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When I went to a boxing gym in Maryland there were a lot of young black guys. For them going to prison was totally normal thing. Often they themselves had been to prison or their relatives. Some had scars from gunshots. I can’t even imagine how it is to grow up in that environment.

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I had a surreal experience riding a Greyhound bus where I was the only passenger who hadn't just gotten out of prison. They were comparing conditions in various prisons the way you and I might compare coffee shops.

Having been locked up, I was regularly the only white guy in a whole building. It's completely normalized for Black youth to go to jail. I hesitate to say it, but it's practically considered a rite of passage. It's really sad. Some of these kids are absolutely smart as fuck and could do anything with their lives if their environment hadn't failed them.

When they get to jail, every one of their friends is there already, so it's way easier for them to process and deal with than it is for some random middle-class white dude.

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