The Importance Of Mass Incarceration

Alexander explains to us that the mass incarceration of black men is nothing new. Biased police practices were a recurring theme of African American runaway slaves. The treating of criminals as less than dates back to ancient Greece. Racial minorities were always overrepresented. Today, the War on Drugs has given birth to a system of mass incarceration that governs not just a small fraction of a racial or ethnic minority, but entire communities of color, everyone is either directly or indirectly subject to the new caste system. We live in a different time when the nature of the criminal justice system has changed. It is no longer concerned with primarily the prevention and punishment of crime, but rather with the management and control of the dispossessed.

Minorities and social structures have set themselves up to be pawns in a much bigger picture. When you hear politicians talk about a better society and cleaning up the streets, it is primarily piggybacking off of the back of the fear society has for violent crime. In their speeches they use a play on words, like safer streets and neighborhoods. What is missing from the scenario, are the intentions on helping those unfortunate individuals that are in need of help. What you hear is stricter sanctions on punitive punishment and not solutions or treatments for the problems. The way I see it, is that the law looks at the right here and right now. Many of these individuals that are incarcerated will eventually return to society in worse shape than when they went in. Initiatives should be put into play for prevention. Studies have shown that an individual that is incarcerated for something minor has a greater chance of becoming an actual criminal or a repeat offender, than before they went in. In layman’s term, prison is a school for