Everything we do affects us all

April 16, 2015

The Demise of the Good Cop. An American Tragedy

The tragedy is that since the Drug War started under President Nixon the police have been forced, by law, to enforce laws that the general public despises because they lead to massive prison sentences for non-violent crimes.
And too, after the massive tax cuts for the rich under President Reagan the Police have been forced to become 'Revenue Generators' arresting people for small traffic infractions and charging many times more in fines than ever before.
This has lead to Police being hated and in turn hating the populace they 'serve'. That leads to a situation where only anti-social/mean people are the main ones attracted to police work...and we see the results. 
I have spoken with many southern Black folks of my age (60) who remember things as I do, which is, that despite our progress on race laws, the end result of our drug laws and our 'Police as revenue officers' has made life harder and more violent for all of us.
In 1972 the Prison Population in the USA was 300,000. In 2014 it reached 2,300,000. While our population increased 50% our prison population increased 666%!  
Tragic.

2 comments:

  1. If you remember strict drug laws were in response to outcries from the black community concerning the ravaging effects crack had when it came on the scene.

    The people wanted stricter laws and the politicians obliged.

    However, if you want drug offenders out of prison then decriminalize all drugs with the stipulation that anyone who wants to do drugs will not be allowed to be treated or enter any rehab at taxpayer expense. Any crime committed under the influence or for the purchase of drugs such as robbery or murder will immediately disqualify that person from receiving any government benefits for life.

    There is no free lunch. You want to do or sell drugs then you're on your own.

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  2. I don't have any problem with your suggestions, but the Drug War started in 1971, a long time before Crack. In fact Crack would have never been invented except for the crackdown on cocaine, making it extremely expensive. Crack is a way to use it more efficiently. And in fact, if the Coca leaf was legal to import almost all coca users would simply chew the leaves and make a tea from them as they do in South America.
    http://www.drugpolicy.org/new-solutions-drug-policy/brief-history-drug-war

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