Happy Holidays?

  So, I usually try not to rant, but my hometown has gotten really out of hand, and I think its most recent event fits in with our coursework quite well. As of right now, 111 people have been arrested on drug charges. Arrest began around 4 a.m this morning.  On the website for local news, 36 faces are displayed along with the full name of those indicted. The ages ranged from 16 to 68. At this moment, I'm still trying to process my own feelings. I read "The New Jim Crow" in our course, and I had my qualms with the text. However, I'm simply boiling over with grief and anger right now. This operation is not clearly draw against lines of race, but class. Still, all I could say was, "This is the mess Alexander is talking about." While I cannot declare anyone guilty, I'm simply disgusted at how my local law enforcement carries out these operations.

  1. They choose to do 'big' operation near the holidays. Most of the time they have 2 or 3 months worth of evidence against these individuals, but they choose to do these bust during the holidays to 'make a statement.'
  2. 4 a.m? Really?
  3. There's no consideration for the children.  My sister is a social worker for Child Protective Services. She will once again not have a Christmas because these 'round ups' are kept under wraps until hours before. Therefore, the children have such little time to become acclimated to a 'parent-less' household.  Note, many of these individuals could have been arrested over the summer. I'm not saying that that would be better... but,  there's a specific reasons that they wait until days before Christmas. This is pattern----My senior year of high school, 7 of my cousins were arrested on drug chargers. Most used the money to help their parents make ends meet. They were under investigation for 7 months. The 'authorities' arrested them one week before graduation-----"to make a point."
  4. People are just amazed---in an inconceivable way. It's like some grand celebration.
  5. I am completely against revealing names and faces to the public. No one has been convicted. If most of these people are acquitted, the community can remember a face and continue to marginalize the individual. Thus, perpetuating the cycle.


   I don't want to ruin anyone's break or holiday, but I really wanted to share this in a space where I felt like people could openly discuss the issue in an 'informed' way. I wanted to vent in a space where I wouldn't have to first convince the person to see that x,y and z are occurring. You all get it.

   Lives just being torn apart, man.