It was very distressing to read about the hard life facing newly released prisoners, and the mistreatment that they are forced to put up with, sometimes for the rest of their lives, seemed extreme. However, although Michelle Alexander did manage to evoke some sympathy in me in this chapter, it wasn’t until I was thinking about it afterwards that I realized how hypocritical it all is. It is easy to read Chapter 4 and claim that you would not discriminate against someone with criminal history or an arrest history, even if it is non-violent crime, but we all do it. When we discriminate against people who have been arrested or convicted it isn’t out of racism or misjudgement or lack of knowledge, but out of the desire to keep ourselves safe. There are obviously innocents who get mislabeled as felons, and Michelle Alexander would argue that some people arrested or convicted for possessing drugs should not be labeled as felons. While discretion should obviously be applied when making serious choices that effect other people’s lives and the details of their convictions/arrests should be taken into account, there comes a point when we must put ourselves first.