Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2013
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2013 The Buffalo News
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/GXIzebQL
Website: http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61
Author: Sharda Sekaran
Note: Sharda Sekaran is managing director of communications for the
Drug Policy Alliance.

WE MUST CONFRONT THE FAILURE OF THE WAR ON DRUGS

This has been an intense time of reflection and critical 
self-examination for many Americans. In the wake of the George 
Zimmerman verdict, there have been emotionally charged conversations 
about the way young black men are viewed in the United States and how 
valued their lives are. All the way up to President Obama we are 
witnessing soul-searching attempts to confront the complicated role 
of race in our culture.

Revealed throughout the Zimmerman trial, as Trayvon Martin's 
character was scrutinized for signs of how threatened Zimmerman may 
have felt by him, was the uncomfortable truth that racism results in 
black men being commonly viewed as menacing simply for being human.

 From clothing to intoxicants, what is normal and innocuous in 
another context becomes sinister when associated with black men and 
boys. Mark Zuckerberg's hoodie is a sign of millennial individuality 
and irreverence, whereas Martin's hoodie was a sign of being a 
"wannabe gangster." Marijuana is becoming increasingly socially 
acceptable. And although no one recommends marijuana use by 
teenagers, when was the last time someone made a case for justifiable 
homicide of a suburban white kid by noting trace amounts of THC found 
in his system, as was done in the case of Martin?

Being black means living a life saturated by double standards. When 
the skin you live in is viewed as inherently suspicious, anything you 
do can provoke fear and hostility. It takes a special effort to 
persuade people of the humanity and worth of a young black man in a 
way that is not required for others.

Drugs remain an enduring part of the collection of social and 
historical biases commonly summoned to put the character of young 
black men under a microscope. The underlying assumption seems to be 
it is not so much a matter what you do but who you are.

Drug prohibition has been a pernicious tool for perpetuating bias, 
corruption and bigotry. When the power is granted to selectively 
criminalize behavior that everyone engages in, unequal applications 
of law and social judgment are inevitable. This is why civil rights 
advocate and academic Michelle Alexander calls the drug war "The New Jim Crow."

Frank conversations about race at the national level are long 
overdue. If any good is to come from the Trayvon Martin tragedy, 
hopefully it will include bringing this dialog to the forefront.

But we absolutely cannot talk about race without talking about the 
war on drugs. This failed social experiment not only leads to the 
disproportionate targeting, arrest, conviction and incarceration of 
people of color, it fuels the underlying thread of judgment, stigma 
and marginalization that permeates how we value human life and enable 
acts of violence.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom