Essay Example: Crime in the Suites, Class Law

In the book, "Democracy for the Few," Parenti offers an exposition and the meaning of "Crime in the Suites." In his view, Crime in the Suites refers to the corporate criminal activities that take place among the people of the high class within the society. These are crimes done by rich people and government officials based on the privileges and power that the plutocrats are bestowed upon (Parenti, 2010). They end up utilizing all kinds of natural resources they want while passing off their diseconomies. Broadly, Parenti means the process of maximization the costs through the dumping of tremendous amounts of harmful toxins both into the land, water, and air by the corporate giants (Parenti, 2010).

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Parenti further notes that Crime in the Suites prevails in the United States based on Class Law. Class law is mainly written and enforced purposely to favor the rich over the remaining bunch of poor citizens (Parenti, 2010).

A Most Fallible System

According to Parenti, the fallibility of the criminal justice system refers to the ability of a system to make mistakes or wrong decisions. Broadly, it involves a situation whereby innocent people within the society are convicted of crimes they did not do. Citizens are, therefore, vulnerable to unfair and unprecedented treatment in the criminal justice system (Parenti, 2010).

Sexist Justice

Parenti recognizes the fact that effective law enforcement is needed to protect the public from corporate felons and other criminals. However, this has not always been the case. Sexist justice is a situation where the criminal prosecution is unable to protect the women because of deeply embedded sexist operations. It has thus failed to help the women offenders out of the cycle of crimes (Parenti, 2010). Additionally, female professionals have also been unable to achieve their professional fulfillment as a result.

Victimization of Children

In his view, the victimization of children is the inability of both the federal and state authorities to provide sufficient protection to children. For many years, children have been subjected to unfair and inhumane mistreatment, torture, neglected, and sexually abused (Parenti, 2010). In the same way, youngsters have been sentenced without proper rehabilitation. This decision contradicts the existing legal framework.

Racist Law Enforcement

In this case, Parenti asserts that people are subjected to criminal justice based on the color of their skin, ethnic origin, and background. African Americans have undergone a long period of mistreatment and discrimination since the abolition of slavery (Parenti, 2010). They have faced police brutality, unfair criminal sentencing, and unfair participation in the judicial processes. The enforcement has, therefore, been focused on favoring the white majority.

Part B:

In a statement, Greenberg speaks about the contemporary status of Civil Rights for Racial Minorities, for Women and Gays and Lesbians. Through this, Parenti recognizes the fact that African Americans are not the only group of individuals who have been subjected to discrimination (Greenberg & Page, 1999). The modern way of discrimination has further been directed to different groups of people, such as women, children, homosexuals, and other religious-affiliated groups. In recent times, the Jews, Irish, and Immigrants have faced de facto discrimination in various areas that touch their lives, such as employment opportunities and education. Thus, the struggle of civil rights has focused on a holistic approach to fight for discrimination (Greenberg & Page, 1999).

For minorities, discrimination has been shown in various areas within the social, political, and economic frameworks of society in America. African-American and Hispanic communities have suffered from different results in unsatisfactory access to healthcare, criminal justice, educational opportunities, and a multitude of other public goods and services (Kivel, 2017). The civil rights movements thus focus on the fight against these unfair practices. Another key civil rights issue has been whether or not gay men and lesbian couples can marry. Congress, in 1996, established a Defense of Marriage Act, which argued that states did not have to recognize the marriage of people of the same sex. Fascinatingly, Vermont became the first US state to recognize the civil union that allowed both gay and lesbian couples equal rights and privileges as heterosexual partners. Although some states have recognized same-sex marriages, the federal government of the US does still not yet recognized this kind of civil union.

Greenberg argues that the constitution of the USA has still not been implemented to ensure equality in healthcare, educational, and employment opportunities (Greenberg & Page, 1999). In relation to democracy, Parenti argues that every individual has the right to be heard and protected from any form of discrimination. By the fact that minorities, women, gays, and lesbians have been unable to receive global recognition, civil rights have continued to fight for the struggle (Greenberg & Page, 1999). It is thus essential for the systems of power to work and ensure that every individual has the opportunity to enjoy the fundamental rights and freedom as stipulated in the Constitution.

Part C:

Regarding the question of whether we are unequal before the law in the US, my answer is yes. The inequality before the code in the US is not something new in the US. African-Americans and Hispanics have always been subjected to racially-instigated law enforcement, as well as criminal justice (Tate & Page, 2018). There is unequal access to healthcare and educational opportunities for blacks. The studies have linked the present employment discrimination to the historical racial stereotypes associated with slavery and the slave trade. Although the federal government of the US has continued to implement the appropriate policies towards the enhancement of equality and inequality across various sectors, much has not been achieved (Tate & Page, 2018). The implementation of affirmative action and minimum wage policies have been critical in reducing the income gaps across diverse racial groups. The African Americans and the Hispanic communities have been able to get access to the appropriate treatment and compensation as a result.

The Black Lives Matters (BLM) movement has also been critical in exposing injustices that the members of the African-Americans have been subjected to since the US independence. The BLM has played a crucial role in fighting for the black minority community in the US due to the discrimination they face in their places of work, the judicial system, and healthcare. With the increased incidences of gun violence in the US over the past few years, it is evident that the culprits have been mostly associated with the African-American community (Tate & Page, 2018). Until the time when every American, despite their racial background, ethnicity, and religious affiliation, is treated the same, equality will not exist in the US. Equality will only be reported when white supremacists, despite their dominance in the country, are made to understand that every person is equal before the law.

References

Greenberg, E. S., & Page, B. I. (1999). The struggle for democracy. Addison-Wesley Longman.

Kivel, P. (2017). Uprooting Racism-: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. New Society Publishers.

Moore, M. (2003). Stupid White Man.

Parenti, M. (2010). Democracy for the Few. Cengage Learning.

Tate, S. A., & Page, D. (2018). Whiteliness and institutional racism: Hiding behind (un) conscious bias. Ethics and Education, 13(1), 141-155. http://onevisiononevoice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Whiteliness.pdf

Walker, V. (2019). A Question of Democracy in US Foreign Policy. Pacific Historical Review, 88(4), 667-676. https://phr.ucpress.edu/content/ucpphr/88/4/667.full.pdf