I don't think imprisoning a large proportion of a certain ethnic group due to BS laws around extremist ideology is all that different from imprisoning an even greater number of a different ethnic group (1 in 3 black men imprisoned) due to BS laws producing a 100:1 sentencing disparity based on which drug is more popular among a certain ethnic group.
I've been using the past tense this whole time, I am not claiming that it is occurring in the present.
In the 80s and 90s, 1 out of every 3 young black men was under current custody by the criminal justice system, and the lifetime rates were close to the 1 in 3. Today, you are correct that it is closer to 1 in 4 (although still above).
I don't think this makes a very large difference in my point.
"I don't think imprisoning a large proportion of a certain ethnic group due to BS laws around extremist ideology is all that different from imprisoning an even greater number of a different ethnic group (1 in 3 black men imprisoned) due to BS laws producing a 100:1 sentencing disparity based on which drug is more popular among a certain ethnic group."
You think 1 in 3 black men imprisoned is due to crack vs cocaine laws? Do you really believe that every single black person in prison in America was there because they were smoking crack?
In the 90s, the majority of people in federal prison were due to drug offenses, primarily cocaine. [0] The sentencing disparity was a big driver of these increase imprisonment rates.
But no, not all because of the disparity - but a large part. Illegal guns are another big offense sending lots of black people to prison.
> African Americans now serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense at 58.7 months, as whites do for a violent offense at 61.7 months [1]
So what percentage of black people were in prison because they were smoking crack? Why do you say it's "large"? Why don't you just say what the actual percentage was?
