Gender Politics in the US Criminal Justice System Essay -- Political P

Gender Politics in the US Criminal Justice System The state of women in the United States criminal justice system, an apparently fair organization of integrity and justice, is a perfect example of a seemingly equal situation, which turns out to be anything but. While the policies imposed in the criminal justice system have an effect on all Americans, they affect men and women in extremely dissimilar manners. By looking at the United States' history of females in the criminal justice system, the social manipulation of these females and the everlasting affects that incarceration have on all women, both in and out of prison, this essay will explore the use of the criminal justice system as simply another form of control from which there is no hope of escape. This system of control then leads to the examination of the everlasting, yet never successful, female struggle to balance the private sphere of domesticity with the public sphere of society and the criminal justice system's attempt to keep women within the boundaries of the private . For centuries women who have entered the justice system have been oppressed, because the system was and still is a system designed by a patriarchal society and implemented primarily to control wayward males. The witch hunts in 17th century New England, is the first of many examples in which society exerted control over women by labeling them 'witches,' yet leaving the men alone. The primary determinant of who was designated a witch was gender, in fact eighty percent of all those killed were women. Of those women, females who were spinsters or widows, rather than wives or mothers "were represented disproportionately among the witches." In the 1800's, imprisoned women suffered the same terrible... ...ource Availability for Women at Risk," unpublished paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Chicago, November 1987. 9 Nancy Rubin, "Women Behind Bars," McCall's, August 1987 10 Estelle B. Freedman, Their Sisters' Keepers: Women's Prison Reform in America, 1830-1930 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981) 11 Estelle B. Freedman, Their Sisters' Keepers: Women's Prison Reform in America, 1830-1930 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981) 12 Shelly Bannister, op. cit., argues that women who respond to male violence with physical resistance, and are incarcerated as a result, should be viewed as political prisoners. 13 Sandy Rovner, "Abused Women Who Kill," Judgment, vol. 10, no. 2, June 1987 14 Nicole Hahn Rafter, Partial Justice: Women in State Prisons 1800-1935 (Boston: New England University Press, 1985)

Post Modern Perspective on Criticism Essay

Post modernism is one among the highly debated issues that to a great extent has influenced the way human being think and views issues that exist in the present world .however it encounters a resounding critique from those against and support from the for generation whom believe in inevitability of change in all human perspectives.post modern perspective criticism is important because since it provides a promise of deterritorialing modernity and restructuring its political , cultural and social limits as well as affirming social gender and ethic differences as seen human daily interactions. Post modernism bear a world with a resemblance of increasing individual and mass influence on the way we think and see the world in the present times. Artifact chosen                     Martin Luther King Junior speech â€Å"I have a dream† is one of the most famous world speeches that influenced thinking million of Americans both whites and blacks (Kuypers, 2009). The speech was a very powerful tool that spearheaded the thinking of Americans and need of ending racial segregation. We may probably argue that were it not for martin Luther speech, probably the American society may be segregated even in the present. Luther calls for all American to work together towards achieving a fair and one and the same society (King and Washington, 1986). Luther employed well selected and scrutinized rhetoric modes that facilitated the appeal he desired to create to Americans. The power of his speech definitely lays in his authoritative diction and the rhetoric modes applied (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). For instance, the king compares and contrast the lives of the whites a and the Negros were he notes that, the blacks continue to live in slave I n their home country one hundred years after the constitutional declaration that was signed by Lincoln .he further compares the plight of blacks to the lives of the white Americans and says that the blacks are subject to police brutality (Bobbitt, 2007). Although the emancipation proclamation was for all the whites had denied Negros the basic fundamental right granted by the constitution. Additionally, he says that emancipation proclamation came as a joyous day break to the blacks but later on turned to a long night of their captivity (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). This comparison tells the audience how the declaration was of great hope to the suffering blacks, however, their hope turned to despair when the whites denied them of their rights. The Negros was saddened because even after one hundred years there were still in their own world full of pains of the manacles of racial discrimination and segregation. Furthermore, martin adds that justice shall roll like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. I n this context, the king appear to have feeling that he and other will not tire to demand and fight for blacks people rights until they are granted (King and Washington, 1986). Moreover, in his speech King employs a rich content of situational analysis of the representing the current situation interaction and expresses his optimism for a bright future, were both whites and Negros shall sit down under ones table as equal where the blacks will not nbe segregated upon .This dream sent a message of hope to the Negros that a time in coming in future when there will be no discrimination based on color. The dream also portrayed a message to the whites that blacks are tired of being segregated and were in the process of peacefully fight for their fundamental rights. Martin Luther Biography                     Martin Luther King Junior was born in 15th of January, 1929 to Michael king sr. After his father returned from a trip in German, he changed their names to Martin Luther king senior and Martin Luther King Junior. These names were adopted from a religious icon of past, martin Luther was initiated Lutheran denomination. In 1944 King Junior started his higher education at Morehouse College (Haskins and King 1992). Before then, the rampant racial discrimination and segregation had caused a lot of tension especially in New York and Michigan (Bobbitt, 2007). He later graduated with a degree in sociology and was after wards appointed his father’s assistant at the Ebenezer Baptist church. While King Junior was in graduate school he had bitter memories of house bias that existed in the American society. He says that when trying to find a house to live, he went to place in Boston where there was a sign â€Å"house for rent†. (Haskins and King, 1992. Martin literates that the houses were for rent until the servants realized he was a Negro and then the situation changed suddenly, the houses were already rented. In 1952 Martin Luther king junior met his wife Coretta; they married and were blessed with four children. Martin says that his wife was the source of strength and at some points she was much stronger that the king. On January of 1956, a strange occurrence happened whereby, Martin’s home was bombed. However, guided by his religious policy and believes of non-violence King calmly accepted the incident and even urged all the believers to go home after the meetings and adhere to policy of non-violence, a policy that is evident in his speech. Luther delisvered his famous speech â€Å"I have a dream† in 1963 in Washington during job and freedom, to address racial injustices that he and other human rights activist were against. His life came to an end when he was assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968 at Memphis Tennessee Haskins, and King 1992). Martin Luther had just delivered another type of his legendary speech, â€Å" I have been to the mountain-top†. Martin Luther Junior died at 39 year and was buried on 9th of April, 1968 in Atlanta (King and Washington 1986). Until his death, the king was proud of his title â€Å"the preacher† because he believed that his vocation a nd strength were essential at healing the scar of racial discrimination and segregation that blacks had and giving the hope of a new dawn Metaphorical analysis                     Metaphorically Martin Luther s life that was filled with many ups and downs ideally represents the struggle and tribulations that Negros underwent in the hands of heartless whites. The passion that made him move forward to defend the welfare of the blacks shows the suffering the forced Negros and other human rights activist stand out and form liberation movements. Kings life is a clear indication of how an individual action may have resounding impact to present and future generations (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). The metaphors used in the speech serves a very important role in making the audience clearly understand the message. In criticism where metaphors are used the analysis, the analysis of the artifact involves examining it for its context and dimensions and the isolating the metaphors to identify the underlined meaning that makes the artifact more appealing (Bobbitt, 2007). For instance, the artifact chosen, â€Å" I have a dream â€Å"is crammed with metaphors that ideally communicated the necessity of eradicating racial discrimination and segregation in United States of America .most of the metaphors the king uses are soft but the message is conveyed in a very unique way. For example Martin’s say that it is the high time to lift America from chains of injustices to high heights of freedom and equality (Hasand , 1992). Through this metaphor King intent to plea to all people that racism will not make the nation strong but will separate it .It is through social justice that a st rong and prosperous country will be build. Conclusion                     In a summary the metaphorical analysis appear as the best method for the critical analysis of the speech, â€Å"I have a dream† in the modern perspective. It clearly and precisely articulates ethos and logos making the whites realize their injustice towards the Negros. Additionally the method plays a very critical role in awakening the blacks to form liberation movement in demand of the rights granted by the constitutional declaration. References Bobbitt, D. A. (2007). The rhetoric of redemption: Kenneth Burke’s redemption drama and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s â€Å"I have a dream† speech. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littefield Publishers. Haskins, J., & King, M. L. (1992). I have a dream: The life and words of Martin Luther King, Jr. Brookfield, Conn: Millbrook Press. Johnstone, B., & Eisenhart, C. (2008). Rhetoric in detail: Discourse analyses of rhetorical talk and text. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Jr. Lanham [u.a.: Lexington Books. Manheimer, A. S. (2005). Martin Luther King Jr: Dreaming of equality. King, M. L., & Washington, J. M. (1986). I have a dream: Writings and speeches that changed the world. New York: HarperCollins Kuypers, J. A. (2009). Rhetorical criticism: Perspectives in action. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. Echols, J. (2004). I have a dream: Martin Luther King Jr. and the future of multicultural America. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Source document

The Black Community Essay - 1212 Words

Introduction Throughout history, blacks have been treated the poorest out of all races. Although everyone under God is to be treated equal, whites thought of themselves as being the superior race. In 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to America and it took nearly 240 years for slavery to end in 1865(Ronald, , para. 3).These helpless slaves were taken to America and put to work growing anything from cotton to tobacco. Slaves had absolutely no rights. They were simply property of their â€Å"Massa’.† Being disrespectful to a white man could get a Negro killed and they just accepted the facts of the matter. The south was the most notorious in its treatment of slaves and slaves would run away. It was a big risk, but a slave that made it to a†¦show more content†¦51).Along the way, African Americans guided slaves to safety towards Canada. Blacks also provided food and clothing for these slaves along their journey. Slaves were also appointed to helpful whites and it brought at tention to the fact that slaves yearned to be free. This abolitionists used to their advantage as support against slavery. Harriet Tubman was the most famous of agents to the Underground Railroad. In her lifetime, she rescued nearly 300 enslaved blacks and made 19 trips to the south before she became ill (Ronald, , para. 53).Freedom for blacks was looked upon as a gift rather than a right to each individual. After the election of Abraham Lincoln, the south broke off into the Confederate States of America. They did not want slavery to end. Lincoln thus declared a war to fight for the Union, not a war for slavery. He was afraid that he might lose some of his most loyal white supporters by allowing blacks to fight in the war. When things cooled down, blacks were allowed to fight in the war and the War Department was created in May 1863. Also in 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was to end slavery in the confederate states. 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