Chapter 2 and 3 in The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander discusses the injustice involved with incarcerations related to drug use. While reading it, I wondered why there is so little interest on the subject when a lot of the issues with the War on Drugs sound preposterous. For instance, Alexander explains the conflict of interest with police stations in terms of arrests. For example, she states that police officers had an incentive for making random searches in order to get more people arrested in order to get increase their budget and by having a stake in the confiscated assets of drug related crimes. In fact, the book gave an example where a former officer stated that the Pentagon would give any equipment needed for the drug war. These weapons made it possible for police and SWAT team members to storm into a house and confiscated a Learjet from a millionaire who was suspected for owning drugs yet none were found. I wonder what would happen if the cases Alexander bring up were to be brought into a more mainstream audience. It also appeared as a surprise to me because I am pretty sure that if more individuals were aware of the treatment that the incarcerated faced, there would be more activists. However, if imprisonment and drug users become more stigmatized from society due to media influence, I fear that many individuals will refuse to care about their rights.

Another thing from the two chapters that I enjoyed was Alexander’s acknowledgement of how improbable the War on Drug’s policies would be if it were attached to white middle class Americans. In fact, she labeled the action as political suicide. On top of that many judges are against the unjust protocol of sentencing. Her example of a case of an individual who was charged with possessing powdered cocaine instead of crack cocaine was brought to attention. Black individuals frequently used crack cocaine, while more affluent white individual used powdered cocaine. In the case, the judge’s sentence was appealed and the defendant was sent back to prison for an additional 10 years after he married and had his own family. This gives an image of the chips being stacked against Black and Brown Americans. The SWAT home invasions on fraternity houses and suburban houses with affluent and well represented connections where drugs are equally as prevalent is disregarded for poor urban environments where the individuals at that location would be unable to get much of a representation. My anticipation for Alexander’s solution for the injustice against young Black males grows even stronger. At this moment, I would think that financial incentives should be cut from police stations, and I also think assistive housing and employers should not be required to know about whether or not an applicant was previously arrested. Although this would not immediately solve the problem, it would curb the major incentive for more arrests and for former prisoners to successfully reintegrate into society.