The Dionysian Trap
Let's assume that there is inherent, rampant, and malicious racial injustice ingrained in every stage of the criminal justice system. Let's say that at every phase of his interaction with the criminal justice system, a young black man will be treated patently unfairly. Whether or not this is the case, let's assume, just for today, that this is a factual truth.
Assuming the above, isn't there a more important issue? Isn't the bigger issue why the young black man's belief system, values and resultant behaviors lead him to disproportionally frequent interactions with the criminal justice system in the first place?
posted by Young Atticus @ 7:02 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Well, assuming above, I see no reason to think that a particular young black man has any control over his interaction with the system. That is, provided the police count as part of the criminal justice system as you define it. After all, the police are the gatekeepers of the system, no?
But I'm interested to see where you might be going with this. Is this headed towards a Bill Cosby moment?
Is it really the young black man's belief system and values that lead to the resultant behavior? If so, how does he come to hold those beliefs and values? How much of it is inherited and how much of it is shaped by his experiences in the larger society? If oppression exists still, if racism still exists, then might the young black man develop some of his beliefs and adopt some of his values because that is what society expects of him? If the "self-fulfilling prophecy" theory does apply here, then where do we intervene to break the cycle? How do we prevent the young black man in question from interacting with the criminal justice system in the first place?
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