Prager, in his article, delves into the ideas of poverty and how it relates to crime in the economy. He starts off by describing several scenarios of his ideas of what poverty entails by describing his paternal grandparents who were immigrants living in such a small apartment such that none of the children ever had their own rooms. He further explains that most of the American population that are considered poor by societal standards own essential items such as a refrigerator, a stove, a television, and even a fridge. They are, therefore, able to provide for their material things such as food, and thus, it cannot be assumed that they would engage in crime in search of food.
In the video by the people’s sheriff, the media seems to have greatly contributed to the society images of the urban areas such as those of poverty and violence, which resulted in crime. According to Prager, the poor who commit crimes do not do so out of lack of basic amenities. Therefore, he believes that those who claim poverty causes violence lack an in-depth understanding of the entire situation and that a person’s value system are what determine their moral behavior and not their economic status.
In the video posted by Ted Talks, Nadelmann believes there is clarity that there has been stereotyping of the poor in the society that they are likely to engage in crimes due to their economic status. I, therefore, agree with the writer, that a person’s values, especially their spiritual values are what influence their behavior in society. For instance, if one lacks morals, they are likely to engage in immoral behavior such as crime since their conscience will be clear. According to the people’s sheriff clip, the surrounding circumstances do not influence people’s behavior, but their internal beliefs influence their character.
The show, Last Week Tonight, expounds on the glaring facts regarding income inequality in America and how the situation is sprawling out of control. The host, Oliver, highlights the fact that the richest people are approximately 16 times richer than the poorest in America. This poses a great challenge of maintaining peace in future as it might lead to conflicts. Radly, a reporter, speaks about Militarization of America's Police Force in Fergurson where a child was shot dead by police and the community erupted in riots and protests (VICE). However, the reaction of the police was extreme with them showing up with sniper rifles and ready for war irrespective of the fact that the residents were peacefully demonstrating. This clearly shows that the police force had a prejudgment of the community and, therefore, only expected violence from the residents. This extends to the elected officials who enact ordinances that prohibit certain acts such sleeping on the streets or in your car, as well as begging for money. According to Carpousis, the homeless, who frequently go hungry or if they are lucky get one meal a day, are being harassed by the police due to laws that criminalize being homeless.
Johnson speaking on the UC Davis Pepper Spray articulately describes the steps that led to the police using pepper spray on students who were demonstrating. Regardless of the fact that the students were yet to cause any violence, the police were already of the mind that the only way the situation could be rectified was through violence. There are several 911 conspiracy theories, some of which insinuate that the American government knew about the attack and might have even orchestrated it so as to fuel war (Davis 9/11 Truth). All the above-reviewed videos indicate that there is a common misconception that because some people are less privileged, they are likely to engage in acts of crime and that they should be treated with violence to silence them. For cohesive co-existence between citizens and the police force and even between citizens, there needs to be respect accorded to all.
Works Cited
Carpousis, Alexander. “Criminalization of Poverty.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 5 May 2015. Web. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plqNvAHpd5E
Davis 9/11 Truth. “ICE.” Davis 9/11 Truth, 12 April 2016. Web. Retrieved from http://davis911truth.org/911-conspiracy/ice/7
Johnson, Tim. “UC Davis Pepper Spray - What Really Happened.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 28 November 2011. Web. Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=hhPdH3wE0_Y
LastWeekTonight. “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Wealth Gap (HBO).” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 13 July 2014. Web. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfgSEwjAeno
Prager, Dennis. “Poverty Doesn’t Cause Crime.” National Review 18 November 2014. Web. Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/392865/poverty-doesnt-cause-crime-dennis-prager
TEDTALKS. “Ethan Nadelmann: Why we need to end the War on Drugs.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 12 November 2014. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWfLwKH_Eko
The People’s Sheriff. “Demonizing the Inner City - Ideology and the Urban Poor - Capitalism Needs Poverty.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 29 September 2011. Web. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pebSQW7FCzw
VICE. “Radley Balko on the Militarization of America's Police Force: VICE Meets.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 28 August 2014. Web. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWy8tjTiTw
