Sociology
2014
Essay
Diana Rosas states that documentary film ‘The house I live,’ portrays the whole justice system of America as malicious. Instead trying to end the drug crimes, the justice system has created a cycle that keeps it alive. The whole system including the correction officers and judges self-confessed the poor outcomes of the operations implemented to check the problems. One of the good observations made by Diana is that the justice system itself is responsible for creating drug criminals in the society. She claims that the poor children do not have access to schooling that could take them off the streets. Instead the justice system itself gives them access to the drugs. These children do not have any other alternative money source; they become drug dealers and fulfil the demands of the justice system (Evans, 2007). Police always looks for them as their arrests give those medals and promotions.
Amber Boggs is a black woman and her observation of the movie reflects the severe vulnerability of the black people in the criminal justice system. Her response overlaps to a certain extent with that of Diana Rosas as the American justice system is cruel. Amber is already aware of the portrayal of the black people as criminals in the movies. Watching this movie has realized her that the justice system is totally corrupted and there is no sense of fairness and integrity in its approach so far as the black community is concerned. She argues that instead of ‘war on drugs,’ it should be called ‘war on black minorities.’ There is a system breakdown that is meant to suck huge lumps of money and funding from the government and other agencies. Nobody cares to change the system rather lets it to be as it is, and the result of which is that the poor people become more vulnerable.
References
Evans, S. (2007). Bound in twine: the history and ecology of the henequen-wheat complex for Mexico and the American and Canadian Plains, 1880–1950. Texas A&M University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-58544-596-7.
