So, how did we get into the prison mess in which we find ourselves? To recap part 01, we have the highest prison population in the world, both in numbers, and in the percentage of our residents who are in jail.
But, the situation that the Pew report lays out is even sadder than what has been reported so far. The Pew report goes on to say:
“For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling. While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine. Gender adds another dimension to the picture. Men still are roughly 10 times more likely to be in jail or prison, but the female population is burgeoning at a far brisker pace. For black women in their mid- to late-30s, the incarceration rate also has hit the 1-in- 100 mark. Growing older, meanwhile, continues to have a dramatic chilling effect on criminal behavior. While one in every 53 people in their 20s is behind bars, the rate for those over 55 falls to one in 837.”
Statistics of this type have led to a large number of debates. Unfortunately, most of these debates have followed a rather doctrinaire line. And, it is that statistic, that over 10% of black males are in jail, that has led to the most heated debates. There is no doubt that there is one side that tends to assign too much blame for the incarceration on the tendency of police to more quickly arrest a black person, and on judges who tend to statistically give higher sentences to blacks. In passing, that is a measured tendency, not simply opinion. This has led to a set of classic black jokes that express the bitterness that so many in their community are serving jail time. For instance, there is the joke that says that the best way to keep from being stopped or arrested is to have a white driver. But, in the midst of the jokes, there is often little attempt to try to recognize the tremendous cultural disunity present that prevents successful outcomes.
But, there is another side that wishes to hide their eyes from the damage that has been done to the black community by both slavery, the decades of Jim Crow laws, and the existence of a glass ceiling for many years for blacks. That side argues that it is all, and merely, personal responsibility. If “they” wished to rise up, they have all the opportunity in the world in the USA. Because their incarceration rate is less than 3%, they do not see, nor do they experience regular negative interactions with the police. This side often latches on to any example of any person who has “made it out” of “those” settings, as though a few examples proves that there are no barriers on the road to success. They do not see that in giving those few examples, they judge the vast majority of black people as being “shiftless” and “not being really willing to work.”
Obviously, neither viewpoint is a correct viewpoint. And there are people, such as Dr. Bill Cosby, that have been trying to speak a message that is neither one nor the other. If to the black community Dr. Cosby has spoken on the need for the community to take responsibility for itself, he has done so without rejecting the Rev. Jesse Jacksons of the black community. That is, Dr. Cosby has never denied the reality of the bias that is present in American culture. He has simply told the black community that they cannot live according to the reality of that bias, but must reject it and create their own healthy reality.
But, the realities above still do not explain why our prison population is the highest in the United States. I would claim that part of the explanation is found in the political efforts to demonize the candidate of whatever party you do not belong to and in a curious amalgam of politics and a certain type of Protestant theology.
===MORE TO COME===
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