Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) had to teach Republicans another lesson about how American society unfairly treats nonviolent prisoners.
In many states across the country, convicts lose their right to vote even if their crime was non-violent. This is especially true of people convicted of possessing marijuana.
Furthermore, many nonviolent felons don’t have their voting rights restored even after they’ve served their time, disenfranchising millions of Americans whose voice should be heard.
At a time when every vote is crucial in our democracy, this small percentage of Americans could sway several local, state and federal elections, especially since it’s mostly black people who are disproportionately affected by such practices.
On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez once again stood up for the disenfranchised and argued that nonviolent felons should have the right to vote.
To avoid looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality our prison system:
Instead of asking, “Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?”
Try, “Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?”
Bc that question reflects WAY more people.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
She then pointed out that we incarcerate more people than anywhere else in the world and that our system particularly picks on people of color and the poor while white people and wealthy people are treated with kid gloves.
Reminder:
– Slavery ➡️ Jim Crow + Redlining ➡️ War on Drugs ➡️ Mass Incarceration– Black Americans & PoC are far more likely to be convicted + sentenced longer than White Americans for similar crimes.
– Our system routinely criminalizes poverty + exonerates wealth
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
Many rebut the voting question by saying, “Well, *those* people shouldn’t be jailed.”
Glad you feel that way! But the truth is, the US incarcerates more people per capita than anywhere in the world – even more than China.
Our system is built to disenfranchise people of color ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/onplIlK4jV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
-We “shouldn’t” incarcerate for nonviolent offenses,
-We “shouldn’t” have school-to-prison pipelines,
-We “shouldn’t” sentence poc more than white people for similar crimes,…but we do.
We’re so eager to talk about punishment, but correcting our injustices is “controversial.”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
To understand how racial injustice works subconsciously in America, all you need to do is watch how quickly + readily some people jump to justify stripping voting rights for millions of people, yet how uncomfortable and fraught that convo becomes when one brings up reparations.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez concluded by blasting Republicans for having a 1st grade reading level.
GOP already bad-faith attacking “nonviolent offenses.” Clearly if you are looking at CONTEXT CLUES in my thread & limits of 280 chars you know I’m referring to nonviolent drug offenses.
Swear it’s like we’re back to encouraging 1st grade readers when it comes to some “pundits.”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 25, 2019
She’s right. This is an important issue. Our country cannot go on pretending that our prison system is not a modern day plantation system where blacks are sent to rot and provide free hard labor for states without even getting to vote.
This is an example of something our society needs to change and Ocasio-Cortez is doing her damnedest to highlight it and bring it to people’s attention. Some states are literally using the justice system to strip people of color of their civil rights and suppress the vote and it needs to stop. Until then, slavery will never truly be over in the United States.
Featured Image: Screenshot
