“Today in America, we have more people in jail than any other country on earth”, is a bold statement by formal presidential candidate Bernie Sanders that may leave many American citizens in disbelief. Unfortunately, recent statistics show that this statement stands true to popular America today. Living in a country nicknamed the land of the free, it becomes hard to accept that one is living in a country of consistent crime and punishment. At face value, a person-blame approach may reflect the incarceration issue on poverty, minorities, or laziness within individuals. With further evidence, one will have the ability to come to the conclusion that as a whole, America has created a country where minorities must fear imprisonment due to irrational
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At first look, one can look at the laws of drug use and look at it as a neutral law that applies to every individual living in the United States. While the media projects the rates of drug use to be higher in black Americans, evidence shows that predominately white Americans are most likely using illicit drugs in one form or another (Small 897). Minorities are targeted by the criminal justice system and are faced daily with racially skewed charges by prosecutors. Due to the constant charges that are unevenly distributed, this prevents an education, the ability to vote, and a strong family system. While the criminal justice system is disregarding white cocaine drug dealers, they are prosecuting a teenage black American that had a bag of marijuana in his pocket. This produces inherent racism in American’s Law Enforcement that creates stereotypes, stigmas, and provokes fear in the minority population of America that is not deserved (Small 900). Deborah Small writes in a sociological journal that “Most Americans would agree that punitive drug policies relying on harsh sentences would have been changed long ago if Whites were incarcerated on drug charges at the same rate as Blacks and Latinos” (899). Although America cannot change their past racial prosecutions that have created the largest population of incarceration in the world, one can …show more content…
-In award-winning movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, there is this perception of many white, male men living comfortably taking as many pills they could swallow; eventually, leading them to their own arrests. Their arrests occurred due to their financial abuse to others on Wall Street, and not for drugs in any way. While all the movies listed above have to revolve around illegal activities in one way another, it is noted that more movies starring minorities, tend to center around drug distribution. Although this does not seem to be a detrimental issue, an inference is made that African Americans have struggled to represent their own lives because white people have controlled the entertainment industry and can chose how to portray black African Americans (Kulaszewicz 2) Movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street influences the population that rich, white men can do anything without trouble coming of it. Fortunately, while some of the population inevitably watch movies and create stereotypes, many critical constructionists are further studying the effects the media has
At first look, one can look at the laws of drug use and look at it as a neutral law that applies to every individual living in the United States. While the media projects the rates of drug use to be higher in black Americans, evidence shows that predominately white Americans are most likely using illicit drugs in one form or another (Small 897). Minorities are targeted by the criminal justice system and are faced daily with racially skewed charges by prosecutors. Due to the constant charges that are unevenly distributed, this prevents an education, the ability to vote, and a strong family system. While the criminal justice system is disregarding white cocaine drug dealers, they are prosecuting a teenage black American that had a bag of marijuana in his pocket. This produces inherent racism in American’s Law Enforcement that creates stereotypes, stigmas, and provokes fear in the minority population of America that is not deserved (Small 900). Deborah Small writes in a sociological journal that “Most Americans would agree that punitive drug policies relying on harsh sentences would have been changed long ago if Whites were incarcerated on drug charges at the same rate as Blacks and Latinos” (899). Although America cannot change their past racial prosecutions that have created the largest population of incarceration in the world, one can …show more content…
-In award-winning movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, there is this perception of many white, male men living comfortably taking as many pills they could swallow; eventually, leading them to their own arrests. Their arrests occurred due to their financial abuse to others on Wall Street, and not for drugs in any way. While all the movies listed above have to revolve around illegal activities in one way another, it is noted that more movies starring minorities, tend to center around drug distribution. Although this does not seem to be a detrimental issue, an inference is made that African Americans have struggled to represent their own lives because white people have controlled the entertainment industry and can chose how to portray black African Americans (Kulaszewicz 2) Movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street influences the population that rich, white men can do anything without trouble coming of it. Fortunately, while some of the population inevitably watch movies and create stereotypes, many critical constructionists are further studying the effects the media has