences, instead should be dealt by rehabilitation facilities. Instead of locking up the problem, society should examine the platform of the problem, which is the environment/society of the individual. This makes me question why choose prison? Is it cheaper then rehab?
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