Hacker Cinema
The House I Live In
2012 · Film · documentary · 110 min
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong?
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20 comments on Hacker News
It’s 10 years old, but I didn’t see “The House I Live In” in any of the previous threads. Its an amazing look at the history of The War on Drugs, and its impact on the criminal justice system and human rights in the United States.
https://imdb.com/title/tt2125653/
I remember thru hiking on the AT and finding tracts distributed by a local quasi-cult. It was astonishing to see how they seemed to know exactly what I was thinking about the shallowness and consumerism of society, things like that.
Some people pay attention to the things said by those they aim to control, and then feed that back to them. I could literally feel it tugging at my brain. It was one of the most visceral “I’m dodging a bullet right now” feelings I’ve ever had.
Critical thinking is a critical skill!
Also on the point of gangs, there’s a documentary that shines a great light on how people fall into it, and on the other side of the coin, parts of law enforcement: The House I Live In.
With respect and goodwill (appreciate that you actually seem to be coming to the comments to learn), it's very hard to read your comment in that way when you say things like:
> Society pretending that there is massive racism when there isn't is itself structural racism
I'm not sure where is best to start here because there are so many things that have to go into actually believing that, and so many combinations, but there are tons of resources floating around so I truly do encourage you to seek those out.
A basic starting point list beyond police brutality: public school funding systems, household wealth inequality and lack of reparations + exponential investment growth, medical treatment differences (go look up the guides for black people in the US to get proper medical treatment from a doctor), the prison industrial complex, the criminalization of drugs in the US + its history, crack vs powder cocaine sentencing laws, parole laws
If you prefer movie format: 13th, I Am Not Your Negro, The House I Live In
> I am saying that the level of racism is low
This sums up why your comment go downvoted so far. The social media world is overflowing with resources showing the opposite right now with extensive evidence and research. It has always been there but it has never been more accessible.
When I watched documentary "The House I Live In" I was really shocked by the scale of the abuse towards citizens. It was in 2012, about six years later nothing has changed or it is going even worse. Now, when I share a link to this documentary, usual response is that I am a nutcase and that is some sort of conspiracy theory! This is insane...
There's a fantastic documentary on the failed 'war on drugs' called 'The House I Live In' from Eugene Jarecki (http://www.thehouseilivein.org).
It suggests that the criminalization of narcotics (opium, cocaine, marijuana, etc) was set in motion purely as a way to prevent non-whites from 'stealing jobs.'
Whether you agree with this or not, it's an interesting view. It also gets into crack and the massive penalties that come with crack possession vs cocaine possession.
This is the thesis of the documentary "The House I Live In", which is a suggested watch for anybody who has an interest in the subject[s].
The description of this from "The House I Live In" documentary, as a "slow-motion holocaust" seems more and more appropriate to me.
Cool that this appeared here right now, as I'm in the middle of rewatching The House I Live In, a fantastic documentary about the US drug war/justice system. Go watch it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8
The current US system is mindblowingly stupid. People who are treated like animals tend to act like it, especially if they're encouraged to.
"The house I live in"[0] is the another highly recommended documentary for people with interest in the subject.
[0] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_house_i_live_in/
Two plugs I always make during any drug law discussion on HN:
One - The Economist's 2009 article "Failed states and failed policies" - http://www.economist.com/node/13237193 (you might have to Google the title to get around a paywall)
Two - The documentary, The House I Live In - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/ (trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8)
Both make such a fascinating case that drugs should have never been a crime and punishment issue, but rather one of public health. I highly recommend both for a read and a watch, and both will articulate the case far superior to anything I would be able to write here.
The Economist wrote a near perfect editorial about the war on drugs a few years back:
http://www.economist.com/node/13237193 (you might need to Google "The economist failed states and failed policies" to read the article)
Regarding drug policy, the biggest misstep of the past 40 years has been taking a public heath issue and turning it into a crime and punishment issue.
I highly recommend anyone curious about the history of the war on drugs, and the major problems it has created, watch "The House I Live In" -- arguably one of the best documentaries I have ever seen -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/
For anyone a little less familiar with mandatory minimum sentencing -- I highly recommend the documentary 'The House I Live In'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8
Streams instantly on Netflix - one of the most important documentaries I've ever seen
You should definitively watch the film "The House I Live In" (One of the producers was Brad Pitt) it is an eye-opening documentation about the US drug policy. It shows, that even that is just a mock-up to fool people.
I would encourage anyone who hasn't already, to watch the brilliant documentary 'The House I Live In' by Eugene Jarecki. It's available on Netflix (in the UK at least).
It follows the War on Drugs in the USA. As an outsider (Irish living in London) I found it genuinely eyeopening on a topic I knew next to nothing about. For example did you know that the only difference between cocaine and crack cocaine is the addition of baking powder and heat. Although the later will get you 100 times the sentence of the former. There are 19 year olds being put away for the rest of their lives for the possession of a few grams of this stuff.
I don't care what stand you take on the legalisation/criminalisation of drugs, that is insane!
Instead of trying to reduce the rate of reoffending once released, it seems many states go out of their way to marginalise convicts so that virtually no law abiding avenues of employment remain for them. Talk about a vicious circle. That's not evening taking into account the effect of incarcerated parents has on the generation that follows.
Even though I don't touch drugs (besides caffeine, duh) I tend to fall into the "legalize everything" category --
http://www.economist.com/node/13237193
My general stance is pretty much aligned with the above article; that drugs should have never fallen under a crime and punishment policy, but rather all focus should have been placed on public health policy. While I'm not pretending for a second that drugs don't ruin lives and families, it's only doubling the damage to criminalize these people's choices with little chance for rehabilitation.
This isn't even touching the political issues covered in the wonderful documentary The House I Live In
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/
I think you should watch Eugene Jarecki's documentary 'the house I live in.' The source is very much racial, and this was also the case for alcohol prohibition to a large extent.
If you haven't already seen The House I Live In, I recommend watching the documentary online. It will change the way you think about drugs and the United States' prison system. The movie doesn't focus specifically on technology, but it explores the by-any-means-necessary approach to law enforcement that helps facilitate things such as the Hemisphere Project mentioned in the story.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8
Since drug war/prison system/militarized police keeps popping up on HN, I'd highly recommend anyone very interested in learning more about how this came to be to watch the documentary "The House I Live In."
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8 Link to site: http://www.thehouseilivein.org/
It's an excellent explanation of how drug laws and being "tough" on crime have led to skyrocketing incarceration rates, trigger happy cops, and broken communities.
If you're interested in drug policy you might like a recently released documentary called "The House I Live In": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125653/
Well that's awesome and I did not know that was now the case. Thanks for the information!
My intent was that it's skeevy as hell to blackmail someone for growing cannabis. If there were very specific extenuating circumstances then I'd take that into account, yes. Still, federal prosecution of drug crimes often results in long periods of incarceration. I don't think that's justified for anything less than violent crimes.
HN readers might be advised to watch the new documentary called The House I Live In - it has footage from 20 states documenting the ineffectiveness, hypocrisy, and profiteering inherent in the War on (some) Drugs.
http://www.thehouseilivein.org/