Most recent public comments by Samuel Kennedy https://nowcomment.com/users/12737 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505882 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505882 Going along with Carolyn's question regarding the statistics and facts of mass incarceration for drug charges, and the effect it has on minority populations, would politicians really care to change this? Bernie Sanders has spoke openly about his platform to break down the prison system and help America not be known as the world leader in incarceration. But what of other politicians? Do the rights of those in jail really matter to the general population and result in any change in voter allegiance? I find it hard to believe that the general public would understand what is going on in the prison system today and the continued Drug War on different racial groups. I think people have a general stigma when thinking of prisoners as being rapists and murderers, when the vast majority of our prison system is filled with drug offenders. Would statistics like these change the thoughts of the general voter? Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:40:26 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505881 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505881 Much of Bernie Sanders' initial pull in campaign pulls came from his appeal to the people that the privatized prison system is a machine that continues to feed itself. With more jail cells being built, police are finding ways to fill them.The face that only 40 years ago we had 350,000 people in jail compared to the 2.2 million in jail today is a staggering statistic and one that should make us rethink what we are putting people in prison for. When nearly 1% of the population has served time and has a conviction on their record, how well does that treat our society in the long run? We have the largest per capita rate of incarceration of any Western country and yet we still struggle to see the error in the ways of continuing to make our prison system larger and larger. Especially for minority groups and people of color, this is something that greatly affects their lives and the well-being of future generations. What can be done about this and are we ever going to see a society in which our prisons are greatly diminished, let alone "a world without prisons?" Mon, 04 Apr 2016 22:26:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505879 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505879 I found it interesting that Alexander thought the comparison of the drug war to new Jim Crow laws was really all that outlandish of an idea, especially in looking directly at the laws and who it affects. In California, one of the states that enforces the three-strike law, African Americans make up 3% of the population but nearly 44% of those serving life sentences after "three strikes." A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research also found that while the three-strikes law may push people away from committing such crimes as smoking pot or shoplifting, it does push them to commit more violent crimes, as those with more than one strike know they have little to lose in committing a more violent offense, in that both will result in a third strike and lifetime sentence. Can Alexander, or anyone for that matter, really argue that the Drug War isn't the New Jim Crow? Tue, 12 Apr 2016 17:54:48 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505875 https://nowcomment.com/documents/52798?scroll_to=505875 Looking at both T'Keyah's and Caroline's comments, their findings, as it pertains to race, prison, and loss of educational rights, are all so devastating. As T'Keyah pointed out, blacks are overwhelmingly disadvantaged in being thrown in prison, more so than whites, as the long lasting effects of their drug sentences align with those of white criminals with more violent crimes. As Caroline pointed out, when young black men are thrown in prison due to a lack of a strong defense and pre-existing notions of racism and rape, their ability to re-enter society is greatly hindered. They now lack an education, have a conviction on their record, and will likely find their way back to prison if they can't secure a strong job to get them on their feet. This really begins to beg the question as to what kind of effect are we trying to get out of putting people in prison? Are we using prison as a means of correcting behavior or is the existence, conditions, and size of the prison system causing people of color to be stuck there for generations to come? Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:08:14 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505569 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505569 I always find things like this so fascinating in that I grew up just 20 miles north of Los Angeles and never heard anything about this my whole life. I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that horrific violence and bloodshed are going on around me, especially for inner city neighborhoods, and I, living within my own socioeconomic bubble, miss out on understanding this and the broader implications it has. The author follows this up saying that she is one of the few white people within the yellow tape. I wonder just how much media coverage, or the lack thereof, has made me clueless to the larger picture of things going on around me that I've just missed the clue on. Sun, 03 Apr 2016 21:37:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505535 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505535 Too often I hear this bullshit narrative concerning police officers being the dark night that we need to save the day and somehow making the stretch that terrorism would run rampant without their continued efforts. I don't believe this shit for a second and while I never like using curse words while making one of these responses I just can't take the idea that police are the unsung heroes of our time. There are great police officers out there, just as there are great soldiers and sailors, but even they know that they are doing a job that helps them pay the bills and the vast majority of it is not exactly glorious. The idea that Mark is trying to say that they are preventing swap meet money from financing terrorism around the world, when in all actuality they are preventing poor people from getting clothes they need, is nothing less than disgusting. This narrative has run its course and isn't grounded in reason, in fact, if this class has taught me anything it's to not believe crap like this. Sun, 03 Apr 2016 16:22:52 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505522 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505522 I agree with what Ryan said above regarding the scary notion that police brutality and militarization have left a larger rift and lack in understanding between both the police and the people at large. As we saw in Ferguson, the police are more concerned in acquiring larger vehicles and more special operations gear than in treating the source of the problem and becoming acquainted with the people they serve. This perpetuates a gap between the people that serve in the police force and those who are oppressed by them, but more dangerously forces the common people to take sides and often leads to talks grounded in racist notions and an "us vs. them" mentality. Violence begets more violence and the fight between gangs and the people of impoverished communities only intensifies . Sun, 03 Apr 2016 16:16:03 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505521 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49881?scroll_to=505521 I agree with the points everyone has made here but would like to add that much of this experience is hard to fathom in that everyone experiences things very differently; even the experiences of one family in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood are different from another. What some may view as a daily occurrence and be sickened by it, others may see it so often that it becomes a part of their everyday existence. I found myself thinking this throughout the Wire and the constant shootings that youth like Poot and Bodie go through so often. How taxing it would be to constantly think that each day could be your last and that fighting back could mean you have a lifetime of jail ahead of you in which you'll likely need to continue a path of violence to survive. It seems almost perverse that people share and relish in seeing death and gruesome scenes on the internet but are terrified of the idea of seeing the same act in real life and the trauma it would cause them emotionally. Sun, 03 Apr 2016 16:06:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500545 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500545 To many, the prospect of selling drugs is immediately associated with the word wrong and with bad people. Having seen the Wire and such characters as Bodie and D'Angelo, I would be quick to disagree with the statement that selling drugs is inherently wrong. Mind you, it is illegal and leads to the death of thousands of people every year, but the circumstances in which the young men and women who choose to participate must endure are nothing short of a death sentence in a socioeconomic approach. It makes perfect sense to me that so many young black people in inner cities would choose to turn to this profession, as it really is a viable means of survival. Why go through the humiliation and low pay of working at McDonald's when you could instead sell drugs and make more money in a few hours than several weeks at McDonald's? Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:38:58 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500539 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500539 More than anything else we've really read so far, this has been a real eye-opening passage to read in the difficulty it takes to relate to the plight of young black males in inner city areas. The idea of your greatest fear being involved in a stick up is just baffling to me, in that I've honestly never considered such a thing happening to me in my life, but how regular an occurrence it is in the lives of these young teens is truly troubling. Most people I meet are fearful of their family members getting sick or being in a severe car accident, but the idea that being held at gunpoint is so common a fear for these young men is just baffling to me. Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:27:25 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500536 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500536 I agree with Shanelle's points regarding the means in which so many try to justify their actions, both to themselves, and in the eyes of the law. I think it's sad to think that this kind of killing seems like the common law of the land and is almost a matter of the characteristics of the society it embodies. The Wire greatly delves into the acts of killing, especially with younger inner city black men, and goes about it in such a way as to show the lack of remorse some have towards it, the pain and anger it gives to others, and the emotional detriment it serves characters such as Bodie. So often characters are quick to react and follow the code of the streets but are slow to realize the massive repercussions it will leave them, emotionally and in the eye of the law, for the remainder of their lives. Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:15:52 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500533 https://nowcomment.com/documents/49884?scroll_to=500533 What sticks out in my mind more than anything else regarding these African American young men and their struggle to find jobs comes at the almost sarcastic tone of the sentence in saying that their fundamental problem is the fact that they weren't born with white skin. All other factors are matters of social and economic misgivings but the fact that they have white skin is no choice of their own. The idea that Camille brought up is particularly interesting: that forcing young men to wait 2 years could put them in particularly dire situations. After all, 2 years is a very long time and in doing so, puts these young men at risk of a variety of things that can happen against them. It's a shame and a constant reminder of the white privilege that so many of us use to our advantage and take for granted. Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:05:16 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455283 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455283 I think part of what makes the Wire so incredible is Simon's refusal to allow journalism and entertainment to be separated from one another. He wholeheartedly believes that entertainment shouldn't necessarily be derived from journalism but if journalism is being true and authentic and is getting to the bottom of corruption, greed, or injustice, then it can serve as entertainment. Looking at a show like the wire, it isn't presented with constant scenes of shooting and explosions but of investigative work, family life, complex character development, and furthering the plot each episode. It is extremely well done from a production standpoint as entertainment but from a journalistic standpoint it uncovers truths about police work that often go unseen and unnoticed. Simon's approach deserves nothing less than high praise in my book. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 12:08:15 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455200 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455200 Although I completely agree with your viewpoint that Simon seems unprofessional in his approach to other artists and their own artistic vision, I think it is far more commonplace for author's to this than we think. It may even seem catty but a multitude of authors that are regarded as extremely professional have all used names of people they don't like in their personal lives as antagonists in their work. His use of Marimow's name seems understandable but his portrayal of him as very similar to the actual Marimow is unsettling. Simon's ego seems to have gotten in the way of his reason with that slip up. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:52:42 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455193 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455193 It seems to me that although at times it seems that Mark Bowden is villainizing the work of Simon in his hatred of big newspaper journalism and it's direction, Simon is one of the last holdouts in an otherwise bleak and boring world of journalism in which journalists are focused more on profit margins and increasing viewership than they are on the actual content of their work. I didn't realize just how much newer media trends have weakened the ability of journalists to make a real splash in their field but it seems to me that Simon is a man that wants the voice of the city heard, in all its ugliness and hatred, whether or not others want it to be known. Not the beauty, not the big time news, but what is going on in the day to day lives of its people. This reflection of his values is part of what I think makes the Wire so incredible. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:46:33 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455182 https://nowcomment.com/documents/46407?scroll_to=455182 I have a very hard time imagining how Mark Bowden came to this conclusion when we've spoken at length in class about how many crime drama's have taken inspiration from The Wire. Just because it isn't an anthology doesn't mean it can't be mirrored in other television shows in how characters develop over the course of multiple seasons in a series. We can look to shows such as Game of Thrones or House of Cards to see similar means by which producers create long term incredible story lines rather than follow an anthology or self contained episode format. Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:34:54 -0500