The essay “The Danger of a Single Story” is actually a TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi. She is a Nigerian writer and in her talk she presents the idea that when only one perspective or narrative is presented, it can create a distorted and incomplete understanding of a situation or problem. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Adichie argues that when we are exposed to just one story about a person, group or place, we risk creating stereotypes, prejudices and generalizations this can be harmful and limiting. Individual stories can be especially dangerous when they are used to justify discrimination, prejudice and violence against certain groups of people. According to Adichie, the danger of the single story lies in its effect of emphasizing how different we are rather than embracing and recognizing how similar we are. It states that a single story robs people of their dignity and separates us from our humanity because it makes it difficult to see each other as equals. Social identity theory is applicable when discussing individual stories as it describes how stereotypes can lead individuals to favor their own understanding or experience over that of others and how individuals justify their preferred thoughts and feelings by emphasizing differences and diminishing the similarities that exist between various groups of people without using critical analysis. The only story of those incarcerated in America is that they are a burden and a threat to our society, and each of them is capable of committing some of the worst crimes imaginable. The United States has more citizens in prison than any other country in the world. As a result of the massive increase in the number of inmates over the past 50 years, there is significant overcrowding and there has been great pressure on the state's economy due to the financial liabilities that prisons impose on the state. government. In John Pfaff's book Locked In, the author argues that drug crimes affect only a small portion of prisoners and that the real reason for incarceration is due to violent crime. He says the impact of private prisons has been exaggerated and given too much emphasis. Pfaff believes the increase in the prison population is due to prosecutors' decision to pursue harsh sentences. Pfaff's words are the only story of mass incarceration. It is not part of this single story to recognize that incarcerated people are also parents, leaders, mentors, and victims. The single story dictates that these individuals must be confined, monitored, and examined, and there is no recognition that these individuals may have been wrongly convicted or may have received an unjust sentence. One of the main arguments made in How We Misunderstand Mass Incarceration is that prisons are full of nonviolent drug offenders. The author of this article explains that the war on drugs was how the mass expansion of judicial power was justified. Although there is a relationship between the drug market, violence and poverty, America has chosen to respond to these problems by creating the largest prison population in history. This unique history of mass incarceration has been perpetuated with large increases in the number of arrests made in minority-rich areas of the country. Because predominantly white law enforcement agencies have unfairly tracked and arrested minorities at a much higher rate than nonviolent drug offenders, white individuals are more likely to be given second chances or let gogo with a simple warning. White individuals are also more likely to receive reduced sentences than minorities for the same crimes. The incarceration rate for African Americans is five times higher than that for whites, and while African Americans and Hispanics make up about 36 percent of this country's population, they made up about 56 percent of all incarcerated people. This disparity is evidence of the danger of the single story as we choose to believe the negative aspects of people, particularly minorities, and as Adichie stated, focusing on the negatives would only flatten the many experiences that are part of a person's life. individual. and they would overlook many other stories that formed as a result of those experiences. Former prisoners have the ability to express their experiences so that other individuals can reflect and understand what it is like to be deprived of liberty for days, months and years. Wally Lamb, a noted author and associate professor, created writing workshops for incarcerated women in Connecticut where he edited and helped publish two women's anthologies. The collection of poems and short stories written by incarcerated women were autobiographical essays that gave these incarcerated women the voice to communicate their personal stories, experiences, and emotions that they were previously unable to convey. This is a very powerful tool that Lamb has equipped these women with as they are able to share parts of themselves that other individuals typically give the worst of. Practices like this allow for many stories of mass incarceration and empower and humanize those who feel powerless and unimportant. Politicians establish policies and laws to gain control over a country's citizens by using the threat of incarceration. Privately owned and for-profit prisons can benefit from these policies by providing and enabling a very cheap source of forced labor. The goal of private prisons is not rehabilitation, but focuses on menial labor and jobs that do not help provide the necessary tools to individuals reentering society after serving their sentences. The media also controls the opinions of the general population as prisoners generally have no say. One of the solutions to reduce the massive prison population was introduced in Seattle. The city has initiated a revolutionary new solution to the problem of drug addiction in America and this approach involves not criminally prosecuting those caught with a small amount of drugs, but rather encouraging them to seek help from social services. Among public health professionals in the United States and abroad, this model is recognized as the preferred solution. While we cannot expect miracles, we can act with caution to change the issue at hand and refrain from negative reinforcement, such as prison time, to correct the behaviors of those battling drug addiction. The danger of a single story cannot be better explained without an example of authoritarian leaders and how they exert their influence. Dictators create single, politically persuasive narratives that always place blame on the incompetence and inability of others and justify their actions to seize power by violating human rights and silencing those who oppose them. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms to which every individual is entitled and was established in 1948 as a response to previous world wars. The Declaration of Human Rights states that human rights are universal and every human being can enjoy them.