In class today we learned about Saint Louis and how its surrounding towns near them. These towns create laws to prohibit minorities from moving in. In the Ferguson documentary, there was a scene where they were interviewing a couple of African-American men and they were complaining how they could be driving about 3 miles and get pulled over about 5 times because they passed through 5 cities with there own police departments. If they had a broken taillight and they were pulled over for it, they will most likely get pulled over again for the same offense in other cities they pass through. These people are hard working men who provide for there family and live pay check to pay check. They are constantly making decisions weather to pay their ticket or feed their family. If they don't have the money to pay for their ticket they will be held in jail. Keep in mind they still have other outstanding tickets in other cities based on the same offense. The only way they leave is if they pay their ticket or the police department decides to release them. The problem with this is that the next day these working men need to be at their jobs and if they don't show up to work they loose their jobs causing their income to depreciate. This then results in poverty and this cycle repeats.
I agree that these municipalities in the state of Missouri with police departments create poverty and mass incarceration. There seems to be a cycle, where people get pulled over for the same minor offense from different cities, debt piles up, failure to pay these fines lead to jail time, and then leave people homeless
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Erick and you the system in those small town and even in the entire state of Missouri was unfair. The sad part is the targeting of minorities. How are lower classes suppose to rise in the social pyramid if all these tickets are keeping them at the bottom? Do you think police specifically targeted minorities to feel superior and create the segregated system once again or do you think there were other people like a white man or women who suffered through the same experience the Africa American couple endured through?
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