> maybe we should talk about how you think about the NAACP?
Did you really mean "how I think"? I suppose I think about the NAACP the way I think about everything.
> no, let's talk
> about how the War on the Poor is not only an analysis about *why* people do
> drugs, but an analysis about how the justice systems prosecutes those who
> do do drugs. because you've made those arguments before. why avoid them
> here? it would have been better for your argument, a much better flame
> matt and you missed your chance!
I supposed what I could say about the way the [in]justice systems deals with drug users wouldn't be seen as too profound here. But I will answer your perhaps rhetorical questions.
> instead, what you've done is suggest that drug abuse on the part of the
> poor and people of color is because they are miserable with their
> lives.
Let me clarify - drug addiction is a result of a combination of physiological characteristics coupled with psychological and social conditions. "Miserable with their lives" is a provincial analysis and I know you know better than that. Drug abusers (and I do distinguish abusers from users, which I admit may not be altogether objective) can be found amongst any class - and the recent numbers I've read (forget the link but I can look for it again if you wish) indicate that drug abuse hits all income brackets equally. The same numbers indicated that drug abuse hits virtually all races identically - the notable exceptions were Native Americans (slightly higher) and Asians (slightly lower). But there was no difference among whites, blacks, and Latinos.
What I explained to pro-Drug War conservatives was that the drug abuse by wealthier folks (and white folks) is often nicely hidden from the world and not discussed except behind closed doors. The Drug Warriors don't concern themselves with Ken & Barbie's coke problem because Ken & Barbie are rich enough to deal with it. Ken might have a $500/week coke habit but his nice health insurance from his brokerage firm will cover it as a disability when he decides to kick.
The working poor don't have that luxury and it is they who the Drug Warriors berate when they pontificate about "the drug problem". Not that free or cheap treatment would solve all the problems - but it is a start and it certainly will improve conditions for a large number of people.
> this, firstly, presumes that drug abuse is somehow more of a
> problem among the poor and people of color!
That isn't the case - what is true is that blacks and poor are disproportionately ARRESTED AND PROSECUTED.
> and, the sad thing is, i know
> you know better than this. is this why other people do drugs? why should
> racism and classism be the reasons why the poor and blacks do drugs, while
> those sorts of explanations recede when you talk about the similar
> incidence of drug use among whites -- which, from research, reveals that
> whites are bigger drug users than blacks!
Don't confuse incarceration from a drug crime with drug use. The drug prisoners are the fastest growing prison population segment. And it is no coincidence that a specific class and race are being targeted.
[snip]
> gordon is a godamned anarchist. and he frequently spouts off about his
> antagonism to the state. that you type to him and tell him that
> decentralizing political power is a conservative idea is just a hoot.
I didn't tell him anything - I asked him to comment. Please pay attention.
Matt
-- Matt Cramer <cramer at voicenet.com> http://www.voicenet.com/~cramer/ He who makes his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
-Thomas Paine