How to Talk to Someone Who Has Been Incarcerated

Dr. Michael J. Coyle
Faculty, Department of Political Sicence & Criminal Justice
CSU, Chico

With 2.2 million people in prisons and jails in the United States and more than half a million people released each year, it is likely that most people know or will come in contact with people who have been incarcerated. Dr. Michael Coyle first provides some data about who goes to prison, data that shows black and Latino men incarcerated at a much higher rate than other groups. He notes the negative terminology used to describe those who have been incarcerated and presents several ideas for a different approach: separate harms/danger from revenge/hysteria; point to structures and not individuals; as no different from us; as people targeted for incarceration; and as targets of a society defined by white supremacy, abusive power structures, and capitalism.

Recorded: March 7, 2018