Well it seems that some don't like my suggestion that racial disparites in the jail population may be caused by increased criminal activity among black people. So I will apply their thinking to the problem of gender disparities in the criminal justice system.
Of course it is common knowledge that our jails are mostly filled with males. Why are there so many men in jail relative to women? It must be sexism right? Or institutional gender bias? Or is it those all female juries? Or is it gender profiling? Why do our mostly male police officers prefer to arrest other men? Could it be that they are acting out their homoerotic fantasies by wrestling other men to the ground and handcuffing them?
As a man, I think we should take a serious look at this problem. Perhaps Governor Doyle can commission a study on the subject. After all, the gender disparity in the criminal justice system is far greater than the racial disparity.
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8 comments:
Well, I think the reason more males are incarcerated is because of affirmative action. Now that they can make more money than men, women have likely turned to more white-collar type crimes, which are less likely to result in time behind bars. On the other hand, men are likely to be poor due to women taking their jobs. In fact the men may have to turn to small time drug peddling in order to support their illegitimate children.
(Ok, do I need to put a wink here?)
caledonication - cute, but you miss/avoid the point all in the wink of an eye
Hmmm, it seems to me that you may be the one missing the point anon. Why don't you enlighten us as to the point I was attempting to make?
Denis, I believe you were simply trying to point out people should be honest and take responsibility for their actions - this should apply to everybody - but since the meeting was focused on blacks only, your msg comes across as only the black community needs to face reality and take responsibility - the point, enlarged by others on this blog, is all people are susceptible to our lessor impulses and need to deal with them in a morale way - making fun of affirmative action is off point and suggesting women can earn more than men is misleading since most women don't make more than men and it can be resonably argued that in most cases they can't really earn more - so the point is missed/avoided/changed - a teenager tactic.
Anon, while it is true that I think people should be honest and take responsibility for their actions, that was not my point. My point was to illustrate the absurdity of the view, held by many, that racism alone accounts for the racial disparity in our jails. If race and racism alone account for the discrepencies in jail populations, then it is fair to also suggest that sex and sexism are the cause of the gender disparities found in our jails. Of course we instantly recognize the absurdity in suggesting that sexism accounts for gender disparities in our jails. We all realize that men commit more crimes than women. So I was poking a bit of fun at those who believe that racism is the sole cause of increased incarceration rates among some minorities. So Caledon did not miss my point. He/she got it and ran with it, with a wink.
Denis your point or argument falls short.
First, your point about sexism would only make sense if it were mostly women putting the males in prison.
Second, The reason why some blacks think there is racism involved with the racial disparity in the prison/justice system is because the majority of those putting blacks in prison are white.
anon, you raise some good points. There are differences between the racial and gender examples. However, I stand behind my main point, that it is absurd to dismiss the idea that high rates of criminal behavior may result in high rates of incarceration.
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