Rangel was Black. Buckley was white. Rangel had demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the full equality of Black people. Buckley had repeatedly stood athwart civil-rights advances, yelling Stop! Yet on debate night in 1991, the Democratic representative was the one arguing that the arrest and mass incarceration of Americans caught possessing or selling drugs should continue. And the Reaganite conservative was the one insisting that the human costs of a law and order approach were too steep to bear, citing roughly 800,000 Americans arrested that year.
Lets do what we can for those who are afflicted short of sending them to jail, Buckley said. I want to hear from you whether you want a society based on, say, the Malaysian or the Singapore model in whichand Im not exaggeratingpeople get publicly flogged and they get hanged and they get their fingers chopped off. Is this what you want to do in order to accomplish your aims? he asked Rangel. If not, what is it that you want to do that were not doing already?
Rangel acknowledged that the criminal-justice system has not worked and has not been a deterrent to drug abuse in this country. He added, I still believe that it should be there, because in order to fight this war, you need all of these factors working together. We should not allow people to be able to distribute this poison without fear that maybe they might be arrested and put in jail. In fact, Rangel clarified, if somebody wants to sell drugs to a child, they should fear that they will be arrested and go to jail for the rest of their natural life. Thats what Im talking about when I say fear. Then he suggested that America should tap the generals who won the Gulf War to intensify the War on Drugs. What were missing: to find a take-charge general like Norman Schwarzkopf, like Colin Powell, to coordinate some type of strategy so that America, who has never run away from a battle, will not be running away from this battle, he said. Lets win this war against drugs the same way we won it in the Middle East.
What insights can todays War on Drugs abolitionists take from this story?
First, that in politics and policymaking, neither all good nor all bad things go together. A person might care deeply about racial equality, as Rangel did, yet support a policy that fuels racial disparities. A rival might reject anti-racist politics, even siding with white supremacists on some issues, as Buckley did, while fighting to abandon a ruinous policy that has disproportionately harmed generations of Black people. It is outrageous to live in a society whose laws tolerate sending young people to life in prison because they grew, or distributed, a dozen ounces of marijuana, Buckley wrote to the New York Bar Association in 1995 as part of his ongoing advocacy. I would hope that the good offices of your vital profession would mobilize at least to protest such excesses of wartime zeal, the legal equivalent of a My Lai massacre. And perhaps proceed to recommend the legalization of the sale of most drugs, except to minors. In 1996, National Review joined him, editorializing that the war on drugs has failed, that it is diverting intelligent energy away from how to deal with the problem of addiction, that it is wasting our resources, and that it is encouraging civil, judicial, and penal procedures associated with police states.
More:
In Praise of Impure Alliances - The Atlantic
- Chasing the Scream | The First and Last Days of the War on ... - January 24th, 2017 [January 24th, 2017]
- The president of the Philippines admits his war on drugs has been dirty - The Economist - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- PDEA: Army to play support role in war on drugs - ABS-CBN News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Ruto camps in Mombasa, says war on drugs intensified - Daily Nation - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Words won't win war on drugs - The West Australian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Letter: The failed 'war on drugs' divides country - Rockford Register Star - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Congressmen: Let's take a new look at the war on drugs - AZCentral.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- War on drugs not war vs poor: Cayetano - ABS-CBN News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- President Duterte Threatens to Extend Drug War and Kill Korean ... - Newsweek - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Magufuli adds weight to war on drugs - The Herald - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Philippines: Duterte must end his "war on drugs" - Amnesty International - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
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- Opposition against President Duterte's war on drugs mounting: UN investigator - WION - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- WANG: War on Drugs requires smarter, more realistic approach - RU Daily Targum - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Shahbal to introduce tough laws to curb drug abuse - Daily Nation - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Trump Watch: Emboldened cops and border patrol agents, a more 'ruthless' war on drugs, and threats against the ... - Washington Post - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Palma: Church leaders will continue to oppose bloody war on drugs ... - Inquirer.net - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- In Trump's 'ruthless' vow, experts see a return to the days of the drug war - Washington Post - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- DERMODY: War on Drugs requires more than 'quick-fix' - RU Daily Targum - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Rights agency calls for sober talk in war on drugs - Daily Nation - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Mexico Should Ask Trump to Pay For The Drug War - AlterNet - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
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- President Duterte Changes and Defends Philippine Drug War - Voice of America - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- War on drugs has left us with a latticework of crime - The Boston Globe - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
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- Unnecessary fighting south of the border: Mexico should ask Trump to pay for the drug war - Salon - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Trump Goes Full Nixon on Law-and-Order Executive Orders, Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - AlterNet - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Death of a businessman: How the Philippines drugs war was slowed - Reuters - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- President Trump Signs Executive Order Ramping Up The War On ... - TheFix.com - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Sh170m heroin recovered in war on drugs at Coast - The Standard (press release) - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Duterte militarises the war on drugs in the Philippines - World Socialist Web Site - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- After war on drugs, it's 'war vs illegal gambling' for PNP - Rappler - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- President Trump Just Renewed the War on Drugs - MERRY JANE - MERRY JANE - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Duterte targets Philippine children in bid to widen drug war - Reuters - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Is Ending The War On Drugs A Panacea? - Modern Times Magazine - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Scott Pendleton: Civil forfeiture is an important tool in fighting the war on drugs - Tulsa World - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Donald Trump Vows 'Ruthless' War on Drugs and Crime - The Daily Chronic - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Simonson: The war on drugs - La Crosse Tribune - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- History of the War on Drugs - About.com News & Issues - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Trump goes full Nixon on law-and-order, vows ruthless war on drugs and crime - Salon - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Go whole hog in war on drug lords - The Standard (press release) - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Duterte's 'war on drugs' in the Philippines - Deutsche Welle - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- A man of God in the Philippines is helping document a bloody war on drugs - Columbia Journalism Review - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Reckoning with the Addict and the U.S. War on Drugs - OUPblog (blog) - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Duterte calls for stronger AFP support in war on drugs, terror - Inquirer.net - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- In Manila, Catholics March Against War on Drugs Tactics - Voice of America - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Losing the war on drugs - The Review - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Why we can't seem to end the War on Drugs | TheHill - The Hill (blog) - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Philippine's Rodrigo Duterte urged to drop charges against leading war on drugs critic - Telegraph.co.uk - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- HRW on war on drugs: PH needs 'international intervention' - Rappler - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Napolcom: Police need to regroup, rethink role in war on drugs - Inquirer.net - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Study: Mexican Military Should Not Have Intervened In Country's ... - Fronteras: The Changing America Desk - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- The 'War On Drugs' Has Been A Deadly Failure - Huffington Post Australia - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Senator fighting Philippine president's war on drugs charged without 'iota of evidence,' lawyer says - CBC.ca - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Thousands of Filipino Catholics march against death penalty, war on drugs - Reuters - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Our Aggressive "War on Drugs" Is Not Actually About Drugs - AlterNet - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- War on drugs: a failing battle against suffering - The Suffolk Journal - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Shots fired in war on drugs - Commonwealth Journal's History - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Ureport: WAR ON DRUGS NOT ABOUT PERSONAL FIGHTS - The ... - The Standard (press release) - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Philippines to defend Duterte's drug war at UN rights body - Reuters - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Hidden victims of war on drugs - The Phnom Penh Post - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Palace: Arrest order vs De Lima a 'fulfillment' of war on drugs - Inquirer.net - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Trump administration signals new war on drugs, crackdown on marijuana use - ThinkProgress - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Opponent of Duterte's drugs war arrested in Philippines on drug charges - Reuters - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Philippine citizens protest Duterte's drug war on anniversary of dictatorship overthrow - Deutsche Welle - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- How Rodrigo Duterte's War On Drugs Looks In Colombia - Worldcrunch - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Dela Rosa hopes PNP can focus on drug war anew - Banat - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Philippine police say ready to return to war on drugs as dealers return - Reuters - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Our View: White House plan reignites wasteful war on drugs - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Engaging With The War On Drugs In Ubisoft's Wildlands Documentary - TheSixthAxis - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- There's one last big-ticket item on Trump's agenda: A war on drugs - Raw Story - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- No need to relaunch war on drugs: Duterte aide - ABS-CBN News - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- The Junkie and the Addict: The Moral War on Drugs - Harvard ... - Harvard Political Review - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte orders return of police to war on drugs - ABS-CBN News - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Yasay: Flak on war on drugs, De Lima arrest just 'partisan politics' - ABS-CBN News - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Duterte brings back police into war on drugs - Banat - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Philippine president to bring police back into war on drugs - Reuters - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Bands I Pretended to Like for Boys. Part Ten: The War on Drugs ... - TheStranger.com - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Donald Trump Drug War Strategy | National Review - National Review - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]