Deadly Symbiosis

January 29, 2009 11:59 AM

Deadly Symbiosis:Rethinking race and imprisonment in twenty-first-century America.
posted by lunit (16 comments total)

It's not a new article, but I just stumbled across it and don't think it's been posted here yet.
posted by lunit at 11:59 AM on January 29

It's the Reagan Revolution, baby!
posted by Mister_A at 12:03 PM on January 29

Mr. Wacquant (pronounced Vah-KAAHN)

/shatner
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:08 PM on January 29

Amazing article. Thanks for this.
posted by nasreddin at 12:18 PM on January 29

It's that
damn hippety
hop.
posted by cashman at 12:19 PM on January 29

The rate of incarceration for African Americans has soared to levels unknown in any other society

Well I can think of one good reason America's incarceration rate for African Americans is higher than that of other countries...
posted by Jaltcoh at 12:21 PM on January 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

Well clearly the war on drugs has been a smashing success.

The point of the war on drugs was to throw a lot of black people in jail, right? And hippies, of course.
posted by delmoi at 12:23 PM on January 29

To be sure, the penal apparatus has long served as accessory to ethno-racial domination. But the role of the carceral institution today is different. For the first time in U.S. history, it is the primary apparatus for the social production of "race."

posted by lunit at 12:28 PM on January 29

Funny thing is, we are still losing badly in the War on Drugs. Failure is Victory though, in this war.
posted by Mister_A at 12:28 PM on January 29

And the only way to even attempt to fix this is for someone, most likely a majority of someones, to be willing to take it in the jaw politically for being "soft on crime". I've heard absolutely no public debate on this, so even if we're entering some sort of climate where it may be more acceptable it doesn't seem to be on the radar.
posted by cimbrog at 12:30 PM on January 29

It is so not on the radar that Obama has not yet appointed a new "drug czar" i.e. head of ONDCP. It is the last cabinet-level position left with no appointment.

75% of Americans believe the war on drugs is a failure, yet politicians still won't act, for fear of being labeled "soft on crime". The change.gov process where people voted on important issues for the Obama administration to address consistently raised drug policy issues to the top, yet they are getting minimal response.
posted by gingerbeer at 1:06 PM on January 29

The Obama administration really doesn't need to fear being labelled soft on crime, as they aren't due for any of those campaign smear commercials. They are in charge of the executive branch and are in a place to dismantle the drug war. If that doesn't happen, I think it's safe to assume that there's considerable influence by prison corporations (CCA, etc) and police industry into public policy.
posted by crapmatic at 1:24 PM on January 29

I would assert that it is safe now to assume that the prison industrial complex has considerable influence on public policy. I don't think you have to wait for the Obama administration's lack of response.
posted by gingerbeer at 1:53 PM on January 29

Progress is being made, but it's slow and from the bottom up. FAMM is a great organization, and they're making slow but steady progress. And ballot initiatives like the ones in Mass. and Michigan(?) continue to pass.

Things will change, but not with one grand stroke from Congress or the president's pen.
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:01 PM on January 29 [1 favorite has favorites]

And the only way to even attempt to fix this is for someone, most likely a majority of someones, to be willing to take it in the jaw politically for being "soft on crime".

Actually Jim Webb was out there talking about this the other day. The great thing about Jim Webb is that no one would accuse him of being soft on anything.
posted by delmoi at 2:08 PM on January 29

Actually Jim Webb was out there talking about this the other day. The great thing about Jim Webb is that no one would accuse him of being soft on anything.

Perhaps, but he also seems to have a penchant for going it alone. He's 1 of 100, I hope he can get some proper backup.
posted by cimbrog at 5:45 AM on January 30