Imagine having your parents call the police to implement any disciplinary actions? In my upper middle class neighborhood, the police department would have come and had a good laugh with my parents while trying to scare the s*** out of me, at worst, but never would they have arrested me.

My brother took my parents car for a joy ride when he wasn’t able to drive, avoided the police and crawled back inside the house; no cops and no jail time. I hear stories fairly similar to the tales of my brother, but none ended the same as his, a weekend of yard duty.

The lack of value we, as a society, place on people of lower economic status is apparent in our lack of living wages, educational funding and the respect given when things go awry.

Mother Jones’ article, Thousands of Girls are Locked Up For Talking Back or Staying Out Late, is something every parent should read. It gives insight into a world most of us can’t imagine, but should start to realize is harming our society.