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Jeremiah asked this question about The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness:
Serious question: If blacks (and minorities in general) are disproportionately charged for drug offenses, why don't they stop using/selling drugs?
Brandon I will answer your question but first let me ask you a question. If we know for a fact that minorities are unfairly targeted, why do we not seek to ch…moreI will answer your question but first let me ask you a question. If we know for a fact that minorities are unfairly targeted, why do we not seek to change that as well instead of or even in addition to telling people to do better?

Your question falls in line to the "Respectability" narrative she speaks of within the book that was often preached by Cosby (of all people) and Obama. But often times it is not as simple as just don't do/sell drugs. I guess that it could be that simple for recreational uses. But those users are not the only people who turn to drugs. Some get hooked through pain killers, some to cope with stress/depression. Many users are victims and should be treated as such instead of having their lives ruined and ripped apart with drug convictions. Now that the Opioids epidemic has sprouted and essentially has a white face, the narrative around addiction and how to deal with addicts has changed, even despite the fact that many users are obtaining the drugs illegally.

Also, back to the "respectability" politics. Obama and many others have gone on record to admitting to using drugs as young adults and they went on to have brilliant careers. Yet they still allow so many young adults to have their lives derailed that have essentially done the same things as them. It is hypocrisy.

For those caught selling, of course they have to take some accountability. But wherever there is a demand, there is going to be a market and someone willing to provide that product, whether legally or illegally. So if the "War on Drugs" was really a war on "Drugs" and not disenfranchised people, it would seem as though that those waging the war would be looking for ways to curb the demand as well. Now I guess you could argue that is what they are "trying" to do by criminalizing possession but that has been fruitless. So it makes you wonder what the real end goal is. This book answers that and more.(less)
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The New Jim Crow
by Michelle Alexander
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