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The cases you cite were examples of laws designed to target specific communities in their actual formulation, and which are now gone and deemed reprehensible.
by aisofteng 10y ago
The cases you cite were examples of laws designed to target specific communities in their actual formulation, and which are now gone and deemed reprehensible.
If a community has a high degree of crime that is defined in terms of an act, such as robbery or violence, then high incarceration rates are the obvious effect. The solution is not to ignore that it's happening and let everyone else in those neighborhoods be subject to routine criminal activity. That's ludicrous.
There are indeed systemic flaws in some communities where power is abused. But that's because of those actors, not the laws themselves.
- jandrese 10y agoSo your position is that while the laws were racist in the past it is no longer the case? I think you may be surprised at some of the laws and policies still on the books. The worst part is that it is a self reinforcing cycle. Communities with high crime have heavy handed enforcement and are targeted with punitive laws. This results in many parents behind bars and a general distrust of the police, which combined with lack of opportunities creates another generation of career criminals. Breaking the cycle takes work from both sides, which is why it is important to address police (and law!) reform even if the community isn't responding. You need to keep the door open if you want to have even a chance, and removing the inherent racism in the laws--like making the penalties for crack cocaine much harsher than powdered because blacks use the former and wall street uses the latter.