Super-Predators: Should juvenile offenders be sentenced to life in prison? Supreme Court to decide

Nelson Mandela once said “It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” I guess with 1% percent of our population currently incarcerated one could say that all is well in our nation. After all, it’s only 1% - a very small number. Sure, who cares that our jails and prison population just happens to lead that of any country in the free world - uh-huh, that’s right, pun intended.

Yeah I know, you really don’t care because, well, as long as they’re locked away your world seems a bit safer, right? Yep, as long as you or your kids are safe is all that matters, right? Well if I tell you that currently there’s an estimated 2,570 juveniles serving life without parole in America today, how would that make you feel? Would that number also seem small and insignificant so as to not warrant any concern?

OK, screw the numbers, let’s put a face to this:




So how did it get this way? Well, somewhere in the mid 90s when our first Black president Bill Clinton was in office, state and federal legislators created policy irrationally motivated by fear - which in turn was federally signed by Clinton - to address a perceived new wave of crime. Crimes that were committed by what political scientist John DiIulio  (a Neo-Conservative Bush-ite) termed “super-predators”. Yep, Clinton had Black people happy alright. Not only did he give them jobs, legislation he signed helped to throw a bunch of them in prison.

The only juveniles we hear about doing crazy sh*t are white kids!

I realize that’s the perception, but just like the obvious reality that is the racial disparities with  incarcerations in America. One wouldn’t be off target suggesting that the same is true when it comes to juvenile offenders and life sentences. As a matter of fact, according to a 2005 report from Human Rights Watch, black youth receive life without parole at a rate about 10 times greater than the rate of white youth. Hmm, imagine that; yeah, things don't look too good for those kids in Chicago that killed Derrion Albert. As a matter of fact, the kids involved in the Jonesboro Arkansas school shooting from 1998 are out of prison after serving time as we speak; one of them was just released last month. If only those kids in Chi-town would be so privileged.

The way I see it RiPPa these kids are monsters and should pay!

Yeah, I realize that’s often the attitude when it comes to crime and punishment. Yep, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time is what they always say, right? Heck, there are people among us who believe in the age old biblical idea of an eye for an eye. That said, why don’t we just go right ahead and kill these little monsters. Surely that would save tax payers a lot of money doing so, right? Uh-huh why waste time with any attempts at rehabilitation; these kids are beyond repair. I mean that was the idea pushed by conservative policy makers back in the 90s, right?

What would Clarence Thomas do? Five reasons why white men are more fit for the Supreme Court than that Latina woman.

Every now and then readers of this blog put me hip to some of the stuff that's going on in the country as it involves race matters. If you look to the left sidebar on this page and scroll down almost to the bottom of the page. You'll see a section where you can email me directly with stories in the news; or stories that should be in the news. If you're an avid reader of this blog feel free to utilize that tool so I can spread the word throughout the blogosphere.

I don't always get the opportunity as I should to address them all as I get them, but this one I couldn't resist. Apparently, there's an email circulating which justifies why Sonia Sotomayor should not be a Supreme Court judge. You may wonder why I've spent time on the subject of her nomination and the backlash. I do so because it is my belief that with more people of color at that level of power, certain inequalities which affect us all and not just people of color will be realized. Any injustice faced by people of color affects us all as a society, and I think it's time that this is realized mainly by our "privileged" brothers and sisters who are non-minorities.

CHECK OUT THE EMAIL:

TO: All red-blooded God-fearing Americans

RE: 5 reasons why white men are more fit for the Supreme Court than that Latina woman

• White men are objective. Women and people of color are inherently biased, making all their opinions suspect. This should automatically disqualify them from serving on the bench. White men look out for everyone and aren’t just interested in taking care of their own. Frankly, people of color are secretly “out to get” white men and would use whatever power they have to settle a score.

• White people are color-blind and can transcend race. Today’s racists and sexists are actually people of color and women who cling to their identity politics just for their own gain. Judge Sonia Sotomayor thinks that race shapes one’s experiences and perspectives and that diversity somehow makes things better. Her Puerto Rican roots must be coloring her views for she clearly has little understanding of America or its citizens. No wonder Newt Gingrich authoritatively labels her a “Latina woman racist.” White American-born straight men have secure identities and don’t need identity politics.

Indeed, whites don’t even see race because they don’t really have a race. They’re just part of the human race. They prefer to blend in without calling attention to themselves. And they know that if we’d all just ignore race, then racism would disappear. That’s why Chief Justice John Roberts, when striking down a voluntary school integration plan, nobly asserted, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” In other words, race conscious remedies to address racial inequalities are, by definition, racist. Simple logic. It makes you wonder how the authors of the Brown v. Board of Education decision could have been so blatantly discriminatory.

• White men are more qualified. They consistently score better on standardized tests. That’s why they get into elite schools and high-paying jobs, fair and square, without any affirmative action. If white men excel, it’s only because meritocracy works. Those who make the rules and play by them deserve to succeed.

• White men have the right judicial temperament. The last thing our highest court needs is angry people of color, hysterical women, or both. White men have well-honed skills for staying cool and collected. And they’re less likely to be “activist” judges. In fact, we’d be better off with a strict interpretation of our original constitution--before it got all mucked up with amendments that gave too many people rights they didn’t even earn or deserve, like the right to vote. Look where that’s gotten us.

• White men are the new minority. White men are endangered, having to fend off reverse racism at every turn. With a Black president, who knows what could happen to the Supreme Court and every other sacred institution? Under our unwritten quota system, every vacancy sets off a bean-counting frenzy. Now, anyone and their cousin with dark skin or limited testosterone is instantly qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court. That’s why this nomination fight is the new ground zero of Pat Buchanan’s prophetic “culture war.” And it may well become the frontline of the war on terror. For it’s not just the survival of white men at stake, but the sanctity of our entire social order.

I don't know about you, but I didn't know that White men were on the endangered species list before I read that above email. Seriously, I had no friggin idea, and now I feel bad about it. This is bad people; we can't just have "Red-Blooded God-fearing Americans" be subject to such oppression and be relegated to 2nd class citizens in this country of ours. I mean seriously, what would Adolph Hitler say if this were allowed to happen? White men have fought hard for this country; they've toiled tirelessly on cotton fields after being brought to this new land on the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina from Europe. You may not know this, but the conditions on those ships were not anything like the Queen Victoria or the Titanic. Yes, many of them succumbed to sea sickness, and the occasional scurvy; and in spite of that they survived.

For them to be in danger as they are today is a grave danger to humanity as we know it. Yes, and this is why we must take up their cause. Yes, as a people we must do all we can to advance the cause of the White man; help them register to vote; give them welfare; create anti-discrimination laws; dammit do something! Please people, it's important that you join me in this effort. If you don't, they may just end up in cages in the zoo. Or even worse, our Prison Industrial Complex. So please, join me in this effort. Forget Martin Luther King Jr. and all that dream talk. I mean hell, ask yourself: what would Clarence Thomas do?

Will you join me?

Well, while you're thinking about it, watch this: