College students will use medicinal marijuana and other
drugs close to tests. But at the same time poor public schools, young children
are watched daily by police with drug sniffing dogs, get full body pat downs,
and have lockers searched all in a search for contraband. The war on drugs is
similar to Jim Crow: economic inequality, culture myths, and political
opportunism. The war on drugs has become a war on children. There have been
many odd plights. In Meridian Mississippi, children as young as ten were being
taken to jail for wearing the wrong colored socks or disturbances in class.
According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, about 77 percent of New York’s
school police interventions are for small non-criminal things such as being
lake or eating food outside the cafeteria. Only about 4 percent of police
interventions are responses to “major crimes against persons.” Teachers can do
little against this abuse of the children. With risk of losing their job they
are pretty much helpless. A principle was arrested for intervening as the in
school officers took away an honor student. While most of the targets are
children of color, all kids are in danger.
The article by Patricia J. Williams is a bit odd. Her title
is eye catching but misleading. There is more about children being arrested but
she says little about drugs in general. There are strong words like segregation
and Jim Crow to describe the injustices. Williams also brings up recent events
such as the Newtown shooting incident. She makes a comparison guns and drugs.
Williams’s article is odd and confusing at times. Her organization is random
and while she has good points she places them wrong.
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