Black in America

Lately, there's been a lot of noise about what is happening in the Black community, especially black men. In a recent article in AlterNet, the author brings up an alarming statistic that one in three black men born in 2001 will spend time in prison. She brings up the following point:

What's going on here? No one's denying that crimes are being committed. But the real, underlying questions are how we define criminal behavior; how we decide to punish that behavior; and why, in the face of declining crime rates, are prison numbers – especially for people of color – climbing year by year?

Take California's ten-year anniversary of the "Three Strikes and You're Out" law earlier this year. The law was supposed to take care of the "worst of the worst," but it has been bad news all the way around. Men and women have gotten life sentences for shoplifting, for repeat petty offenses, and out of the very nature of their persistent and untreated drug habits. By the end of 2003, it had cost the cash-strapped state about $8.1 billion in incarceration costs.

She doesn't defend criminals of any color. She states that in many states, whites dominate the incarcerated population. Rather, she sees it as a "national crisis" -- where the "War on Drugs" and crime has turned into a war on the poor (a stark contrast to a war on poverty). It's not that people of color necessarily dominate the population of the poor in this country (that's a stat I would need to look up), it's that the bulk of the population of colored people (namely blacks) are poor. Add in other societal factors and historical precedents, and you get to our present situation. This is a complex issue. You can't explain it all simply with "racism". Nor can you explain and deal with it like Bill Cosby (go here for the reaction). Personal responsibility to live up to the legacy of the Brown decision is one thing, but Cosby seems to forget that most poor black folks are good citizens who struggle mightily to make ends meet. It's not cut and dry, especially when you're not a wealthy actor. I agree with many of his points, but he just sounds elitist and downright old fartsy, out of touch with young blacks.

It is not an easy problem to fix. While you can't give criminals a free pass, it is also not realistic to merely throw everyone in the pen. This is the progressive side of the issue of crime and penalty in America. We are not soft on crime, nor do we condone it. Rather, we question the guidelines, standards, and laws that define crime. For example, why are those who commit petty offenses locked up in penitentiaries? Do current drug laws make sense? Do current standards for gun ownership make sense? We seek to find realistic solutions and eliminate the causes of criminal behavior. For example, it's not news that it makes sense to say, take the money from tax breaks to the wealthy, to do things like increase the minimum wage and decrease the cost of medical expenses. It makes sense to put money into poor neighborhoods to strengthen community pride. It makes sense to support and improve public schools. It makes sense to fund drug rehab and prevention programs.

I know, this is not the only solution, but it helps. So you can't eliminate crime altogether, but you can lower the chances of someone committing a crime. Don't get me wrong, serious crimes such as murder and rape should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There's no way truly rationalize or defend those crimes. Life sentences are fine with me. I'm not opposed to the death penalty, either (just the qualifications to warrant it, and how often it's carried out).

One last thing. Just a moral standards question. If it's so easy to be prosecuted for drug offenses, why is it so hard to be prosecuted for corporate fraud?