endemic en-ˈde-mik , in- adjective and noun
adjective: native to or confined to a certain region
adjective: originating where it is found
adjective: of or relating to a disease (or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser extent in a particular locality
noun: a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location
noun: a plant that is native to a certain limited area
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The word endemic has appeared in 157 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 3 in the Opinion essay “Reckoning With Violence” by Michelle Alexander:
As Ms. Sered explains in her book, drawing on her experience working with hundreds of survivors and perpetrators of violence in Brooklyn and the Bronx, imprisonment isn’t just an inadequate tool; it’s often enormously counterproductive — leaving survivors and their communities worse off.
… Ms. Sered launched Common Justice in an effort to give survivors of violence — like herself — a meaningful pathway to accountability without perpetuating the harms endemic to mass incarceration. As a restorative justice program, it offers a survivor-centered accountability process that “gives those directly impacted by acts of violence the opportunity to shape what repair will look like, and, in the case of the responsible party, to carry out that repair instead of going to prison.” …
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