The Crack

The war on crack cocaine became publicized with help of the media and shortly after Ronald Reagan started his presidency his wife also joined in the “war on drugs”. She started the phrase “say no” which was a campaign assisted in creating a zero tolerance for drug usage. This campaign once more targeted blacks by targeting the drug forms that were mostly associated with them. More people that were addicted to drugs such as crack cocaine were subject to draconian penalties that were passed…

In his article, Crack in Spanish Harlem, Philippe Bourgois describes the accounts of a young Puerto Rican American man living in Spanish Harlem, New York. Bourgois’ anecdote gives insight into the “culture of poverty”. Through the young man’s experiences we learn about several instances that seem normative within the “culture of poverty” such as encounters with the police, tensions that arise between fellow inner-city youths, and the conflict that can arise due to involvement with drug youths…

A Rhetorical Analysis on Pete Hamill’s “Crack and the Box” For numerous years, the use of drugs has been reprimanded by many and those who do use drugs have been outcast by society. It is also interesting that with the rising use of technology, those who use technology in excess tend to also be outcast by others. Rarely is there a connection made between both drugs and television. In Pete Hamill’s “Crack and the Box”, he draws many similarities between those who use drugs and children who have…

The crack of the rifle was muffled through the green ear protection that I was wearing and my yellow safety glasses made the paper targets stand out against the dirt backstop of the range. The seven campers were shooting their rifles for the first time and one boy was having difficulty. "Do you want some help?" I asked. "Yes," he said with a sigh of relief. I slightly adjusted the butt of the rifle against the camper's shoulder. Then I picked up the bullet and said, "You want to put the bullet…

Crack Cocaine Crack cocaine is an extremely powerful and dangerous stimulant drug. Crack cocaine causes adverse side effects and serious health problems. Crack cocaine is very addicting and overdoses are very common. A History of Crack Cocaine The history of cocaine dates back thousands of years to ancient indigenous peoples in South America chewing the intoxicating erythroxylon coca leaves. Starting in the 1800’s, coca leaves were processed into various foods, drinks and medicines. During the…

The Cracks of Higher Education Higher Education, a place where students are allowed to continue to be pushed through challenging material. This idea has recently came under fire during times where the burden of knowledge gets pushed further and further up the education system. This transfer has cause employers to not only look for degrees but nearly require them. The cost of this change has made some sort of Higher Education mandatory for a student to partake in. Although more schooling is not…

As both authors indirectly argue in their essay’s “Dyaspora” and “Crick, Crack,” race is a misconception that affects our lives the minute we are brought into the world. Furthermore, an effect of race is the desire to be accepted by the dominant culture. In Hyppolite’s story, the word “Dyaspora” is used to describe scattered people living in two worlds, their place of origin and their adopted land. Though there is great beauty in people from all across the world sharing the same roots and…

was premature. The year of 1983 was a time that was hard for most people,many people were struggling and and some were just out of it. Mainly because there was a drug currently popular called crack cocaine. Many people used it so it was hard not to see traumatic things in your everyday life. She would see crack needles and broken beer bottles on the ground so they had to be very careful when playing outside. There were so many things happening and she had been born into it. Her neighborhood…

bargains in federal crack cocaine sentences is examining two levels of the American criminal system that is unjust for many. It was in 2007 when the U.S. Sentencing Commission, after “lobbying Congress in vain for ten years to remedy the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses” (Kosman 786), successfully added a ‘crack amendment’ to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The amendment attempted to decrease the sentences of some defendants who had been convicted of crack…

Mud Cracks on Mars: A Sign of Possible Ancient Alien Life? If you asked a scientist what the basic building block of life is, the answer would be water. Therefore, when NASA’s Curiosity Rover recently found evidence suggesting that the Red Planet (Mars) was not always completely dry, thoughts of previous life forms come to mind. According to Nathan Stein, who is a member of NASA’s Curiosity science team, the most likely scenario for the cracks on Mars’ surface is mud. Evidence of Ancient Lakes…