Terrorism and Human Rights, Essay Example

Since the attacks innocent citizens who maybe of the Middle Eastern and South Asian communities in the United States are now subjected to racial profiling not only from government agencies but by from fellow US citizens as well. Some are expected to prove how “American” they are in order to avoid backlash. Chang asks, “But what constitutes suspicious behavior? Against whom are we to be vigilant? What happens when vigilance—once authorized—turns into vigilantism?” (2002). Many hate crimes against innocent individuals with no fault to the attacks, were beaten and even killed. The attacker’s defense would be because the victim was “Non-American”. Another case in Michigan an Arab-American was shot a dozen times by an American who demanded vengeance for the terror attacks (Yang, 2004). Chang states, “In the months following 9/11, over 1,000 incidents of hate violence were reported” (2002). Other reports show over 1200 non citizens have been in custody by the federal government since November 2001 with little or no access to legal representations. An unknown number still remain in custody (Chang, 2002). Although not all targeted with racial profiling were detained it’s still a bothersome feeling to be interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and not only will those from the Middle Eastern countries feel the impact of these investigative measures. It will impact all those who look like an Arab-American or Muslim (Yang, 2004).

This paragraph’s main idea is that innocent citizens in the United States are now victims of racial profiling because of the attacks and many hate crimes have occurred as a direct result of this profiling.  I think that this paragraph does an effective job of explaining the governmental and private impact that racial profiling has caused.  The questions about vigilantism by Chang are not necessary for this paragraph, in fact I think they take away from the quality of it.  The point-of-view or voice of the author did not change in this paragraph; it remained constant.  I believe that this paragraph can be ranked “Effective.”  There are an abundance of sources that are cited through the paragraph, which are beneficial to show appropriate statistics.  The questions by Chang distract the reader and vigilantism is never really defined by the author or the quotation in this paragraph.  Finally, Chang’s comment that “In the months following 9/11, over 1,000 incidents of hate violence were reported” is by far the most effective and memorable statement in this paragraph.

Prison overcrowding has become not only a major financial burden on states, the issue
has stirred continued debate on the best way forward from a political perspective. According to a 2007 study conducted by the Pew Center on the States using information obtained from the Justice Department and Census Bureau; the correctional population (jail, prison, probation or parole) in the United States totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults.  The study points out that in 1982, 1 in 77 adults were confined, totaling 2.2 million people. Those numbers support my claim by showing that prison populations have increased dramatically over the past quarter century. Statistics show that Southern prison populations are the highest; whereas, the Plains and Northeastern states populations, while high, are no where near those of Southern states.   A central tenet of the American criminal justice and penal system is to rehabilitate prisoners so they can meld back into society as ‘rehabilitated’ productive citizens. A weakened economy, limited employment opportunity, increased drug usage, high crime rate and mandatory sentences are some of the factors that have lead to spiked increases in prison population; thus resulting in the over-crowding of jails throughout the country. Acting as a domino factor, prison overcrowding has lead to increased state spending to cover cost that ultimately affects future budget deficit.

The main idea of this paragraph is very unclear.  If I had to guess, I would assume that the overall main idea is that prison overcrowding has a negative impact on governmental budgets.  However, the paragraph also discusses many of the reasons why prisoners go to jail and show statistics that verify the prison system is actually overcrowded.  I think the best way for this paragraph to be more effective is to pick one main point and concentrate on it.  Because the author chose to include so many statistics, I think it would be more effective to concentrate solely on why it is believed that the prison system is overcrowded.  Including reasons why the prisoners go to jail or what changes in society have led to an increase in arrests only distracts the main idea of this paragraph.  The implications of the two statistics comparing 1982 populations to 2007 populations is very important and should be emphasized a little more.  These phrases “the correctional population (jail, prison, probation or parole) in the United States totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults.  The study points out that in 1982, 1 in 77 adults were confined, totaling 2.2 million people” are by far the most memorable and effective for me.  I believe this paragraph is “satisfactory” overall.