Author and professor Michelle Alexander highlights new book, “Incarceration Nations,” in a Washington Post opinion editorial.
“What is justice? I’ve asked my children this question from time to time, hoping they will give me an encouraging answer. Usually they parrot what they’ve learned from television or the games they play with friends; they talk about good guys and bad guys, jails and police. I banned toy guns and handcuffs from our home and often say things like: ‘There is no such thing as good guys and bad guys. All people do good and bad things, including you. You can never know for sure what you would do in another person’s shoes.’ They pretend to listen. I will never forget telling my youngest, when she was still in preschool, that police officers in Britain do not carry guns. She looked at me quizzically and asked, ‘Is Britain another planet?'”