The House I Live In
Autor: kristenkline8 • April 28, 2015 • Article Review • 682 Words (3 Pages) • 846 Views
Kristen Kline
Film Reaction Paper
SOC111
March 17, 2015
The documentary called “The House I Live In” questions why America has spent over 1 trillion dollars on the “war on drugs” in the last 40 years. Yet after all the money and manpower spent to eradicate drug use, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more easily obtained now more than ever. The movie explores the many reasons behind the failed drug war, including the social, economic, and moral. After watching this documentary, it becomes evident that the war on drugs is purely to keep White American men at the forefront of society, while making sure that any minority group that could possibly put that in jeopardy are unfairly targeted by police and anti-drug laws.
The documentary examines the unjust drug laws that are hampering our criminal justice system, such as the mandatory minimum sentencing laws that were set decades ago. I found it shocking that until recently the crack to cocaine weight ratio was 100:1, which led to a disproportionate amount of African Americans being incarcerated. When in reality more than 50% percent of crack users are White, with only around 13% of users being African American. This shows the audience that drug laws are racially biased and are focused on imprisoning the bottom 15% off American, which is comprised mostly of minorities and is largely considered disposable or useless.
For most of the people that have been imprisoned due to drugs, it was not a surprise that this is where life led them. The majority of Americans in jail due to drugs grew up in communities where drugs was the main economy. The housing industry makes it hard for African American people to move away from the ghettos, where they were placed once they migrated from the South to urban areas in the North. For the children that live there, their ascribed status states that they are most likely poor and a minority. These children will most likely grow up to become drug dealers and drug users because of the environment that surrounds them.
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