| I have to admit that, even as an editor, I have sometimes used words and phrases to explain events before pausing to consider their full context and impact. So it has been with terms like "convict," "criminal," "felon" — words commonly found in your local newspaper and local news. But as journalists, activists and the general public confront the problems and inequalities that plague the criminal justice system, we must also recognize the dehumanizing terminology attached to it. "Carceral labels compound punishment by reducing people to their worst moments, codifying stigma and haunting people for years after sentences are served," write DeAnna Hoskins and Zoë Towns. They cite research that shows how people are more likely to consider a person "dangerous," for example, when they are defined by labels such as "felon" and "habitual offender." But when alternatives such as "person with a felony conviction" or "person with prior convictions" are used, those surveyed were far more likely to have a more positive association. "Words alone did not make and will not unmake mass incarceration and mass criminalization. But they do make a difference," Hoskins and Towns write. They are right. How we discuss, cover and learn about a social issue shapes our response and willingness to solve it.  (Ann Kiernan for The Washington Post) Labels given to those punished by the criminal justice system — and echoed by the media — are not neutral. They bias the public in favor of mass incarceration and criminalization. By DeAnna Hoskins and Zoë Towns ● Read more » | | | | Democrats in control of state governments are adopting a lot of really good, bold policies, measures that would have difficulty winning approval at the federal level. By Perry Bacon Jr. ● Read more » | | | | Biden needs to talk more about not just the arduous vetting process but also why it's so important that America welcomes Afghans at places like Fort McCoy. By James Hohmann ● Read more » | | | The select House panel is casting an extraordinarily wide investigative net. By Greg Sargent ● Read more » | | | | The Trump administration's mendacity is alive and well, thanks to the former press secretary. By Erik Wemple ● Read more » | | | Conservative justices don't seem to mind. By Ruth Marcus ● Read more » | | | | The defect was procedural, not political. By Henry Olsen ● Read more » | | | | The use of religion by a hard, often authoritarian right suggests that it is not always a positive force. By E.J. Dionne ● Read more » | | | My generation, which fought this conflict, must now learn its lessons. And be ready to prevent another endless war. By Jake Auchincloss ● Read more » | | | | Has there ever been such a swift contraction of a new president's standing? By George F. Will ● Read more » | | | | Democrats are thanking their lucky stars for the likes of Herschel Walker. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | | Both candidates are playing to their bases. The question is which option appeals to that big batch of undecided voters. By Norman Leahy ● Read more » | | | |
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