> the odds that an American will go to prison are relatively high.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_ra...)

That "relatively" is important.

(In 2009)

    US:     743 per 100,000 
    Russia: 577 per 100,000
    China:  120 per 100,000
    Canada: 117 per 100,000

Compared to other countries the chances of an American going to prison are higher, even though the chances overall are quite low.

It is if you are black and male.

The large number of Americans in jail are pretty irrelevant to ~you~ and your friends/family not being in jail.