1. After reading M. Alexander’s ideas, I made a brief classification of the realities surrounding the United States’ practice of incarcerating people. This practice has its roots in negative and stereotypical media coverage of people of color, which has been fueled by the State Department’s extensive economic resources. As a result, poor people of color have been unfairly identified as the root cause of the societal crisis, particularly drug consumption. The impact of this advertising on society has been profound, with many accepting these images as real, true, and accurate to the present day. We have been surrounded by a growing tension of violence in the country due to racial division. Unfortunately, the media has played a significant role in promoting racial divisions and portraying the least privileged groups as the main originators of crime in the US society. Specifically, laws related to drug consumption and possession have been applied unfairly, with disproportionate penalties and incarcerations imposed on people of color and those belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. According to M. Alexander, “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.” (The New Jim Crow, p. 2).
  2. Doing a brief analysis, the Racial disparity cannot be attributed to crime rates because crimes are not solely related to the condition of a person’s skin color. Rather, crimes are the result of human conditions that lead individuals to commit them. For instance, the consumption of illegal drugs is observed in all sectors of society and is influenced by the availability of the product, the possibility of acquisition, and the emotional motivations for consumption. Similarly, the sale of drugs can be found in any racial sector of society, driven by the need for money or the desire for power. People of all skin colors use and sell goods in similar quantities. The reality of the exercise of discrimination in the US legal society has a direct impact on the lives of individuals who will be locked up or locked out. According to M. Alexander, “Michael Tonry, Thinking About Crime, Government decide how much punishment they want, and these decisions are in no simple way related to crime rates.” (The New Jim Crow, p. 5)
  3. Comparing the US social order to other social orders around the world, we can perceive clearly how the American social order is deeply influenced by racial segregation. These factors have created unique gaps within American society in general, that also emerge into the American Penal System, and that are difficult to heal. Despite the government’s efforts to promote unity and equality, the country is still plagued by resentment between sectors generating victims and victimizes in all levels and sectors. Control of the social order is exerted by the same broken individuals of the society, who often release their resentment and take advantage of their positions of power to attack the population that is under their responsibility to defend. According to M. Alexander, “Sociologists have frequently observed that governments use punishment primarily as a tool of social control, and thus the extent or severity of punishment is often unrelated to actual crime patterns.” (The New Jim Crow, p. 5)

Leave a Reply