Reaction to the Netflix Documentary "13th"

As a middle-class white male from a socially progressive part of Massachusetts, I've long known of the inequality that exists in our country but until recently I never understood the extent to which the cards are stacked against people of color. I had always believed that the bulk of the inequality was rooted in the financial implications of slavery and Jim Crow era issues. I believed that many of the issues that pervade the country today (police violence, hiring discrimination, etc.) were symptomatic of this inequality and that, given that as a society we could raise people of color up the socioeconomic ladder, such issues would begin to fade. However, as evidenced by the wealth of information shared as of late, and emphasized in this documentary, those beliefs severely discounted the depth of structural inequality and the weight of the support for that inequality.

"13th" does a great job of connecting the dots of the social, economic, and political inequalities that are evident in the United States today. It synthesized a wealth of different information, much of which I was surprised to be knowledgeable of, into a cohesive analysis of the structural inequality that people of color face. It weaves in staples of African-American culture with political testimony and economic analysis in an easy to understand product. It highlights just how detrimental mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex is to communities of color, and it frames it as just the most recent iteration of the systematic exploitation of colored Americans. At a minimum, the prison industrial complex is an immoral system where the U.S. government sells peoples' freedom for corporate profits. At is worst, it is an intentionally racist system that is meant to subjugate and oppress people of color while limiting their ability to pull themselves out of the system meant to oppress them. Whichever way you lean, the conclusion is disgusting.

"13th" helped to connect the dots, making clear the wealth of inequalities people of color face every day. I can never truly know what its like to be a person of color in the United States, but "13th" has helped me to better understand the structures that create their experiences. I am both disturbed at the extent of system racism in the the United States and encouraged at the newfound accessibility of information shedding light on these structures that must change.