Denmark Vesey: 3 STRIKES LAW = MODERN SLAVERY?

Sunday, April 22, 2007

3 STRIKES LAW = MODERN SLAVERY?

Two-thirds of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8 is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the "war on drugs," in which three-fourths of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color.

What are America's black attorneys doing about this discrepancy?

Michael Fisher said...: The Hon. Elijah Muhammad had a solution for the racist justice system:

Stay away from criminality, mind your own business, build your own business, if they come to take your stuff, defend yourself with a vengence.

De facto the American justyice system as far as black folk is concerned always had a "three strike law". Heck, a "one strike law". If you f***d up they'd hang a black man for an offense fr which they'd give house arrest to a white guy.

Thus... don't give 'em any excuses. There's no need for any of us to get into the drug trade on any level. period.

Denmark Vesey said...

"There's no need for any of us to get into the drug trade on any level. period." Michael Fisher

Who's "us" Mike?

Does "us" include Pfizer? Does "us" include Merk? Does "us" include GlaxcoSmithKline who reported profits of over $5.8 billion last year?

Or does "us" mean everyone except rich white men and corporations?

Massa can deal all the drugs he wants for "social anxiety" disorder and to sedate kids with which no one wants to deal.

But not underclass brothers from the street. Nooooo. Umm. Um. Can't have the peasants creating markets and dominating an industry. No sir. Too much power in that.

Diabetes killed over 80,000 Americans last year. Less than 600 people died from Cocaine use.

It should be illegal to sell High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not marijuana. Regulate it. Control it. Tax it. Making it illegal artificially supports the price making it profitable to deal.

Warehousing 2 million human beings is not in the interest of America.

9 comments:

Michael Fisher said...: The Hon. Elijah Muhammad had a solution for the racist justice system:

Stay away from criminality, mind your own business, build your own business, if they come to take your stuff, defend yourself with a vengence.

De facto the American justyice system as far as black folk is concerned always had a "three strike law". Heck, a "one strike law". If you f***d up they'd hang a black man for an offense fr which they'd give house arrest to a white guy.

Thus... don't give 'em any excuses. There's no need for any of us to get into the drug trade on any level. period.; Apr 22, 2007, 7:32:00 PM
Anonymous said...: “Or does "us" mean everyone except rich white men and corporations?

Massa can deal all the drugs he wants for "social anxiety" disorder and to sedate kids with which no one wants to deal.

But not underclass brothers from the street. Nooooo. Umm. Um. Can't have the peasants creating markets and dominating an industry. No sir. Too much power in that.

Diabetes killed over 80,000 Americans last year. Less than 600 people died from Cocaine use.

It should be illegal to sell High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not marijuana. Regulate it. Control it. Tax it. Making it illegal artificially supports the price making it profitable to deal.

Warehousing 2 million human beings is not in the interest of America."

- DV

We could close up shop with all the currency this truth earns. BUT.....since we don't make, enforce or even collectively fight the uneven policies and practices which allow so much gross differentiation in practice and punishment, what is wrong with advocating for the separation of brotha's and the drug/crime trade? Either that or gather the minds and resources to make the necessary changes, in both the law and the chasm of perception in the way America sees the white corporate drug runner versus the black/brown.; Apr 23, 2007, 1:07:00 AM
Michael Fisher said...: You could've been nice enough to clean up some of my typos before putting my comment on the main page.

No matter.

DV, 116th and 8th in Harlem, the corner where my family lived for more than thirty years, was probably the worst drug spot in NYC. Loooong before crack.

People got shot there, seems to me, every night.

I saw my first actual murder at 14 or 15 in broad daylight looking out of the 8th Avenue bus a block up from there.

It was the first of quite a few I saw.

It's a mutha**** if all you have to do to witness a murder is to walk down the streets of your neighborhood.

My grandma hardly ever left the house for years. She was lucky the subway station was right there on the corner of our apartment building.

It got to the point that I got so immune to seeing brothers killed by other brothers that by sometime in 1976 or 1977 or so when I once again saw a brother got shot on 8th and 127th, I shrugged my shoulders, went down to the Shabazz Fish and Chips on 125th and got something to eat 'cause I was hungry.

An hour later I walked by the spot again - the brother was gone, the innards and the blood had been hosed off the sidewalk into the gutter.

It was all about the local drug trade.

Truely, I don't give a f**k what Pfizer does or doesn't do. The illegal drug trade has devastated our communities.

We've been dealing with home-grown terrorists for decades.

As far as I am concerned any of these guys who've actually been part of the trade can rot in a dungeon for all I care.

If I had had to choose between these guys' freedom and my grandma's, my choice would've been easy... F**k em.; Apr 23, 2007, 2:27:00 AM
Michael Fisher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; Apr 23, 2007, 2:57:00 AM
Michael Fisher said...: Oh, before I forget, another thing.

De facto, drugs have been legal in our communities since they flooded them (Harlem in particular) with heroin in the late sixties after the rise of the Black Power movement.

Anytime any resident of the South Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn, or, I guess, Queens (I never really hung out there) can point out any number of drug spots and PoPo for the life of them "can't find them", the drug trade is de facto legal.

It wasn't a pretty sight seeing black folk nodding out while standing up all over the place, on a corner, on the subway, whatever.

(I never understood how they could maintain their balance)

You go to the little neighborhood park and gotta be careful not to step or sit onto a dirty needle.

That argument of yours is all suburbia-livin' House Negro bulls***.; Apr 23, 2007, 2:59:00 AM
Michael Fisher said...: By the way... Why you got Gene up there? He ain't exactly an attorney on this side of the law...; Apr 23, 2007, 3:08:00 AM
Denmark Vesey said...: My apologies Brother Mike. Didn't notice typos. Thought it was a good piece.

You tell an emotional story.

Sadly there are few black people who can't tell a similar story about the ravages of the illicit drug trade on our families.

The problem is little tough guy "War on drugs" speeches don’t work. The drug problem would have been fixed long ago if they did.

Your fear and hatred of black men causes you to not only blame Hip Hop for all of our woes, but also to endorse an anti-drug policy that HAS NEVER reduced drug use. In reality the fake “War On Drugs” is a “War on People” and people are losing. Especially black men.

FACT
In 1977, the total US jail and prison population was 540,000, or about one-quarter the size it is today. Drug offenders accounted for a 6% of all prisoners.

Fact
Today there are over 2,200,000 people in jail and prison in America. 24% are drug offenders.

Fact
America is adding 1,000 new prisoners a week to the jail and prison population.

Americans use more illegal drugs today than they have ever in the history of this nation.

Mike, when Ivy League Plantation Negros like you work up enough nerve to think out of the box and to stop imitating “Massa” our people will be a lot better off.

The criminalization of drug use makes the private prison industry rich.

What are black lawyers doing about these arcane laws destroying our people?

Where are all those corporate negros, so adept at listing the ills of the Hip Hop industry?

When is Oprah going to have private prison industry executives on to defend their lobbying efforts for even tougher sentencing laws?; Apr 23, 2007, 3:46:00 AM
Michael Fisher said...: Me? Fear and hatred of Black Men? Oh, Lawd. Dat' Negro done smoke a toke too many.; Apr 23, 2007, 4:53:00 AM
Anonymous said...: DV Said...
Your fear and hatred of black men causes you to not only blame Hip Hop for all of our woes, but also to endorse an anti-drug policy that HAS NEVER reduced drug use. In reality the fake “War On Drugs” is a “War on People” and people are losing. Especially black men.

Anon Said...
So wait a minute... So if there is policy to incarcerate black boys/men then why do you endorce the constant marketing to the same black boys/men that the Gansta life is glamorous?? Are you in denial?? or a Hypocrite??

Regards,
Anon; Apr 23, 2007, 10:24:00 AM