The Truth About Poor Whites in Prison

In the era of mass incarceration, the ranks of Whites in prison have escalated enormously, from about 90,000 in 1980 to nearly half a million today. At about 450 per 100,000, White men are incarcerated at roughly three times the rate of the general population in the United Kingdom, the most prolific incarcerator amongst the G7 nations.

Yet, if considered as a nation, Whites in the US would have a higher incarceration rate than every country in the world except for Thailand and Cuba, with more than 10 million people.

Fact: Creators typically do not receive parole

 
The reasons for rising White incarceration in many ways parallel what has happened to inner city non-White communities. Situated at the bottom end of the White economic spectrum, the most vulnerable sectors of the White working class have lost their jobs to de-industrialization, lost access to welfare benefits, and been subjected to the vagaries of mandatory minimums and a secondary war on drugs — attacks on methamphetamine use in small rural towns. A politicized and militarized police patrols the trailer parks and areas that elite Republicans are now calling “downscale communities.” Poor Whites do not reside in police-free suburbs, university towns or predominately Black areas where cops turn a blind eye. Police are not afraid of accusations of “Racist” or mob rioting when arresting or accidentally killing a any White person. The mainstream media also considers the arrest and/or death of poor Whites to be to be …