Ehrlichman admits he invented the war on drugs to destroy black community

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

At the time, I was writing a book about the politics of drug prohibition. I started to ask Ehrlichman a series of earnest, wonky questions that he impatiently waved away. “You want to know what this was really all about?” he asked with the bluntness of a man who, after public disgrace and a stretch in federal prison, had little left to protect. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

http://jezebel.com/nixons-policy-advisor-admits-he-invented-war-on-drugs-t-1766359595

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[think]

2. I wrote to my congress people at the time and stated that this was a war on the American people

They were Democrats. They all voted for it. I had already left the Democratic party by that time due to corruption at the local levels of government in my area. The war on drugs only lead me to conclude I was correct in doing so.

[AxionExcel]

3. Mendacity = standard Republican modus operandi

[Iggo]

4. I didn't read the article or the book. Does Baum say why he waited all this time? (n/t)

[Loki]

12. Human nature.

Many people feel absolute remorse when they realize what they have done, some just do it thinking they will "get right with god" before they die. Lee Atwater was one who became contrite when he developed brain cancer, Robert McNamara wrote extensively about "The Fog of War" and his remorse about the VietNam war.

[Iggo]

14. Oh yeah. I know about that. I meant the author, not Erlichman.

I was just wondering why he didn't report this twenty years ago.

[mountain grammy]

5. They didn't "invent" the war on drugs, they perfected it..

[malaise]

8. Same reason the Brits outlawed ganja

in 'her colonies'.
One day the real barbarians will be brought to trial.

They have destroyed the African-American male deliberately. What did we do these people other than enrich them with our free forced labor?

[jwirr]

15. Prohibition was here long before the War on Drugs.

[mountain grammy]

24. Read "Chasing the Scream" a few weeks ago

100 year old war on people disguised as drug prohibition.. disgusting..

[jwirr]

32. Yes, this is disgusting. I will have to read that book. Thanks.

[billhicks76]

6. Hillary Please Comment

Her statement would have a huge impact if it were clear and decisive.

[mountain grammy]

25. crickets.....

she would once again have to defend the Clinton crime bill and it's a hollow defense.

[Hortensis]

7. If true that would be incredibly evil. Of course, we

know this administration did a number of incredibly evil things.

[malaise]

9. If true?

You actually have doubts???

[Hortensis]

16. No, actually. But I haven't checked this out

further yet, and who would automatically trust anything that man said?

[Fumesucker]

10. The Democrats too have been avid drug warriors

Up until just the last few years virtually all Federal level politicians have been drug warriors.

[L. Coyote]

11. Meanwhile, Nixon's War on Political Enemies hasn't relented even a little bit. See Arizona today.

Millions in prison, millions dienfranchised as felons, and they just won't let up.

Now, they simply take away the voting places, say, "Fuck you liberals," and blame the long lines on voters showing up to vote.

[mariawr]

13. Excellent read and worth following link to original Harper's post too.

[hughee99]

17. Is this quote from the 1996 book?

I don't remember hearing it before today.

[killbotfactory]

20. It's been few anti-drug war documentaries for a while now

Along with many quotes from Henry J. Anslinger who was pivotal role in cannabis prohibition before the drug war.



Our society has been conditioned to think drug users are subhuman lying scum, and recreational drugs are evil, so it's taken a while for people to listen to them or anyone else who argues against the drug war.

[mountain grammy]

26. Talk about evil.. this guy!

[RussBLib]

18. sorry about all those lives ruined

Signed: Tricky Dick

[Half-Century Man]

19. The War on Drugs was the official name of the war on African Americans and their allies

Both real and perceived.

Maybe "war" is too strong a word. How about "police Action" like Korea?
That was way nicer than WWII

[Visionary]

21. War on people who use drugs

The war on drugs has never actually been about reducing drug use. It's about enrichment of those who fight the war, and expanding the power of the state.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

22. As we all know, War is a racket n/t

[saidsimplesimon]

23. Ted Cruz looks and acts like Richard Nixon.

Senator Lindsey Graham is in fine form as he tries to sell this piece to his fellow Republicans. It would be hilarious, if not for how pathetic and demeaning it must be for the proud men/women who made a career of service to US.

[KamaAina]

29. True, except he couldn't say "My fellow Americans..."

without his nose growing to be a foot long.

[1StrongBlackMan]

27. Posted to for later. eom.

[arcane1]

28. And Hillary Clinton thinks pot should remain illegal, and wants to continue the war on drugs n/t

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

31. Has the MSM picked it up? Rachel? Lawrence?

[Dawson Leery]

33. Nixon was a disaster for us.

His Southern Strategy is the reason Trump exists today. A President has great influence when they give their ascent to a cause.
By coddling the racist white voters, Nixon gave subtle racism an enduring viability. That will always be unforgiveable.

[Eleanors38]

34. Yep. Saw this "subtle politics" unfold over 40 yrs. ago. Yet most people...

...still push the stale economic determinism underwriting opposition to the WOD. "Follow the money trail," "It's all about the money," "The tobacco companies and the booze iñdustry are behind it," "Hurst has thousands of acres in slash pine," blah, blah, blah.

The GOPer bastids did everything but Pay people to see the main reasons for the WOD, but you can't beat that cheap worldly cynicism parading as store-bought intellectualism when you can stop all intelligent conversation with "Itz AllAbout da Money."

Erlichman don't give a shit; hardly anyone will believe him.

Even now.

[lunatica]

35. Seeing it in writing definitely takes it out of the 'conspiracy theory' argument

The misery of the decades of this policy is a damning indictment. But if this gets attention is a toss up.

Sometimes real history is just ignored.