Mass incarceration curiously came into existence right after the civil rights movement and it would not be difficult to assume it came into being as reaction to it. Michael Foucault calls the mass incarceration of the current era "Punishment as a political tactic."
Rehabilitation, although the logical and most beneficial solution, both to the law-breaker and the public in general, plays only a small role, if any at all, in prison system. This is because the system was not built with the thought of the advancement of society, but as a vehicle for race and class control. Personally, I had never considered this connection, mostly because, as Alexander says, the rhetoric has changed. It is understood as a social crime in itself to discriminate …show more content…
Drugs are a big problem, be they in poor and black communities, or rich and white. While added tolerance on drug crimes might help those one-time or small offenders who seriously wish to turn their life around, or the inevitably vulnerable to life on the street, in the long run it would increase... If with such stringent and unforgiving measures, drugs are still found in our schools, our workplaces, our communities, then the loosening of the governments grip on drug criminals would seem to also serve to encourage more drug trade. Many people like to point to prohibition when arguing the legalization of some drugs. They say, when the ban on alcohol was lifted, the booze-smuggling underground gangsters were destroyed and alcohol consumption returned to its normal level and the appeal of the reckless excessive partying was lost when the drink was legalized. Yet the problems rising from excessive alcohol consumption still hurt society today. An alarming number of driving accidents, incidents of domestic violence, rapes and sexual assaults can be traced to alcohol consumption, which makes us wonder, what would have happened if the ban were never lifted? Even "harmless" drugs like marijuana can have serious effects on a minor's brain development, cause respiratory issues, and serve as a gateway to other more damaging and addicting drugs.
Nonetheless, mass incarceration is a grave problem
Rehabilitation, although the logical and most beneficial solution, both to the law-breaker and the public in general, plays only a small role, if any at all, in prison system. This is because the system was not built with the thought of the advancement of society, but as a vehicle for race and class control. Personally, I had never considered this connection, mostly because, as Alexander says, the rhetoric has changed. It is understood as a social crime in itself to discriminate …show more content…
Drugs are a big problem, be they in poor and black communities, or rich and white. While added tolerance on drug crimes might help those one-time or small offenders who seriously wish to turn their life around, or the inevitably vulnerable to life on the street, in the long run it would increase... If with such stringent and unforgiving measures, drugs are still found in our schools, our workplaces, our communities, then the loosening of the governments grip on drug criminals would seem to also serve to encourage more drug trade. Many people like to point to prohibition when arguing the legalization of some drugs. They say, when the ban on alcohol was lifted, the booze-smuggling underground gangsters were destroyed and alcohol consumption returned to its normal level and the appeal of the reckless excessive partying was lost when the drink was legalized. Yet the problems rising from excessive alcohol consumption still hurt society today. An alarming number of driving accidents, incidents of domestic violence, rapes and sexual assaults can be traced to alcohol consumption, which makes us wonder, what would have happened if the ban were never lifted? Even "harmless" drugs like marijuana can have serious effects on a minor's brain development, cause respiratory issues, and serve as a gateway to other more damaging and addicting drugs.
Nonetheless, mass incarceration is a grave problem