1.The primary argument for the high incarceration rates in the US today, according to Michelle Alexander, is incredibly flawed. She argues that it is false—a common misconception—that rising crime rates and increased incarceration are the main causes of mass incarceration. Instead, she claims that the criminal justice system’s institutionalized racism, particularly in the way drug laws are enforced, is the primary culprit. Alexander draws attention to the ways in which the War on Drugs served as an excuse for the growth of law enforcement organizations, the enlargement of police units, and a decline of civil freedoms, especially in communities of color. She draws attention to the fact that the tough-on-crime laws and mandatory minimum sentences passed during this time, such as three-strikes statutes, increased disparities between races in the criminal justice system and extended the cycles of poverty and incarceration.

3.The statement, in my opinion, emphasizes the incredible reach and influence of the American criminal justice system as a social control mechanism, reflecting larger trends of structural injustice and inequality in both the criminal justice system and society at large.

-M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. Explain her argument by referring to the various examples she mentions to backup her point. (see p. 1-2)

I view her points as true because she has mentioned different points throughout to back them up. While mentioning the stats of incarceration to the contradictions between years, laws were initiated and the narrative being pushed behind them. Correlating war or drugs to clear racism against black people in a timely manner.

-Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”?

It cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes because there’s so true correlation. So only black people contributed to drug crimes? Black people were or are the only people to exist to do drugs? That would be the claims and it’s not all the evidence, just more narratives.

-How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”?

To me that meant it grew largely in hopes to control unlike anything done before in history. More so racial controlled, while so power driven.

1. M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. Explain her argument by referring to the various examples she mentions to backup her point. (see p. 1-2) 

According to Michelle Alexander, the main argument for the high rates of incarceration in the United States is seriously flawed. She argues that it is incorrect to link the rise in incarceration to an increase in crime rates alone. Rather, she says that the War on Drugs has been crucial. “The impact of the drug war has been astounding. In less than thirty years, the U.S. penal population exploded from around 300,000 to more than 2 million, with drug convictions accounting for the majority of the increase.”

2. Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”? 

Michelle Alexander argues that the incidence of drug crimes alone cannot account for the racial disparities in incarceration. She argues that research has repeatedly demonstrated that drug-related behaviors are practically the same among people of all races. Despite this, drug-related charges disproportionately target and imprison Latinos and African Americans. 

3. How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”? 

According to Michelle Alexander, the American prison system has the most social control of any system in history. Her viewpoint on how mass imprisonment has turned into an effective weapon for social control, particularly in the context of the War on Drugs, is reflected in this term. She argues that African American and Latino groups are disproportionately singled out by the system and deprived of their rights, creating a endless cycle of marginalization.

1. M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. Explain her argument by referring to the various examples she mentions to backup her point. (see p. 1-2)

One example that states her claim is she says that “this view holds that the racial disparities in drug convictions and sentences, as well as the rapid explosion of the prison population. She states that there are :three out of four young black men can expect to serve time in prison.

2. Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”?

There are studies that have shown that white youth are more likely to engage in drug crime than people of color. In some states, black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times greater than those of white men.

3. How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”?

I understand it as since we are in the United States, there is a big diversity. We will always have stereotypes about certain cultures, in result where one might get away with more than others in society.

M. Alexander argues that the reasoning behind many people being incarcerated was wrong. She argues that the war on drugs was merely a cover up to get more people of color and people living in poverty into jail. M. Alexander mentions how the CIA admitted to bringing drugs into the U.S illegally and putting them into black neighborhoods for them to sell. So how could it be a war on drugs when the higher ups are bringing the drugs in. The war on drugs was just a cover up so that white people could maintain power over black people.

The rates if incarceration cannot be compared to rate of drug crimes because the rates of drug crime between the two races are fairly similar. However, there are far more minorities, specifically African Americans, being incarcerated rather than people of white people. There are way more minorities who are incarcerated than there are white people. Some may say that the difference is a form of systematic oppression.

I view that statement as M. Alexander saying that the United States has set up a system where they are still able to control and oppress the minorities without it being seen as slavery or racism. Deep down when your own research is done, a lot of connections can be made and shown to prove that the system has been set up to oppress the minority.

1. M. Alexander argues that the Reagan administration’s publicization of the crack cocaine crisis was not a benign effort by the government — instead, it served to increase funding for the War on Drugs and inflate incarceration rates. This garnered “public and legislative support for the war”, which may have resulted in the following chain of events: a drug crisis is presented, a politician promises to get drugs off the streets, drug crimes are prosecuted more often and more severely, and therefore the politician is viewed as following through on a promise, bettering their community or nation, etc. In following through, the politician gains supporters. Alexander further refers to the CIA funding the Contras, inhibiting police investigations related to their drug networks, and the almost tenfold increase in penal population as evidence for the employment of such a strategy.

2. According to Alexander, racial disparities in rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes” because studies “show that people of all colors use and sell illegal drugs at remarkably similar rates” (7). Furthermore, there exist surveys that can be interpreted (as data is necessarily interpreted) to suggest that “whites … are more likely to engage in drug crime than people of color” (7). This, however, is not reflected in incarceration rates: in “some states, black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times greater than those of white men” (7). In summary, in her research, Alexander concluded that there was a significant disparity between the drug crime incarceration rate of black men and survey results that suggested that this should not be the case.

3. I take the phrase “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history” to mean that the threat and reality of conviction and incarceration in America is used as a tool to control the masses. Acts deemed undesirable may be punished more severely or prosecuted more often, and we regard the most severely punished crimes, e.g., murder, to be the most heinous. In other words, a penal system might shape how a society views a given crime depending on how severely it is punished through that system.

1. Michelle Alexander argues that the common idea that the War on Drugs was started to deal with the crack cocaine crisis is not true. She says President Reagan announced the war before crack became a big problem. Instead, crack was used later to get support for the war. The media made a big deal about crack, showing negative images of black people, which made people support the war more. People in poor black areas even thought the government was trying to hurt them on purpose by bringing drugs into their neighborhoods. This theory seemed crazy at first, but when the CIA admitted in 1998 that they helped smuggle drugs into the U.S., it made people think twice. This suggests the government might have had other reasons for starting the War on Drugs.
2. Racial disparities in who gets put in jail for drug crimes can’t just be explained by how many people of different races actually commit drug crimes. Studies show that people of all races use drugs at similar rates. But black and brown people are much more likely to be arrested and jailed for drug offenses than white people. For example, in some states, black men are put in prison for drug charges at much higher rates than white men. This suggests that something else, like bias in the justice system, is causing these unfair differences.
3. The American prison system is now locking up more people than any other country in the world. This has never happened before. And it’s not just about punishing criminals. It’s also about controlling certain groups of people, especially black and brown communities. By putting so many people in prison, especially from these communities, the system keeps them down and keeps them from having the same opportunities as others. This helps maintain the existing power structures where certain groups are more privileged than others.

1. Michelle Alexander argues that the explanation for the relatively greater number of people sent to jail in the United States is wrong because the laws and policies implemented are targeting the people of color rather than focusing on the individual or the rates of the crime. Racial bias and systemic discrimination plays a huge part in the high number of people of color in jail today. Michelle Alexander on War on Drugs explains “Most people assume the War on Drugs was launched in response to the crisis caused by crack cocaine in inner-city neighborhoods. This view holds that the racial disparities in drug convictions and sentences, as well as the
   rapid explosion of the prison population, reflect nothing more than the government’s zealous—but benign—efforts to address rampant drug crime in poor, minority neighborhoods” (Alexander 6). In other words, the War on Drugs was used as a cloak to implement laws and policies that marginalized the people of color.
2. Racial disparities in the rates of incarceration cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes due to several reasons. These reasons are: disproportionate enforcement, the discretion of the prosecutor, disparities in giving sentences, the inequality of rights, and biases. According to Michelle Alexander “The racial dimension of mass incarceration is its most striking feature. No
   other country in the world imprisons so many of its racial or ethnic minorities.
   The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population
   than South Africa did at the height of apartheid” (Alexander 6). In other words, despite the similarities of drug usage across racial groups, people of color are disproportionately arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for drug offenses in relation to white people. Prosecutors also have a wide discretion and they choose higher charges against people of color than white people.
3. In my opinion the phrase “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history” suggests that the United States view on imprisonment and punishment is unprecedented. There are very few countries that have similarly high levels of legal equality compared to America. Yet, the ability of police and prosecutors to choose how and when to apply the penal code allows for the selective enforcement against minority groups.

1.The primary argument for the high incarceration rates in the US today, according to Michelle Alexander, is incredibly flawed. She argues that it is false—a common misconception—that rising crime rates and increased incarceration are the main causes of mass incarceration. Instead, she claims that the criminal justice system’s institutionalized racism, particularly in the way drug laws are enforced, is the primary culprit. Alexander draws attention to the ways in which the War on Drugs served as an excuse for the growth of law enforcement organizations, the enlargement of police units, and a decline of civil freedoms, especially in communities of color. She draws attention to the fact that the tough-on-crime laws and mandatory minimum sentences passed during this time, such as three-strikes statutes, increased disparities between races in the criminal justice system and extended the cycles of poverty and incarceration.

2. Because racial differences in incarceration rates are closely linked to systematic racism, unequal enforcement techniques, sentencing disparities, and more general social injustices in society, it is not possible to attribute these disparities only to rates of drug crimes. 

3.The statement, in my opinion, emphasizes the incredible reach and influence of the American criminal justice system as a social control mechanism, reflecting larger trends of structural injustice and inequality in both the criminal justice system and society at large.