Virtual Racism in the Modern Era: Case of United States - Term Paper Example

Virtual Racism in the Modern Era: Case of United s Introduction Different human societies have believed for many generations that laws are formulated to guide and enhance the well-being of civilization. But this has come to be a vague notion in regards to Jim Crow. Jim Crow was a term used to define laws that were set to promote segregation based on ones race in the United States in the late 18th century (Web). This law enhanced discrimination of the Blacks by the Whites. In the article, Alexander scrutinizes the US constitution, the criminal justice system, and the prison system, to reveal how these systems are still ineffective in ensuring democracy for all. She states out how mass imprisonment has become the new system of encouraging racism against the Black, even after numerous campaigns on equal rights to all people (Alexander 3). In support of these claims, discrimination in the modern world has taken a new form that has been hidden in the flawed American prison system, mass imprisonment of Blacks, questionable judicial system (Cole 5). The analogy between the original and the New Jim Crow is a success if the criminal justice system, ratio of inmates in relation to ethnicity, the race linked to war on drugs and violation of civil liberties are considered. Evidence of Racial Discrimination Mass imprisonment of African Americans as compared to the Whites in the US has represented the prevalence of new Jim Crow that aims to segregate people in the society based on race. This method is perceived as the new Jim Crow since Blacks are sent to prison on the basis of fighting crime. Even though US in amongst the powerful nations globally and prides itself with the democratic form of leadership, the number of prisoners in this country is at an alarming rate. All people are susceptible to committing an offense regardless of the skin color or ethnic group. But this is proved wrong by the vast number of African Americans sentenced to prison in comparison to the Whites. Alexander (184) discovers that in Illinois, approximately 90% of convicts are African Americans. These statistics clearly indicate the degree of racism in the new age has taken a different course that needs critical analysis to understand its prevalence in the US. Mass imprisonment of African Americans has put democracy of this state on trial as it is false to assert that Blacks are more vulnerable to commit a crime than Whites. Manipulation of constitutional rights by people who do not want to embrace democracy, has led to the emergence of new Jim Crow in US since the right of some people are violated through biased actions. All citizens in US have equal rights according to the constitution, and no person regardless of race must be discriminated in any manner. This right is thwarted by unlawful and biased acts that indicate how some constitutional rights have been manipulated to oppress the African Americans and the Latinos to some extent as it emerges (Provine 37). The 4th Amendment on protection against unreasonable searches has been diluted by presence of "stop-and-frisk" policy used by the police in the streets. However, searches on Whites tend to be far much less as compared to frisk done on Blacks. Police have developed the notion that Blacks are more likely to be the possession of drugs and firearms hence the need to search them and even their residence. This creates a picture of how racism is still prevalent in the US against non-whites. The trust people had in the judicial system to deliver justice is fading due to racial discrimination. The legal system, which is supposed to promote and enhance criminal justice system, has been viewed by LCCR & LCEF (25) as one of the factors that represent the ancient Jim Crow. It is mandated to provide justice to all regardless of race and ensure those caught in the criminal act get proper treatment until they are convicted of their offenses. However, this has turned out to be an illusion whereby majority of the African American convicted to prison did not pass through a detailed criminal justice procedure. Many White offenders are well treated from the moment they are caught breaking the law and go through the whole process until the sentencing stage in comparison to the blacks (Cole 146). It is found that Blacks are not even given time to plea for their case or bargain. For this reason, many blacks aged between 14-22 years are sentenced to prison due to cases such as drugs, an offense that translates to imprisonment. Assumptions on the behavior and lifestyle of different races have been the catalytic factor in facilitating racial injustices. This is drawn from the early years of slavery whereby use of force was mandatory on the Blacks for them to serve their masters, the Whites. Therefore, this assumption that Blacks belong to the second-class and are subjects to the Whites has been passed from one generation to another. These assumptions are the cause of the modern Jim Crow that has taken the form massive incarceration. In order to make African American subjects to the Whites, Chesney-Lind and Mauer (Ch 7) identifies prison as the cage used to hold the Blacks as slaves. Moreover, the effects of being convicted are much more severe than being in jail itself. Blacks from prison are tagged as felons, who carry along serious consequences when they want to start a new life and interact with the society. They are denied employment and suffer accommodation discrimination due to their records on crime, and they even face a tougher task of communicating back in the society. Chesney-Lind and Mauer terms this as invisible punishment that African Americans have to go through to pay for their mistakes and links this discrimination in housing and employment to the earlier slavery of the Blacks. This shows how racism is being practiced virtually in the US society so as not to capture the attention of the whole world, even though it is being fought Counter arguments to Racial Injustice However, representation of new Jim Crow by mass incarceration has faced some criticism from various scholars. It argues that Alexander’s book on new Jim Crow focuses on the drug war and leaves behind violent crime that it terms as an insignificant offense. Forman argues that violent crime indeed is the most common offense done on a daily basis and that assaults committed by African American to their colleagues are much higher than drug crime. Forman challenges that black communities are more likely to commit a crime than the Whites, and this justifies the racial disparities in the prison population. However, Forman may be right in the negligence of Alexander’s findings on violent crime. But Whites are also likely to assault other people although their numbers in prison are still small compared to the African Americans and the Latinos. This shows the height of racial biasness in apprehending and sentencing citizens of the US, who deserve equal chance and rights. Barrow counters this book by arguing that it has inclined so much on Blacks being imprisoned for an offense related to drugs. Barrow argues that drug crime is a serious offense and anyone caught committing this offense is liable to suffer the consequences regardless of the race. Barrow further goes to point out a weakness in Alexander’s writing claiming that her book enhances radicalism amongst her readers. The book according to him aims at tarnishing the image of the Whites in US on a quest to fight racism and promote equal representation rights. He supports the use of prisons as a social control tool for perpetrators. However, Barrow fails to realize that the population of Blacks in prison is at a higher rate compared to Whites, who are portrayed as law followers and not breakers. Prison should not be used as a tool to deny prisoners the freedom to housing and employment after completing their jail term. The increased number of Black convicts in prison in the 1960s to 1980s proved that crime continued to occur, and this explains that even Whites are prone to breaking the law to the same degree as the African Americans. Conclusion Racial discrimination not only does it slow down economic growth but also leads to radicalization in the society. Mass imprisonment as a way to segregate people of certain ethnic group can be viewed as the new technique to subjecting this ethnic group to the previous ‘slavery’ in the early days. Racism is a contagious disease that spreads through the society like a bush fire. It is a practice that can be done unconsciously since the racist person might view it as a norm depending on how the culture has shaped it to be. Alexander points out the criminal justice system that relies on the judicial system as being manipulated, and this poses a problem as it results to racial injustices. Mass campaign and education against discrimination needs to be brought back since new Jim Crow is gradually emerging in our society through the unbalanced mass imprisonment. Constitutional rights and freedom ought to be enjoyed by all people in the society regardless of skin color. Those individuals caught doing crime should be subjected to justice in the required manner outlined by the constitution of the US. Justice belongs to all and prison belongs only to law breakers; therefore criminal justice should not be biased but ensure perpetrator are brought to book. Alexander’s argument towards war on drugs should not be lenient towards one race and harsh on another race. Both Whites and African American are susceptible to using drugs and both race need to pass through similar arm of justice. Through equal treatment and justice, the new Jim Crow will not prevail as our prisons will hold offenders convicted of the crime they did, and they are paying for what they did justly Works Cited "A Brief History of Jim Crow." - Constitutional Rights Foundation. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. . Alexander, Michelle. “New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” New York: The New Press, 2010 Chesney-Lind M and Mauer M. “Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment.” New York: The New Press, 2013 Cole David. “No Equal Justice.” Criminal Law Commons. 1.1 (2010): 19-33. Georgetown University Law Center. Web. 3 Dec. 2014 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights & Leadership Conference Education Fund (LCCR & LCEF). “Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System.” PA: Diane Publishing, 2000. Web. 3 Dec 2014. Provine, Marie, D. “Unequal under Law: Race in the War on Drugs.” Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. Read More