In class on Tuesday on February 14, in 2012 we read an article named “I’m a criminal and so are you. The article is mostly about being a criminal since mostly everyone committed crimes but were never caught yet while others were caught for their crimes and once were released from prison they are treated unfairly and aren’t allowed in some states to vote, get a job, or even get a house. For example from the article it states “in this country, we force millions of people- who are largely black and brown- into a permanent second class status, simply because they once committed a crime. Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parrel social universe. You be denied the right to vote, automatically, excluded from juries and legally discriminated against in employment, housing, and access to education and public benefits - forms of discrimination that we supposedly left behind. The article also went on to state that the author of the article Michelle Alexander “I doubt Barack Obama thinks of himself as a criminal, though he should. He has admitted to using illegal drugs during his college year’s lots in fact. What if he thought of himself as a criminal? What if he identified that way? Would it lead him to feel a bit more compassion for those who are branded drug felons for life, unable to find work or housing, and deemed ineligible even for food stamps”

I think that some criminals that are branded for the crimes they do and will never really get past that for some people in the world. I personally know some people that have in and out of jail and it’s hard for them now since they have to try to restart their lives and live their lives like everyone else when the law permits them from getting a second chance at outside life. It’s very sad that people think once a criminal always a criminal. Furthermore I think everyone really is a criminal since everyone has committed petty crimes that weren’t caught by the law