POLITICIANS
(TOUGH ON CRIME!)

...play a large part in expanding the prison system, using the "fear of crime" to win votes. But the "fear of crime" is shorthand for racism: the fear of Black & Brown people & poor people having power; a "fear" that became a political tool during the Civil Rights era. Today, being "tough on crime" helps maintain those same structures of segregation and inequality, helping to fulfill the agendas of big business, real estate developers, police & prison guards. While politicians get big $$ to flex their muscles & invent new ways to lock more people up, we are left out of the political process, scared of our neighbors & afraid for our jobs.