“Fixing The System” VICE Prison Special

Last night I watched VICE’s HBO special called “Fixing The System.”  It was a very informative piece of journalism that I think everyone could benefit from watching.  Now, over the last year alone, our societal relationship with power-hoarding law enforcement has diminished greatly (thanks to the age of technological access).  The “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality has become an increasingly common theme among police officers.  This rings true especially when looking at the number of innocent victims who have lost their lives at the hands of a police officer, unjustly using his/her force.  It is difficult to say whether the problem stems from improper training, the power trip that comes with wearing a gun and badge, or from detrimental and oppressive cultural norms that have metastasized over time.  However, I think the issues we are having can also be broadly attributed to Realist fueled response to the crack epidemic of the 80’s.  Without considering the unintended consequences from implementing policies that have scarred our country socially and economically, politicians resorted to hard power politics as a poor solution to the anarchy that ravaged low-income communities in the 80’s.  Black and Hispanic communities in the US have failed to overcome many of the cyclical problems created by our dividing and oppressive justice system.

The anarchy caused by drugs, violence, and our broken education and judicial institutions have created detrimental societal norms within our low-income communities.  These norms are going to continually be manifested, until there is a drastic overhaul of the entire system in way that uplifts our most damaged communities.  In this situation we can combine Realist and Constructivist theory to deconstruct how things have gotten so out of control.  The War on Drugs, in general, is an unsuccessful Realist reaction by imposing harsh legislation on drugs, which unfairly target minorities and have deeply disturbed an entire generation of Americans.  It would be incorrect for me to say that policies regarding drugs did not help smother some of the anarchy stemming from crack in the 80’s, but it also created negative norms within the law enforcement community.  In recent times, the anarchy paradigm has shifted and slowly established itself among the police.  It feels like every week there is another instance of a cop killing an undeserving victim and more often than not, being protected by the immunity granted to them with their badge.  It is anarchic in itself that we allow our government to fight anarchy with anarchy.  We have become numb to the atrocities committed on our citizens through outdated legislation, mass incarceration, and brutal policing practices, and have accepted this way of life as the status quo.

Our institutional system, needs to be fixed now.  It does not make sense to be paying the huge financial and social cost for mass incarcerating non-violent drug offenders.  Our focus should be towards taking measures to provide support to the most susceptible and vulnerable pieces of our society.  I think it would be in our best interest to abandon realism from our current political scope and start attacking our problems from a liberalist approach.  Most importantly, the public school system is in a desperate need of repair, in order to change the mold for our future generations.  The foundation of our institutional upheaval should be based on reciprocity and using incentives.  If inmates are given strong incentives and tools to make positive changes in their lives, instead of being fed right back into the system, they will use them.  It is disturbing that we all have come to live in a society that indiscriminately punishes individuals for being a minority and or being born into a less than fortunate situation or community.  We have perpetuated this stance for far too long and have created many deep rooted issues that require very specific and complex solutions.

Here is a link to the article, and the special can be found on HBO and probably youtube:

http://www.vice.com/read/fixing-the-system-0000760-v22n10