There was no wave of compassion when addicts were hooked on crack

bearkat42

bearkat42

Well-Known Member

Back then, when addiction was a black problem, there was no wave of national compassion. Instead, we were warned of super predators, young, faceless black men wearing bandannas and sagging jeans.

No matter how far from our lives crack was, we’re guilty by association. By the time I was in college in the early 1990s, my short dreadlocks meant older women would cross the street to avoid me.

African-Americans were cast as pathological. Their plight was evidence of collective moral failure, of welfare mothers and rock-slinging thugs and a reason to cut off all help. Blacks would just have to pull themselves out of the crack epidemic. Until then, the only answer lay in cordoning off the wreckage with militarized policing.

Today, police chiefs facing heroin addiction are responding not by invoking war, but by trying to save lives and get people into rehab. Suddenly, crime is understood as a sign of underlying addiction, rather than a scourge to be eradicated.

One former narcotics officers said: “These are people. They have a purpose in life, and we can’t look at it any other way.”

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on just what had changed. His words reflect our collective self-denial. It is hard to describe how bittersweet many African-Americans feel witnessing this. Glad to be rid of a failed war on drugs? Yes, but also weary and embittered. When the faces of addiction had dark skin, the police didn’t see sons and daughters, sister and brothers. They saw brothas, young thugs to be locked up, not people with a purpose in life.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/there-was-no-wave-of-compassion-when-addicts-were-hooked-on-crack/
 
bearkat42 said:

Back then, when addiction was a black problem, there was no wave of national compassion. Instead, we were warned of super predators, young, faceless black men wearing bandannas and sagging jeans.

No matter how far from our lives crack was, we’re guilty by association. By the time I was in college in the early 1990s, my short dreadlocks meant older women would cross the street to avoid me.

African-Americans were cast as pathological. Their plight was evidence of collective moral failure, of welfare mothers and rock-slinging thugs and a reason to cut off all help. Blacks would just have to pull themselves out of the crack epidemic. Until then, the only answer lay in cordoning off the wreckage with militarized policing.

Today, police chiefs facing heroin addiction are responding not by invoking war, but by trying to save lives and get people into rehab. Suddenly, crime is understood as a sign of underlying addiction, rather than a scourge to be eradicated.

One former narcotics officers said: “These are people. They have a purpose in life, and we can’t look at it any other way.”

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on just what had changed. His words reflect our collective self-denial. It is hard to describe how bittersweet many African-Americans feel witnessing this. Glad to be rid of a failed war on drugs? Yes, but also weary and embittered. When the faces of addiction had dark skin, the police didn’t see sons and daughters, sister and brothers. They saw brothas, young thugs to be locked up, not people with a purpose in life.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/there-was-no-wave-of-compassion-when-addicts-were-hooked-on-crack/
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I was just thinking that this morning
 
schuylaar said:
why? because @bearkat42 is race baiting? then when someone gets upset..it's a surprise?
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bearkat made a great thread which perfectly illustrates the pervasive undercurrent of racism in america nowadays. this thread is educational and instructional, and a far cry from a race bait.

i am simply holding greatwhitenorth to his own words. he claims he deletes racist posts.

so when i see a racist post nowadays, i report it to greatwhitenorth.

this is pretty straightforward and i fail to see why anyone would be upset about that.
 
schuylaar said:
why? because @bearkat42 is race baiting? then when someone gets upset..it's a surprise?

if anything..these threads should have been locked.
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You should be pleased. My threads promote active discussions. You're not though, because it forces you to look at yourself in an often unflattering light. That's when the defense mechanism of crying "race baiter" invariably pops up. It's OK though, it's just human nature. We all have our own ways of dealing with uncomfortable truths.
 
UncleBuck said:
bearkat made a great thread which perfectly illustrates the pervasive undercurrent of racism in america nowadays. this thread is educational and instructional, and a far cry from a race bait.

i am simply holding greatwhitenorth to his own words. he claims he deletes racist posts.

so when i see a racist post nowadays, i report it to greatwhitenorth.

this is pretty straightforward and i fail to see why anyone would be upset about that.
Click to expand...

what about racist threads, Buck?
 
bearkat42 said:
You should be pleased. My threads promote active discussions. You're not though, because it forces you to look at yourself in an often unflattering light. That's when the defense mechanism of crying "race baiter" invariably pops up. It's OK though, it's just human nature. We all have our own ways of dealing with uncomfortable truths.
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wow..an actual answer instead of 'poor black me'.

and by the by..making $176k?..just about how white are you these days?
 
bearkat42 said:

Back then, when addiction was a black problem, there was no wave of national compassion. Instead, we were warned of super predators, young, faceless black men wearing bandannas and sagging jeans.

No matter how far from our lives crack was, we’re guilty by association. By the time I was in college in the early 1990s, my short dreadlocks meant older women would cross the street to avoid me.

African-Americans were cast as pathological. Their plight was evidence of collective moral failure, of welfare mothers and rock-slinging thugs and a reason to cut off all help. Blacks would just have to pull themselves out of the crack epidemic. Until then, the only answer lay in cordoning off the wreckage with militarized policing.

Today, police chiefs facing heroin addiction are responding not by invoking war, but by trying to save lives and get people into rehab. Suddenly, crime is understood as a sign of underlying addiction, rather than a scourge to be eradicated.

One former narcotics officers said: “These are people. They have a purpose in life, and we can’t look at it any other way.”

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on just what had changed. His words reflect our collective self-denial. It is hard to describe how bittersweet many African-Americans feel witnessing this. Glad to be rid of a failed war on drugs? Yes, but also weary and embittered. When the faces of addiction had dark skin, the police didn’t see sons and daughters, sister and brothers. They saw brothas, young thugs to be locked up, not people with a purpose in life.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/there-was-no-wave-of-compassion-when-addicts-were-hooked-on-crack/
Click to expand...
While not disagreeing I will pose another possible answer. It could be the alarming death rates of heroin users compared to crack users. Death or the possibility of death can awaken people fast. Also the new Crack is meth! White folks are getting locked up for that shit. I do believe race did play apart in the Crack epedemic, but I believe we have had progress in the last 20/30 years. With lots more progress still to be made.
 
Hmm... it's fucking fantastic that times are rapidly evolving and people are stratng to realise that being an addict is not a crime but that it's a huge problem that needs to be solved.

But I just can't help not agreeing with this man. 30 years ago, an addict was an addict- a criminal needed to be seperated from society behind bars. Yes, black people had it worse... but that's not saying that white addicts just suddenly sprung up and are now being cured instead of locked.

30 years ago HIV was something alien to us, Princess Diana holding a dying baby was a fucking sensasion (not because she way royalty, mind you), nowadays it's normal that we are helping people diagnosed with HIV.

So is the response to the people who abuse drugs. Times change and we as humans have much more compassion than we did before.
 
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