1. While many blamed the black and brown communities for the amount of drugs that hit the streets, M. Alexander argues these communities are in fact not the ones to blame. Due to this phenomenon multitudes of people were incarcerated wrongfully. Alexander claims that after the media got a hold of the stories, “stereotypes” began against the poor black communities, which again, led to more arrest. Many terms were then brought up referring to those who actually did use the drugs, however, this set the picture of, “all”, taking a part in the drug epidemic. She also comments that the administration at the time had a role in how the situation was handles, and on who the blame was being put on. Even the CIA new about how the drugs were coming in to the country but didn’t address it or confront the truth of the situation.

2. The use of drugs and incarceration can not be linked to just one specific group, even by studies. It is not fair to say one group of people either sell or use more than another, based on numbers of colored people. Different characteristics need to be taken into place to properly asses the numbers, and perhaps then try to understand further.

3.I believe this quote means, the “system” is set up to prey on one specific group rather than others, making this an unparalleled, or not fair system for all. Rather than being a system that is fair to all, making this a form of socially controlling the population in a precise manner.

M. Alexander claims that the many explanation of why so many people are sent to prison in the U.S today is deeply wrong. According to her mass incarceration is a system that was put in place to radically and socially control minorities especially people of color. It is believe by conspiracy theorists that the CIA the Government had intentionally sought the destruction of the Black community by allowing illegal drug to be smuggled into the country, it was ironic to them that the drug crisis appeared in the community before the WAR on Drugs had been declared. Alexander also stated that “No other country in the world imprison so many of its racial or ethnic minorities” her argument is that different legal factors have combined to mean both that people of color are more likely to be targeted by police and receive longer sentence for their crimes.

Racial Disparities cannot be explained by rates of drugs crimes because Studies shows that all people of all color use and sell illegal drugs at similar rate. It is suggested that whites especially white youth are more likely to engage in drug crime then people of color, yet our prisons and jails are over flowed with black and brown drug offenders.

“The American Penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world History” that phrase to me means that the system is there to control minorities and people of color, it is systematically racist because it is set up as such, if a person of color and a white person commits that same crime they would receive different punishment. A Black person would receive a high prison sentence while the White people walks away with a slap on the wrist.

1. Michelle Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today on the basis of black and brown communities abusing drug use is deeply wrong. According to the reading “black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times greater than those of white men”. This shows that black minorities are being incarcerated more than whites for drug use and having illegal substances. This has lead to suffering of the black community from racial discrimination through law and an ongoing issue since the war on drug in the 1980s and 1990s. She writes that the war on drugs was declared before they started specifically targeting these communities and claiming that they were abusing illegal substances when in fact “the CIA admitted in 1998 that guerilla armies, it actively supported in Nicaragua were smuggling illegal drugs into the United States—drugs that were making their way onto the streets of inner-city black neighborhoods in the form of crack cocaine”. This further shows that what continues to be the main reason for mass incarceration today is extremely wrong and should stop.

2.Racial disparities in the rate of incarceration cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes because according to the reading, studies show that people of all colors use all illegal drugs at remarkably the same rate. This would not support the idea that members of the black community are often incarcerated due to drug use because they are not the only users of drugs. Alexander writes, “If there are significant differences in the surveys to be found, they frequently suggest that whites, particularly white youth, are more likely to engage in drug crime than people of color.” This shows that white people are just as involved in drug use but that is not portrayed and therefore they are not targeted. So one can say that people of color are often going to jail and targeted based on race and it has nothing to do with rates of drug crime.   

3.The phrase “ the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history “ to my understanding means the Americans created a system that if you committed a crime ,you will be punished for the crimes against society that is unfamiliar in world history. There are a lot of social controls against people of color in the american penal system. Black and brown people’s voting rights were removed from them as soon as they got into prison. There wasn’t any aid for them outside of the prison which resulted in them being in a social imprisonment. The social imprisonment caused black and brown people not being able to apply for an apartment, receiving student loans or even applying for a job. The article states “in major cities wracked by the drug war, as many as 80 percent of young African American men now have criminal records and are thus subject to legalized discrimination for the rest of their lives. These young men are part of a growing undercaste, permanently locked up and locked out of mainstream society”. These issues are a form of social control that In America that is very different from the rest of the world. This often leads to them going back to prison because of lack of opportunity in the community and keeping them from being able to excel in society.

Michelle Alexander raises a number of important and interesting points. Let’s start a discussion centered on the following questions:

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)

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

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

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