Just the heads up y'all this episode has some cussing so watch out

Let's good y'all. You're listening to code switch. I'm Jean Demby

Okay, so some years ago I was home visiting my family in Philly for a week and I mentioned to my cousin

I wanted to go buy some sneaks and my cousin was like cool

Let's go

We hopped in the car and headed to a spot in South Jersey just across the river. It couldn't have been more than a 25-minute drive

We shopped a little maybe for like 45 minutes and then we headed back home a completely

unremarkable excursion

But as we drove back my cousin started to get worried

Because it had somehow not crossed either of our minds

Until we were nearly back home, but my cousin was on probation and it was majorly against the rules for people on probation

To cross state lines without getting permission from an official like a probation officer well in advance

So our stupid little spontaneous joint to cop some sneakers could have ended with them getting locked up

It just

Depended on a whole lot of stuff like whether their probation officer or a judge wanted to turn this into a thing

And I remember my cousin being despondent for a few days wondering

Whether they had just blown up their freedom

And it was real reason to worry because in my hometown a mind-boggling number of people likely find themselves

Sweating over whether they messed up like we did that afternoon stressing over stuff that is barely notable for those of us without convictions

let alone

jailable

in

...