New drug legislation...
 

Here in my state, they have now enacted a bill that says that if there is ANYONE caught in a residence with drug paraphenalia, the residnt of that dwelling will be evicted. This means that if your peeps are selling drugs, or using them at your spot, you will be packing up if they get caught.

This is just the general of it, I am not TOO sure about the specifics. If anyone knows more, or can correct if I made an error, please do, I am researching it as we speak.

As it is, based on the info that I do know, all I can say is our government is doing its job. It was designed to elevate a certain people while oppressing others. By initially filtering drugs into inner cities and then creating this harsh legislation to punish offenders (as they have been doing since they put drugs in the ghettos), they are slowly but surely decimating "minorities". Great job! :rolleyes:

Well, if someone knows what the law is and continues to break it, I hope that someone knows hows to make a cardboard box in to a 3-bedroom apartment.

Agreed. But looking at the bigger picture, do you think this is really just an attempt to rid our communities of drugs? Kinda ironic considering that the same government that is now trying oh so hard to "just say no" are the exact same ones who just said yes to tunnelling these drugs there in the first place.

Re: New drug legislation...
 

What State are you in?

Holla Back!!!:)

If you do the crime then you do the time. Do get mad at the govmt. b/c you got caught. And if you let your friends stay at your place or live with people who engage in illegal activities, do not get mad when you are drawn into their mess. Like my mama always said, "Becareful of the company you keep!"
Also, even if the govmt. did/is filtering drugs into the inner cities we all have a choice, DO NOT USE IT!!!! :mad: . I personally would have not simpathy for anyone who got kicked out of their place for such foolishness. :rolleyes:

You never know...
 

After saying all that, you must be an EXCELLENT judge of character. You can be as careful as you want of the company that you keep, and STILL get caught up. Because, contrary to popular belief, not all drug dealers are THUGS. And even if you are an excellent judge of character, a lot of people are not. And how do you know that their life was not threatened? Do you know how this game is played? Have you ever played with the justice system and the police? THEY DO NOT PROTECT YOU LIKE THEY SAY THEY DO!!!!! So how do you know everyone's situation in this? But you have no sympathy? The goverment is grateful for all who think like you. *Shaking my head*

I bet it's easy to sit up and say what you will and will not allow when a gun is not in your presence, and neither is the person who is not scared to use it. :rolleyes:

Re: You never know...
 

To add to that, what about the elderly grandmother who is keeping a child for the actual parents. Say this child is caught up in the streets and does a little something extra to support him/herself and Grandma. The cops, as always, gotta be all up in it, and whoops! Grandma is evicted! Let's play devil's advocate and go with the slight possibliity that Grandma DID know about this...in the projects, there is an EXTREMELY short list of resources with which you can survive on. If you believe in the American Dream (or rather the Horatio Alger myth), you are sadly mistaken. Sure, peope are happy to say "Look at Oprah! If she did it, so can anyone else!" Well. Oprah is how many people? In prisons are HOW many people? STILL trapped in the ghetto are HOW many people? Drug laws were designed specifically to do this, and they are clearly working. And if you are disputing whether or not our beloved government is responsible for the drugs being there in the first place, let me know. I will gladly break it down.

I used to live in Nevada, and I believe there's a similar law in Nevada. I had a former roommate who smoked marijuana, and the man who owned the house constantly railed at her because he was convinced that someone would snatch the house from him.

As a matter of fact, when she physically attacked me one night, the fact that I didn't want to risk my landlord (whom I liked) kept me from calling the cops. They surely would have found the roaches and other drug paraphernalia.

Re: You never know...
 

Now do not get me wrong, like I told Librasoul22 in a PM I am not some suburnanite who has no grasp of reality. I AM quite aware that not all drug dealers are not thugs. I know this personly as well as professionally. I am aware of the govt part in this. I am aware of our justice system or lack of it, and how the police work. However, like you said there are unfortunate situation where peole get caught up through no fault of their own and it is sad. Maybe I was too harsh, but I when I posted I had several people in mind, and unfortunatley innocent people would be involed. And to clarfy I have no sympathy for the offenders not the innocent victims.

Re: Re: You never know...
 

While the moral implications of your dilemma are quite striking and provoking, it is still against the law. You should be evicted from wherever you live for harboring such behavior. Yes it's sad for innocent people. Drugs are not only in the "hood", attending a predominantly white university, you learn that clearly. Drugs are everywhere. Yes they do tear down "our" communities. But dont they tear down all communities. It is unfair to believe that only "we" will be effected. I do believe in the American Dream. While it is difficult to attain Oprah status, status can be attained by hard work and some serious effort.

About the government and drugs.....ok, they are putting them in our communities. But is there a shortage of people selling them? Using them? Shouldn't there be some onus on the people who are not only bringing them in the community but distributing them to people as well.

My Point exactly
 

This is what I am trying to say. There isn't a shortage of deals nor users. They are not only in minority communities but in predominatly white one as well. Think about these drugs and who uses them. Esctacy, marijuana, Cocaine, Crack, Speed, Mushrooms, Acid, GHB..... I could on and on, but think about who uses them; yes, drugs do have demographics.

I don't know about you but when I see that list I see an elderly grandma raising two little kids getting eveicted b/c of her son, but I also see someone losing their $300K home b/c drug para was found there (that is if their lawyers have no effect):p

Re: Re: Re: You never know...
 

Drugs certainly are pervasive in our society. But just to kinda sidetrack and give you an example of the great disparity, take crack vs. cocaine.

Crack = rocks of cocaine mixed with other substances to make it impure, thereby making it cheaper; mostly found in inner cities.
Cocaine = pure powder form; mostly found in upper class, affluent areas.

Crack? Puts user in jail for years. Cocaine? Look at Robert Downey Jr. :rolleyes: And this is the norm, not just one instance. Please, it is no match. Same drug, racial disparity.

It will be the same thing for this new legislation. Do you guys REALLY think that they are going to punish the $300G lawyer like they are punishing the project dwellers?! PLEASE! Be realistic!

As far as the American Dream, let's compare it to the American pasttime...yeah, there are some people hitting the ball and running the bases. There are a select few who hit out of the park home runs. And there are some who DON'T EVEN KNOW THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED. Feel me?

For some it is not a choice of whether or not to sell the rock to get the new Jordans. For some it is a choice of selling the rock or not eating that night.

The people in the ghetto would not be distributing the drugs if they had not been put there in the first place to distribute. Look deeper.

Why is there only one Oprah, one Bill Gates? Why does only a small percentage of America have the entire countries wealth? Consider it.

Re: Re: Re: Re: You never know...
 

This is an interesting discussion. I'm enjoying it a lot.

I understand the disparity between crack and cocaine. Yes it's not right. Ok so what are we going to do about it ?

For those who Don't know that the game is being played, who's fault is that? And what are we going to do to let them know that there is a system that can be beaten? I also wonder why people dont know the game is being played. Some would say education, but that's a whole other topic.

The moral dilemma of drugs for food is compelling. However, I tend to wonder whether the people who sell drugs to buy food also go and buy themselves something nice and get a makeover. So does the argument about food justify selling drugs if the seller purchases material items having no relevance to their ability to survive. Clothes=necessary to survive, Jordan=$150+=not necessary to survive. Feel me?

Looking deeper as suggested. I still wonder about why drugs are being distributed in such high numbers in our communities. I wonder why placing something somewhere implies that people have to move it around. What if people decided not to sell them? Wow, what a concept.

Consider this....if there were no market for drugs in inner city communities, would people/the government still place them there? Laws of supply and demand can apply.

It's not that I feel like people in inner city communities should be tarred and feathered for their actions. I do believe there are wider societal problems at play. However, when do these communities begin to accept their role in their problems. By contributing to it, it's difficult to place all the blame on the government or other ethnic groups. The main point of this post is that inner city communities should take responsibility for their roles in their neighborhoods. Maybe the new drug legislation wouldnt' be in effect if they did

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: You never know...
 

Some very valid points were made here. It is one thing to say you sell to survive and another to buy Jordans, Mercedes and platinum. If you did it to "help" your family out you wouldn't be standing on the corner all day long during work hours. Also once you made about $1k in that first week and for some that first couple of days you would be okay for awhile. But that is not the case. Dealers whether they are in the inner city or somewhere else are doing it for the money, and lots of it. When you see someone you you who sells and they have a $600 diamond crusted ring or watch or chain or their body, I don't know about you but I do not think they are hungry.

And as for the whole selling drugs in the first place it seems to me that some think it is okay to sell to help put food on the table. Is it really? There are quite a few people who have lived in the ghetto and have moved out by doing less than desireable things i.e. cleaning houses and mopping floors. The problem is some people do not want to do that selling is a whole lot easier. Fast money. You can't blame the govt for something you help perpetuate. Why are malt liquors, 40's and other things of the likeonly sold in certain neighborhoods, b/c they buy it. THe same with drugs. If a dealer goes into a neighborhood and tries to sell and he gets runned out the community he can' t sell there. It may have been astruggle some may have lost their lives, but it worked. Maybe we think of inner cities, ghettos, and projects are a filled with people who do not know the system, can't go anywhere else, and are helpless. But they are not. They can help themselves, there are resources out there to help them, but they have to go out there and find it. They way the govt works, if you do not use it you lose it, and holds true for programs aimed at these people.

kitten03, I am enjoying this discussion as well. It does, however sadden me to read both you and Riley's points of view. When I said look deeper, I didn't mean to look at the present. I meant look at the root of the problem. Right now, drugs are being sold in the inner cities, people are stuck in the ghettos, okay. But WHY? I think we have already established that. Keeping that in mind, it is extremely hard to simply ERASE a state of mind that has been carefully manufactured to those in the inner city. Just like racism as a whole. IT is still HERE. It is still PREVALENT. The only difference is tha it is more covert. Same thing with oppression. Why don't some people know the game is being played? Because they are not privy to that information, BY DESIGN. I am sort of uncomfortable that you guys are blaming the inner city for "perpetuating" all of this. Yes, indeed, some are seeling drugs to own the designer fashion and to have the best cars and jewelry. Yes, some people DO have the mindset that they can't be anything more than what they are right now. But I am telling you that through media, the school system (ever been to a school in the ghetto? Horrible.), and nearly every other avenue, these people have been given the idea that they are not good enough and never will be. For those few who make it out, more power to them. But it is going to take more than a minute to earse the mentality that has been firmly entrenched for so long. And who is responsible for that (putting it there)?