According to the article: The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an Aberration
Why does Alexander associate mass incarceration, and mass deportation to U.S historical racial politics of inequality? Provide an example from the article to explain your answer.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Connection Between Mass Incarceration, Mass Deportation, and Historical Racial Politics of Inequality
Thesis Statement
Michelle Alexander, in her article “The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an Aberration,” argues that mass incarceration and mass deportation are deeply intertwined with the historical racial politics of inequality in the United States. By framing these contemporary issues as extensions of longstanding systemic racism, Alexander highlights how they serve to maintain social control and perpetuate economic disparities among marginalized communities.
Historical Context of Racial Politics
In her argument, Alexander draws upon the historical context of racial oppression in the United States, linking mass incarceration and deportation to a continuum of policies that have sought to disenfranchise and subjugate people of color. She posits that these systems are not isolated phenomena but are rooted in a legacy of racial discrimination that has evolved over time. For instance, the rise of mass incarceration can be traced back to the post-Civil Rights era, where a renewed focus on law and order led to punitive policies disproportionately affecting African Americans and other communities of color. Similarly, mass deportation practices target immigrants, often from Latin American countries, reinforcing racial hierarchies and economic inequalities.
Example from the Article
One compelling example Alexander provides is the comparison between the crack cocaine epidemic and the response to the opioid crisis. She notes that when crack cocaine was predominantly associated with Black communities, it was met with harsh sentencing laws and a criminal justice approach characterized by militarization and punitive measures. In contrast, the opioid crisis, largely affecting white communities, was treated more as a public health issue, receiving compassion and resources for treatment rather than punishment (Alexander, 2020). This disparity exemplifies how racial politics shape responses to social issues, further entrenching inequality.
Moreover, Alexander asserts that both mass incarceration and mass deportation are tools for social control reminiscent of Jim Crow laws. She argues that these systems serve to regulate and suppress marginalized populations, maintaining structures of inequality established throughout American history. By linking these issues to historical patterns of oppression, Alexander calls into question the narrative that views mass incarceration and deportation as recent aberrations rather than as part of a broader continuum of racial injustice.
Conclusion
Michelle Alexander’s analysis in “The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an Aberration” effectively illustrates how mass incarceration and mass deportation are deeply rooted in the historical racial politics of inequality in the United States. By framing these contemporary issues within a larger historical narrative, she emphasizes their role in perpetuating systemic racism and social control. Understanding this connection is crucial for addressing the injustices of today and working towards a more equitable future.
Reference
– Alexander, M. (2020). The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an Aberration. New York Times.
