framework policy debate

7/25/2019 Framework Policy Debate

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FwImaging government action is key to dignity and activism- ties us to

others and makes us work to prevent attrocities

Nozick, 1990, Robert, Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Philosophy at

Harvard University, The Ea!ined "ife#, p$%&'(%&9, KHa)e

*e +ant our individual lives to epress our oneptions of reality-and ofresponsiveness to that./ so too +e +ant the institutions de!arating our livestogether to epress and saliently sy!boli)e our desire d !utual relations$0e!orati institutionsand the liberties oordinate +ith the! arenot si!ply eetive !eansto+ard ontrolling the po+ers of govern!ent and direting these to+ard!atters of 2oint onern/ they the!selves epress and sy!boli)e, in an appointed ando3ial +ay, our equa human dignity, our autonomy and powers o! se!

direction"*e vote, although +e are ogni)ant of the !inisule probability that our o+n vote +ill

have so!e deisive eet on the outo!e, in part as an epression and sy!bolia3r!ation of our status as autono!ous and self governing beings +hoseonsidered 2udg!ents or even opinions have to be given +eight e4ual tothose of others$ That sy!bolis! is i!portant to us$ *ithin the operation of de!orati institutions,too, +e +ant epressions of the values that onern us and bind us together$The libertarianposition 5 one propounded no+ see!s to !e seriously inade4uate, in partbeause it did not fully 6nit the hu!aneonsiderations and 2oint ooperative ativities it leftroo! for !ore losely into its fabri$ 5t negleted the sy!boli i!portant of an o3ialpolitial onern +ith issues or proble!s, as a +ay of !ar6ing theiri!portane or urgeny, and hene of epressing, intensifying, hanneling, enouraging, andvalidating our private ations and onerns to+ard the!$ 7oint goals that the govern!entignores o!pletely( it is dierent +ith private or fa!ily goals( tend to appear un+orthy to our 2oint ation

attention and hene to reeive little$There are so!e things +e hoose to do togetherthrough govern!ent in sole!n !ar6ing of our hu!an solidarity, served bythe fat that +e do the! together in this o3ial fashion and often also by theontent of the ation itself$ 5t is all very +ell,# so!eone !ight say, to !ar6 hu!an solidaritythrough o3ial ation, but +e do that through respeting the rights of individuals not to have theirpeaeful lives interfered +ith, not to be !urdered, et$, and this is su3ient epression of our hu!an

respet for our fello+ iti)ens/ not only isthere no need to interfere any !ore greatly initi)ens8 lives in order to bind the! !ore losely to their fello+s, thatinterferene +ith individual autono!y itself denotes a la6 of respet for it$#

et our concern o! individuas autonomy and i#erty too is itse! in

part an e$pressive concern " %e #eieve these vaua#enot si!ply beause ofthe partiular ations they enable so!eone to hoose or perfor!, or the goods they enable hi! to a4uire,

but #ecause o! the ways they ena#e him to engage in pointed andea#orate se! e$pressive and se! sym#oizing activities that !urther

ea#orate and deveop the person$ A onern for the epression and sy!boli)ation ofvalues that an best and !ost pointedly, not to !ention !ost e3iently, be epressed 2ointly and

o3ially( that is, politially( is ontinuous +ith a onern for individual self epression$ There are !any

sides of ourselves that see6 sy!boli self epression, and even if the personal side +ere to be given

priority, there is no reason to grant it sole s+ay$ 5f sy!bolially epressing so!ething is a+ay of intensifying its reality, +e +ill not +ant to trunate the politial real!so as to trunate the reality of our soial solidarity and hu!ane onern for


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others$ 5 do not !ean to i!ply that the publi real! is only a !atter of 2oint self epression/ +e +ishalso by this atually to ao!plish so!ething and to !a6e things dierent,and +e +ould not :nd so!e poliies ade4uately epressive of solidarity +ithothers if +e believed they +ould not serve to help or sustain the!$ The libertarianvie+ loo6ed solely at the purpose of govern!ent, not at its !eaning/ hene it too6 an unduly narro+ vie+

of purpose, too$&oint poitica action does not merey sym#oicay e$press

out ties o! concern, it aso constitutes a reationa tie itse!$ 'hereationa stance , in the poitica ream, eads us to want to e$press

and instantiate ties o! concern to our !eows$ And if helping those in need, aso!pared to further bettering the situation of those already +ell o, ounts as relationally !ore intenseand enduring fro! our side and fro! the side of the reeivers also, then the relational stane an eplain

+hat pu))les utilitarianis!, vi)$, +hy a onern for bettering others8 situation onentrates espeially upon

the needy, all +ithout our aid, +e +ould have to :nd another +ay to 2ointly epress and intensify ourrelational ties$ ;ut don8t people have a right not to feel ties of solidarity and onern, and if so, ho+ an

the politial soiety ta6e seriously its sy!boli epression of +hat !ay not be there< ;y +hat right does it

epress for others +hat they the!selves hoose not to


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*onnecting our critiques to an advocacy o! the

egaization o! mari)uana provides a training ground !or

#roader re!orm---egaization is vita and aows e+ective

coaition-#uiding

Katherine 'ate 1, Professor of Politial =iene at U> 5rvine, Something'sin the Air: Race, Crime, and the Legalization of Marijuana, pg$ 9

?or inreasing nu!bers of A!erians, egaization o! persona- use mari)uana is the ony

aternative to draconian aws drawn up in the war on drugs regime

o! the past three decades$ 5t is +ell established that onern and paranoia over petty @ra6@ oaine arrests forsales, possession, and use drove the !ass +arehousing of >alifornias prisons and 2ail populations to beo!e the largest in the United =tates

-"usane 1991B Provine %CCDB Reiner!an and "evine 199DB *eatherspoon 199&B *eaver %CCD.$ iller -%CC&. ontends that the ."/"

!edera system o! crime contro has e!t minority citizens ess a#e to

chaenge un!air sentencing aws$ Foting that mari)uana possession

constituted neary o! 10 drug- reated arrestsin the 199Cs$ ihelle Aleander -%C1C.

insists that this period o! unprecedented punitiveness resuted in prison

sentences-rather than dis!issal, o!!unity servie, or probation.@ to the degree that in twoshort decades, #etween 190 and 2000 the num#er o! peope

incarcerated in our nations prisons and )ais soared !rom roughy

00"000 to more than 2 miion" 3y the end o! 2004, more than 4

miion 5mericans 6or one in every 1 aduts6 were #ehind #ars , on

pro#ation, or paroe@ -Aleander %C1C$ G9.$ 7ushed #y drug prosecutions, the

rising rate o! incarceration reached unprecedented eves in the

1990s$ Todays !ove!ent to+ard !ore prisons, !andatory !ini!u!s and reinstate!ent of the death penalty logially follo+ed theraially eploitative @la+ and order@ a!paigns of the 19'Cs and 19DCs -ura6a+a %CC&.$ >onservative A!erian politiians use the !ythial;la6 or Hispani !ale drug dealer, li6e the ;la6 fe!ale +elfare 4ueen, to dru! up votes$ A +idespread onsensus in reported govern!ent

statistis, advoay studies, and poliy thin6 tan6s suggests that 5!rican 5mericans #ear the #runt o!

aw-and-order management o! ."/" mari)uana aws #ecause o! how

mari)uana use is raciaized$ Politial sientist 0oris Provine ontends that

the ."/"government increased its punitive response toward drug use as a

response to racia !ears and stereotypes "=he +ritesB 8drugs remain,

sym#oicay, a menace to white, midde-cass vaues@ -%CCD$ &9.$ ;oth politiians and

!edia have used this issue to onstrut a risis and sustain punitive state drug la+s$ 'he war on drugs, she onludes,

has greaty harmed minority citizens through their imprisonment,

contri#uting to deep inequaities in education, housing, heath care,

and equa opportunities to advance economicay$ The fats of use$ sales, and possession,on:r!ed by aade!i and ritial legal studies literature, are stri6ingly dierent fro! ho+ the national and loal !edia hoose to presentthe!$ ne study fousing on !ari2uana initiate found @a!ong ;la6s, the annual inidene rate -per 1$CCC potential ne+ users. inreased fro!&$C in 19'' to 1'$D in 19'&$ reahed a pea6 at about the sa!e ti!e as @*hites@ -19$I in 19D'.$ then re!ained high throughout the late 19DCs$?ollo+ing the lo+ rates in the 19&Cs, rates a!ong ;la6s rose again in the early 199Cs, reahed a pea6 in 199D and 199& -19$% and 19$1$respetively., then dropped to 1I$C in 1999$ =i!ilar to the general pattern for *hites and ;la6s$ Hispanis annual inidene rate rose during

late 19DCs and 199Cs, +ith a pea6 in 199& -1D$&.@ -Fational =urvey on 0rug Use 1999.$ Individuas and groups in

civi society, advocacy communities, and state legislatures must put !orth aserious strugge among activists and potentia coaition partners

who can understand the need !or re!orm as a !atter of ivil rights and 2ustie, and not the !orality

of !ari2uana onsu!ption$ =upporting deri!inali)ation potentially can #e the training ground !or a

new generation o! eadership in addressing the arger pro#em o!

mass incarceration and socia and poitica isoation associated with

it$For 3ack peope and their aies who ong !or the days 6 against


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a odds6 o! poitica education, voter mo#iization, ega re!orm,

group soidarity, chaenge to the poitica parties, and poitica

empowerment, e$pressed in the modern civi rights movement, the

matter o! decriminaization is ripe !or gavanizing a coa#oration at

the grassroots " 'oo many;la6s have assumed that the %ar on :rugs

ended with the dissipation o! the crack emergency, when, in sum,mari)uanas criminaization6rather than incarceration6o! 3ack

peope has #een more perennia$ 5f ihelle Aleander -%C1C. is orret in arguing that mass

incarceration has e+ectivey reasserted &im *row second-cass

citizenship-or no iti)enship. rights on 5!rican 5merican peope, then they !ust get o thesidelines of the legali)ation of annabis or deri!inali)ation struggle and stop allo+ing others to :ght +hat is essentially their battle$ This haslong been the ase in the hallenge to the rushing @prison industrial o!ple$@ *hites and others, for the !ost part, have been the leaders inrefor! eorts onerning suh things as !andatory !ini!u!s, the old 1CCB1 gra! of oaine(to(ra6 for!ula, and health are for geriatri orH5J A50= patients in prisons, +hile +e have seen >alvin @=noop( 0ogg@ ;roadus beo!e !ore inuential than the ongressional ;la6 >auus

to our young$ %hen ordinary peope change their thinking and

consciousness and #egin to demysti!ys!all, personal( use mari)uana, thenthe

eaders wi eventuay come around without reticence or !ear" 'he

mari)uana de#ate needs to #e re!ramed to remove a penaties

against its use -=herlen %C1%.$ 'his is our e$it strategy ; decriminaization

re!orm is the ony path to reversing the disma trends minorities

!ace in 5merica"


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oneptual fra!e+or6s and praties$ Thus, it is the o!!unity that is the generator and repository of6no+ledge$ ;ringing ohanty8s +or6 on identity as theoretial onstrution together +ith Felson8s +or6 on

episte!ologial o!!unities therefore suggests that, identity# is one of the 6no+ledges that is produed

and enabled for and by individuals in the ontet of the o!!unities +ithin +hih they eist$ The post(positivist refor!ulation of eperiene# is neessary here as it privileges understandings that e!erge

through the proessing of eperiene in the ontet of negotiated pre!ises about the +orld, over

eperiene itself produing self(evident 6no+ledge -self(evident, ho+ever, only to the one +ho has had#

the eperiene.$ 'his distinction is cruciafor, i! it is not the e$perience o!, forea!ple, seual discrimination that >makes? onea fe!inist, #utrather, the

paradigm through which one attempts to understand acts o!seual

discrimination, then it is not necessary to have actuay had the

e$perience onese! in order to make the identi=cation fe!inist#$ 5f being afe!inist# is not a given fat of a partiular soial -andNor biologial. loation S that is, being designatedfe!ale# S but is, in ohanty8s ter!s, an ahieve!ent# S that is, so!ething +or6ed to+ards through a

proess of analysis and interpretation S then t+o i!pliations follo+$ ?irst, that not all +o!en are fe!inists$

=eond, that fe!inis! is so!ething that is ahievable# by !en$ Q *hile it is accepted that

e$periences are not!erely theoretial or oneptual constructs which can #e

trans!erredfro! one person to another with transparency, we think thatthere is

something poiticay se!-de!eating a#out insisting that one can ony

understand an e$perience @or then comment upon itA i! one hasactuay had the e$perience onese!$ As Rege -199&. argues, to priviege

knowedge caims on the #asis o! direct e$perience , or then on

caims o! authenticity, can ead to a narrow identity poitics that

imits theemancipatory potentiao!the movements or organisations

!a6ing suh lai!s$ ?urther, i! it is not possi#e to understand an e$perience

one has not had, then what point is there in istening to each otherolorado, period$5n the 7an$ ' artile @W;rea6ing ;la6B *hy >olorados +eed

la+s !ay ba6:re for bla6 A!erians,@ oldie 'ayor mistakeny suggests that>olorados new

egaization aw may !urther tip the scaes in !avor o! a privieged

cass aready argey sa!e !rom criminaization" Euch o! the

stu##orn this-changes-nothing #eie! a#out the new aw stems

!rom con!usion #etween decrim inaization and egaization" 'here isa pro!ound di+erence #etween the hodgepodge o! aws known

coectivey as decriminaization@ passed in several states over the past QC years, and>olorados

unprecedented egaizationla+$ :ecriminaization usuay re!ers to a

change in the aw which removes crimina #ut not civi penaties for

!ari2uana possession, aowing poice to issue civi =nes -si!ilar to speeding ti6ets., or require

drug educationor epensive treat!ent progra!s in li eu of being arrested$3ecause o! the am#iguity in

some states with decriminaization, cops sti arrest users with sma

amounts o! mari)uana due to technicaities, suh as having illegal paraphernalia, or for having !ari2uana in

@publi vie+@ after as6ing the! to e!pty their po6ets$ ne ony need ook as !ar as the in!amous

stop-and-!risk aw in New Gork, where mari)uana is decriminaized, to

see how these am#iguities might #e a#used to the detriment o!peope o! coor"In *oorado, however, the mari)uana industry is now

ega and a#ove-ground " 7eope there!ore have a right to possess

and use mari)uana products, although as +ith alohol, there are restritions relating to things li6e age, driving, and publi use$

7oice wont #e a#e to raciay pro=e #y caiming they smeed

mari)uana or sa+ it in plain vie+$" %e wi reduce rea pro#ems associated with

the iicit market$As !ari2uana users shift to !a6ing purhases at regulated stores, we start to see

improvement in pro#ems that were #amed on mari)uana #ut are in

!act consequences o! its prohi#ition" 'he vioence reated to the

street-corner drug trade wi #egin to !aas the illiit !ar6et is slo+ly replaed by +ell(guarded stores +itha!eras and seurity syste!s$ And onsu!ers +ill no+ 6no+ +hat theyre getting/ instead of buying +hatevers in a baggie, they have the bene:t of hoosing fro! a +ide

variety of !ari2uana produts at the prie level and poteny they desire$oldie Taylor !ade the dubious lai! that sine !ari2uana pries +ere initially high in >oloradosne+ stores, the reation of a legal !ar6et +ont aet the eisting illiit !ar6et$ ;ut despite sensational headlines, pries for !ari2uana are 2ust li6e anything else$ They

respond to levels of supply and de!and$ 5n the :rst ouple +ee6s, pries +ere high beause only a s!all fration of !ari2uana businesses in >olorado opened, and +hatloo6ed li6e every user in the state +as in line to !a6e a purhase on the day the histori la+ too6 eet$ As the novelty(fueled de!and levels o and the rest of the storesaross the state begin to open, inreasing supply, pries +ill drop$ ?or their !oney, purhasers an onveniently buy a produt they 6no+ is tested and unadulterated$ Andfor those +ho dont +ant to buy at a store, >olorado residents over %1 are per!itted to gro+ up to si !ari2uana plants at ho!e$

%e shoud engage in these de#ates regarding

institutiona re!orms within the system rather than radica

aternatives

7$ Harvie%ikinson 1, 2udge serving on the United =tates >ourt ofAppeals for the ?ourth >iruit, for!er Assoiate professor at the University ofJirginia =hool of "a+, for!erly had a position in the >ivil Rights 0ivision ofthe U$=$ 0epart!ent of 7ustie, 7une, 5n 0efense of A!erian, >ri!inal

7ustie#, Janderbilt "a+ Revie+,httpBNN+++$vanderbiltla+revie+$orgNontentNartilesN%C1INC'N5n(0efense(of(A!erian(>ri!inal(7ustie$pdf

ne :nal ount in the indit!ent re!ains$ *an we truy ca a system

democratic when a very arge section o! the citizenry 6Afrian(

A!eriansL!ee oppressed #y or e$cuded !rom itH Is this a

reason to discredit 5merican crimina )ustice H 'he reaction to

the verdict in theeorge immerman tria in 7uly %C1QLin parts


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angry, reetive, and resignedLreminded us that many 5!rican-

5mericans !ee as though the crimina )ustice system does not

work !or them" *ashington Post olu!nist Eugene Robinson argued, @ursoiety onsiders young bla6 !en to be dangerous, interhangeable,ependable, guilty until proven innoent$# Q'% anhattan 5nstitute sholar

and Fe+ Republi ontributor 7ohn *horter argued that, for Afrian(A!erians, the poisonous relationship bet+een young bla6 !en and la+enfore!ent is the pri!e !anifestation of rais! in !odern A!eria$# Q'QAnd President ba!a noted that the Afrian A!erian o!!unity is loo6ingat this issue through a set of eperienes and history that doesn8t go a+ay,#one +rapped up in a history of raial disparities in the appliation of our

ri!inal la+$# Q'I 'here is something to these criticisms"

5mericans have tried to address them over the yearsby re4uiringob2etive, rae(neutral 2usti:ations for govern!ent ations +ithin the

ri!inal 2ustie syste!$ %e have, for ea!ple, required that the )ury

venire #e composed o! a !air cross-section o! the community,

and in 3atson v" Jentucky, the /upreme *ourt outawed theuse o! peremptory chaenges o! )urors #ased upon their race"

%e can insist that o#)ective criteria support stop and !risks"

5nd we can !ocus on racia discrepancies in crimina-aw

en!orcement6which may ead, !or e$ampe, to !our times as

many mari)uana arrests !or #ack 5mericans as white

5mericans, despite simiar rates o! use$Q'D ;ut eorts suh asthese +on8t solve our proble!s altogether$ This is beause the story is !oreo!pliated than si!ply a ri!inal 2ustie syste! that has failed to +in thetrust and on:dene of !any in the Afrian(A!erian o!!unity$ Theproble! of raial e4uality and ri!inal 2ustie is one of painful o!pleity$#

Q'& %e can acknowedge that we have not yet reached our goa

o! race neutraity in the dispensation o! )ustice whie

acknowedging aso that this aone does not account !or the

racia makeup o! our prisons and ha!way houses"ThenSFe+ or6ayor ihael ;loo!berg stated, Finety perent of all people 6illed in ourityLand 9C perent of all those +ho o!!it the !urders and other violentri!esLare bla6 and Hispani$# Q'9 That is the great double(edged s+ord$ 5tunderstandably leads to !ore stops and !ore arrests in high(ri!e areas$ 5tunderstandably leads to !ore onvitions of those of +hatever rae +hoo!!it the ri!es$ ;ut it also leads to understandable anger and resent!ent

on the part of disadvantaged young bla6 !ales +ho +ant to !a6e a deentgo of A!erian life, only to :nd the!selves the ob2et of reurrent false

suspiion and repeated fris6s$ 'he soution to the pro#em o! race

and crimina )ustice is not a tota overhau o! the system " 'hat

)ust renders the crimina)ustice system the scapegoat for a

!uh larger set of soial proble!s$ 'he crimina )ustice system !ees

the e+ects o! those pro#emsK it does not cause them " :rug

and gun crimes are not any ess a #ight upon society #ecause


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o! the racia makeup o! the o+enders/ indeed, as Robinson noted,

>8Nowhere wi you =nd citizens more supportive o! tough aw-

and-order poicies than in poor, high-crime neigh#orhoods$# QDC

ur crimina )ustice system righty aims to reduce dangerous

#ehavior , and the #ene=ciaries o! success in that endeavor

may #e those ess advantaged citizens !or whom #asic sa!etywi make !or greater opportunity, not to mention #etter

prospects !or a #righter i!e" 'o cast ceaseess #ame on

5mericaCs crimina)ustice system is to ignore the enormity o! the

pro#ems it has #een asked to sove " It ony diverts attention

!rom the arger ways in which 5merica has !aied its

undercass$ As ihael erson reently noted, The proble! of AfrianA!erian boys and young !en is a o!ple !i of lingering raial pre2udie,urban eono!i disloation, ollapsing fa!ily struture, failing shools andsi6, ato!i)ed o!!unities$# QD1 To hastise ri!inal 2ustie +hen !any

levers of up+ard !obility are so o!pro!ised is an inversion of priorities$ Ao!plete :# of +hat the ritis allege ails ri!inal 2ustie +ill do nothing torestore shattered fa!ily strutures, i!prove failing shools, i!part neessary

2ob s6ills, restore religious and o!!unity support groups, or provide!eaningful alternatives in deprived neighborhoods to the gangs and drugrings that steer young people to+ard lifelong additions and lives of ri!e$=oiety doesn8t reate opportunity by sari:ing the basi soial need for

order$ To the ontrary, improvements in communities and

institutions wi ony take root in the kind o! safeenvironment

that , at its #est, a strong crimina)ustice system can provide "

5nd when we provide opportunity, we in turn reduce the

pressure on the crimina )ustice system and essen themonumenta task that ack o! opportunity !or the poorest

5mericans has e!t it to per!orm$ Ho+ a soiety hooses to balane2ustie and safety +ith rights and liberties +ill invariably be the sub2et ofvigorous debate$ ur ri!inal 2ustie syste! is no eeption$ any good andintelligent people +ill disagree passionately about the ontours of our

ri!inal la+$ That is all to the good$ %e shoud not grow compacent

in the !ace o! particuar pro#ems, #oth !or the sake o!

individua de!endants and !or the rue o! aw itse!" ;ut instead

o! engaging in a constructive de#ate a#out the 5merican approach

to crimina )ustice , ega eites argey have condemned the

entire enterprise" 'he system, we are tod, is #roken, and only

s+eeping refor!s i!posed fro! on high an save it$ 3ut the rhetoric

that !ues the whoesae assaut upon the system not ony wi

!ai to achieve any meaning!u change , it o#scures the many

strengths o! our institutions$ ;y fousing so !uh on +hat is +rong, +einevitably forget +hat is right$ The ter!s of engage!ent !ust hange$ yall is not for sholars to +hite+ash our syste!8s failings but to reali)e the


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piture is far !ore nuaned and o!ple than they have presented it$ Liven

the voume o! matters it is asked to address and immensity o!

the task it is asked to per!orm, our crimina )ustice system

!unctions rather we" It is #oth unreaistic and uncharita#e to

portray the system as an engine o! oppression and in)ustice"

Ironicay, many o! the !eatures that critics caim operate one-sidedy against de!endants o!ten work to their #ene=t" 'he

5merican crimina )ustice system strikes a vaua#e !ront-end

note" It strikes di(cut #aances #etween protecting the

innocent and convicting the guity, #etween procedura

protections and administrative reaities " It righty aows these

contesta#e choices to #e made democraticay, #ut ony to a

point" /uch quaities are hardy the hamarks o! a !aied system $

Indeed, those who have #een among the most persistent

critics o! the crimina )ustice system were among the =rst to

ca !or its utiization in the a!termath o! the /eptem#er 11thterrorist atta6s$QD% And since that time, the re!rain has o!ten #een

that acts o! terrorism are crimes that shoud #e deat with in

the customary way through en!orcement o! !edera crimina

aw"QDQ 5 reogni)e that this plea for ri!inal trials does not onstitute an

a6no+ledg!ent of the syste!8s perfetion, but it does indicate that

the system imparts a egitimacyfor the deprivation of liberty thatother routes of trying suspeted terrorists !ay la6$ This is no plae toeplore the o!pliated 4uestion of +hether alleged terroris! is !ore aptlyregarded as a ri!inal oense or as an at of +ar$ =eparation of po+ersonerns and the need for ation to prevent !ass asualties !a6e the

4uestion an eeptionally o!pliated one$ I note ony the irony that

many who re)ect the considera#e virtues o! the 5merican

crimina )ustice system are at east prepared to ook upon it as

a pre!erred soution when the vaues o! i#erty and security are

in epocha tension" To be sure, there is penty o! room !or re!orm ,

and a parts o! the ega pro!ession shoud head !or the !ront

ines" 3ut et us not !orget our systemCs virtues as we seek to

correct its vices" therwise,any egitimate concerns wi #e ost in

the din o! diatri#e " *e have gone too long +ithout a degree of balane or

!oderation in our assess!ent of the A!erian ri!inal 2ustie syste!$ 5t is

ti!e +e gave our institutions a fair trial$

Eora tunne vision is compicit with eviIssac 2LProfessor of Politial =iene at 5ndiana(;loo!ington, 0iretor of the>enter for the =tudy of 0e!oray and Publi "ife, Ph0 fro! ale -7eery >$,0issent aga)ine, Jol$ I9, 5ss$ %, Ends, eans, and Politis,# p$ Pro4uest.

As a result, the !ost i!portant politial 4uestions are si!ply not as6ed$ It is assumed that U.S.

military intervention is an act of "aggression," but no consideration is given to the


14/23

aggression to which intervention is a response$ The status quo ante in Afghanistan is not,

as peace activists would have it, peace, but rather terrorist violence abetted by a regimethe Talibanthat rose to power through brutality and repression $ This re4uires us to as6 a

4uestion that !ost @peae@ ativists +ould prefer not to as6B!hat should be done to respond tothe violence of a Saddam ussein, or a #ilosevic, or a Taliban regime$ *hat !eans are

li6ely to stop violene and bring ri!inals to 2ustie< %alls for diplomacy and international law arewell intended and important& they implicate a decent and civili'ed ethic of global order.

(ut they are also vague and empty, because they are not accompanied by any account ofhow diplomacy or international law can wor) effectively to address the problem at hand$

The a!pus left oers no suh aount$ To do so would require it to contemplate tragic choicesin which moral goodness is of limited utility .Here +hat !atters is not purity of intention but theintelligent eerise of po+er$ Po+er is not a dirty +ord or an unfortunate feature of the +orld$ 5t is the ore

of politis$ Po+er is the ability to eet outo!es in the +orld$ *olitics, in large part, involvescontests over the distribution and use of power. To accomplish anything in the political

world, one must attend to the means that are necessary to bring it about$ And to developsuh !eans is to develop, and to eerise, po+er$ To say this is not to say that power is beyond

morality. It is to say that power is not reducible to morality$ As +riters suh as Fiolo

ahiavelli, a *eber, Reinhold Fiebuhr, and Hannah Arendt have taught, an unyielding concernwith moral goodness undercuts political responsibility$The onern !ay be !orallylaudable, reeting a 6ind of personal integrity, but it suers fro! three fatal a+sB -1. 5t fails to see that

the purity of ones intention does not ensure the ahieve!ent of +hat oneintends $Ab+uring violence or refusing to ma)e common cause with morallycompromised parties may seem li)e the right thing& but if such tactics entail impotence,

then it is hard to view them as serving any moral good beyond the clean conscience oftheir supporters& -%. it fails to see that in a world of real violence and in+ustice, moralpurity is not simply a form of powerlessness& it is often a form of complicity ininjustice$ This is +hy, from the standpoint of politicsas opposed to religionpacifism isalways a potentially immoral stand. In categorically repudiating violence, it refuses inprinciple to oppose certain violent in+ustices with any effect& and-Q. it fails to see that

politics is as much about unintended consequences as it is about intentions&it is the effects of action, rather than the motives of action, that is most significant$ 7ust asthe align!ent +ith @good@ !ay engender i!potene, it is often the pursuit of @good@ that generates evil$

This is the lesson of o!!unis! in the t+entieth enturyB it is not enough that ones goals be sinere or

idealisti/ it is equally important, always, to as) about the effects of pursuing these goalsand to +udge these effects in pragmatic and historically contetuali'ed ways. #oralabsolutism inhibits this +udgment . It alienates those who are not true believers. Itpromotes arrogance. And it undermines political effectiveness.

ur argument isnCt that the state is aways good or

aways the soution, #ut sometimes it is use!u M the 1ac

has outined an instance in which the state is the ony

actor that can e+ectivey chaenge coaCs continued

strangehod

Lross#erg, 92"a+rene, orris 0avis Professor of >o!!uniation=tudies at the University of Forth >arolina at >hapel Hill, *e otta et utof this PlaeB Popular >onservatis! and Post!odern >ulture#, page Q&&(Q&9


15/23

The demand for moral and ideologicalpurity often results in the rejection of any hierarchy or

organization. The question-can the master's tools be used to tear down the master's house?-

ignores both the contingency of the relation between such tools and the master's power and , even

more importantly, the fact that there may be no other tools available. nstitutionalization is seen as

a repressive impurity within the body politic rather than as a strategic and tactica , even

empowering, necessity . t sometimes seems as if every progressive organization iscondemned to recapitulate the same arguments and crisis, often leading to their collapse. GI ?orea!ple, in6o+it) has desribed a risis in At Up over the need for e3ieny and organi)ation,professionali)ation and even hierarhy,GG as if these inherently ontradited its o!!it!ent to

de!oray$ This is partiularly unfortunate sine At Up, +hatever its li!itations, has proven itself an

eetive and i!aginative politial strategist$ The proble!s are obviously !agni:ed +ith suess, as

!e!bership, :nanes and ativities gro+$ 'his re!usa o! e(cient operation and the moment of

organization is intimately connected with the !eft's appropriation and privieging o! theoca @as the site o!de!oray and resistance.$ This is yet another reason +hy strutures of alliane

are inade4uate, sine they often assu!e that an eetive !ove!ent an be organi)ed and sustained

+ithout suh struturing$ 'he De!t needs to recognize the necessity o!

institutionaization and of systems of hierarchy, without falling bac" into its ownauthoritarianism

. It needs to =nd reasona#y democratic structures o!

institutionaization, even i! they are impure and compromised.

hands up donCt shoot is a per!ect e$ampe o! the

resigni=cation process o! neoi#eraism M it has #ecome a

trendy !orm o! soidarity evacuating it o! any

revoutionary potentia

%uma 1-i6ael >hu6s# *u!a, 9 0ee!ber %C1I, httpBNNo+ning(!y(truth$o!NpostN1CI&1'ICCC%DNits(so(sad(+athing(the(o!!odi:ation(of(this, !2b.

ItCs so sad watching the commodi=cation o! this movement happen

in rea time$ %hite peope-and no+ !edial students too. >dying in? enmasse!or pictures #eing circuated widey, photographers makingmoney o+ o! !asi=ed photographs o! #ack chidren hugging poice

o(cersand >soidarity? photos o! white peope hoding their handsup !or >Bands .p :onCt /hoot,?white peope running around with3ackDivesEatter shirts they have made or purchased " Now a!ter

two weeks o! sustained protest this movement has #ecome

something >trendy? !or white peope to engage in , turning it into

anything other than what it is6a #ack youth movement !or )ustice $

'his is how neoi#eraism and white supremacist capitaism operate,

they must aways =nd some way to diute, corra, contro and

utimatey su#)ugate resistance and #ackness, and the reduction o!

our movement to a >trendy? commodity !or white consumption is

the =rst step in this process"
http://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-thishttp://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-thishttp://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-thishttp://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-thishttp://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-thishttp://owning-my-truth.com/post/104816400027/its-so-sad-watching-the-commodification-of-this


16/23

Oacism can #e reduced through re!orm

Budson 201 @7eter, 7oitica /cience 7ro!essor at the

.niversity o! %itwatersand >'he /tate and the *oonia

.nconscious? in Social DynamicsA%hiteness? as whiteness M the meaning o! whiteness and that o!

>#ackness ? M is carried via >a consteation o! postuates, a series o!

propositions that sowy and su#ty work their way into oneCs mind

and shape oneCs view o! the word o! the group to which one

#eongs# S a thousand details, anedote stories# +hih are +oven# into pre2udies, !yths, the

olletive attitudes of a given group# -?anon 19'&, D&, 1QQ.$ 'his is how the >su#)ect

positions ? o! #oth whites and #acks are constituted "*e an all thisonstellation the >olonial ;ig ther -sy!boli. in and through +hih the olonial relation is onstituted and

reprodued$ This ;ig ther is +hite, in that +hiteness is its !aster signi:er and therefore all identities are

+hite# under olonialis!$Everyone is +hite in the olonial sy!boli S inluding bla6s/ it is 2ust that theyare less +hite# than +hites# to the point of not being at all S ?anon says again and again that the bla6

!an desires to be +hite# S but, +hen he loo6s at hi!self through the eyes he has adopted, the eyes# that

are his# S +hat he -4ua +hite eyes. sees is so!ething that doesn8t eist S ine4uality, no non(eistene#-?anon 19'&, 9&, original e!phasis.$ He subsists at the level of non(being# -1Q1. S 2ust as the +hite, +hen

it sees the bla6, sees an other that is, as ?anon says absolutely not self,# so does the bla6 see hi!self Sas absolutely not self# -11I.$ This is the depth of the :ssure in the bla6 olonial sub2et position, aughtbet+een t+o i!possiblesB +hiteness,# +hih he desires but +hih is barred to hi!, and bla6( ness,#

+hih is non(eistene$#>olonialis!, aniety and e!anipationQThus the self(sa!eNother distintion is

neessary for the possibility of identity itself$ There al+ays has to eist an outside, +hih is also inside, tothe etent it is desig( nated as the i!possibility fro! +hih the possibility of the eistene of the sub2et

derives its rule -;adiou %CC9, %%C.$ ;ut athough the e$cuded pace which isnCt

e$cuded inso!ar as it is necessary !or the very possi#iity o!

incusion and identity may #e universa @may #e considered

>ontoogica?A, its content @what =s itA M as we as the mode o! this

=ing and its reproduction M are contingent " In other words, the

meaning o! the signi=er o! e$cusion is not determined once and !or

a; the pace o! the pace o! e$cusion, o! death is itse! over-determined, i"e" the very !ramework !or deciding the other and the

same, e$cusion and incusion, is nowhere engraved in ontoogica

stone #ut is poitica and never terminay setted$ Put dier( ently, the

urvature of intersub2etive spae# ->rithley %CCD, '1. and thus, the speci=c modes o! the

>othering? o! >otherness? are nowhere decided in advance @as a

certain ontoogica !ataism might have itA @ see %iderson 200 .$ 'he

socia does not have to #e divided into white and #ack, and the

meaning o! these signi=ers is never necessary M #ecause they are

signi=ers"P'o #e sure, cooniaism institutes an ontoogica division,

in that whites e$ist in a way #arred to #acks M who are not" 3ut this

ontoogica reation is reay on the side o! the ontic M that is, o! a

contingenty constructed identities, rather than the ontoogy o! the

socia which re!ers to the utimate un=$ity, the indeterminacy or ack

o! the socia" In this sense, then, the white man doesnCt e$ist, the

#ack man doesnCt e$ist-?anon 19'&, 1'G./ and neither does the olonial sy!boli itself,inluding its !ost inti!ate struturing relations S division is onstitutive of the soial, not the olonial

division$%hiteness? may we #e very deepy sediment in modernity

itse!, #ut respect !or the >ontoogica di+erence ? @see Beidegger

19Q2, 2QK %atts 2011, 249A shows up its ontoogica status as ontic "


17/23

It may #e so deepy sedimented that it #ecomes di(cut even to

identi!y the very possi#iity o! the separation o! whiteness !rom the

very possi#iity o! order, #ut !rom this it does not !oow that the

>void? o! >#ack #eing? !unctions as the utimate su#stance, the

transcendenta signi=ed on which a possi#e !orms o! sociaity are

said to rest" %hat gets ost here, then, is the speci=city o!cooniaism, o! its constitutive a$is, its >ontoogica? di+erentia$

%ord making pro)ects donCt protect peope !rom the

word

3erant and hiago and Professor of English at ale, Sex, Or theUnaralep$ 1(9.

'hough I agree , then, that incoherence may o!ten !ee a too !amiiar

and, in consequence, not shocking at a, my caim is that this very!amiiarity may testi!y to the wi to domesticate the encounter with

what can never #e made !amiiar , what escapes our recognized

!eeings, euding recognition precisey #y virtue o! those recognized

!eeings themseves$ *hat 5 :nd so o!pelling about "auren8sattentiveness to the taono!ies of unao!!odated being is the are +ith+hih she traes the onditions i!pelling sub2ets to nor!ali)ing narrativesof e!otional ade4uation even +hile she attends so shre+dly to the strategiesby +hih alternative possibili( ties for +orld(building !ight also begin toe!erge$ y o+n i!( perative re!ains, ho+ever, to 4uestion the ground ofthose possi( bilities, to 4uestion our desire for those possibilities, to theetent that they still re!ain rooted in the +illful !anage!ent of aetiveintensities and suseptible, therefore, to the !isreognitions that reify thesub2et8s self, even if the self that the sub2et rei:es is on( strued asinoherent$ 'he !amiiarity o! incoherence can #ecome a way o!denying it" 'he I that >knows? its incoherence , or has grown

accustomed to it, has usuay succeeded , i! pain!uy, in the a#or o!

normaizing a se!, even when it conceives that se! as inadequate to

the norm" /o !or me, the structuring incoherences that queer the

se! as the center o! consciousness, and so o! a pseudo-sovereignty,

remain unavaia#e to the su#)ect e$cept in rare moments o! trau-

matic encounter , moments when the potentia !or shock gets acti-

vated #y the nearness o! the un#eara#e, which is to say , o! our own

en)oyment; the en)oyment >we? never own" "auren +ould see the +ordtrau!ati# as an instane of !y !a6ing grandiose +hat she invites us todedra!ati)e, +hile 5 +ould +orry that dedra!ati)ation is the e!ptying out,the atte!pt to neu( trali)e the fore of that enounter itself$ Fot al+aysLandnot in "auren8s +or6Lbut !aybe in our nor!ative relations to ourselves as

ontinuous or viable sub2ets$ ur word-#uiding canCt protect us

against the words that others #uid, which may or may not have


18/23

room !or us or =nd us consistent with their surviva " Nor can we #e

sure that the words we #uid donCt work against our own Rourish-

ing$ That doesn8t !ean +e ould si!ply hoose to forgo the +orld( buildingpro2et, any !ore than +e ould si!ply hoose to forgo the opti!is! ofattah!ent, only that it :nds its supple!ent in thin6ing the enounter +ith

+hat resists it, produing thereby the proble! of relation these dialogues +illonfront$ The negativity of enounter inhabits relation for "auren and !eali6e$

/urviva strats !ai and are coopted

>orey "ee %renn 1, ad2unt professor of =oiology +ith 0abney =$"anaster >o!!unity >ollege and an ad2unt professor of =oial Psyhology+ith the Ro6y ountain >ollege of Art and 0esign, The Feoliberalis! ;ehind=ey Jeganis!B 5ndividuals, =trutures, and >hoie#,veganfe!inistnet+or6$o!NtagNindividualis!N

58! going to !a6e a radial lai!, +ell, atually it8s pretty +idely aepted in the soial sienesB 'here is no

>choice"? 'his isnCt a#out the individua" 'his is a#out systems o!oppression and socia structures that shape our #ehavior and imit

what choices are avaia#e to us #ased on our socia identity" 5f you are ayoung, thin, +hite +o!an advoating for Fonhu!an Ani!als in a porni:ed, hyper(seuali)ed soiety, one hoie standsout loud and learB et na6ed$ 5t8s supposed to be e!po+ering, and +e thin6 !aybe it helps ani!als$?irst, 58! not reallysure +hy one has to feel seually e!po+ered +hen one is advoating against the torture and death of Fonhu!anAni!als$ *hy our !ove!ent is 6een on !a6ing violene a turn on is a little disturbing$ 5t probably spea6s so!ething toour tendeny to 2utapose +o!en +ith violene$ The seuali)ation of violene against +o!en and other fe!ini)ed soial

groups li6e Fonhu!an Ani!als is evidene to the rape ulture +e inhabit$ Aside that, ho+ever, choice? is

o!ten thrown around as a means o! deRecting critica thought at

systems o! oppression $ I! itCs a a#out your individua choice, ony

you are responsi#e, ony you are to #ame" 5nyone who has a

pro#em with that must #e)udging you as a person$

/o o!ten ouradvocacy is !ramed as persona choice, an individua e$pression$ 5f youaren8t vegan, that8s your hoie$# 5f you +ant to have se +ith vegetables and have it :l!ed by PETA, that8s your

hoie$# 'his is a co-optation o! anti-oppression socia activism in a

neo-i#era structure o! e$poitation$Neoi#eraism is a a#out

>!reedom?; Freedom !rom government ,!reedom !rom reguation,

!reedom to #uy, !reedom to se, !reedom to reach your !u potentia,

et$ ItCs a#out individuas out !or themseves$ 'his is how capitaism

thrivesB !any are free to do +hatever they +ant in the na!e of open !ar6ets, but ulti!ately, that !reedom

comes at a cost to those who wi inevita#y #e e$poited to pay !or

that >!reedom$# The ideology of neoliberalis! and individualis! +or6s to bene:t the privileged +henindividuals an attribute their suess to their o+n individual hard +or6 -+hen in reality they had etensive help fro! their

rae, gender, lass, physial ability, et$.$ 5t also +or6s to bla!e those less fortunate for their failure$ *e all the! la)y,stupid, leehes -+hen in reality they had etensive barriers plaed upon the! aording to their rae, gender, lass,physial ability, et$.$This !yth of freedo! and !eritoray is atually pretty toi for soial !ove!ents$ 5f +e fail toreogni)e ho+ strutural barriers i!pede so!e, +hile strutural privileges bene:t others, +e +ill :nd it di3ult to o!e

together as a politial olletive$ %hen we soak in this neoi#era poison and start

to view socia movementsM inherenty coective endeavors designed

to chaenge unequa power structuresMas something done #y the

individua, !or the individua , weCve ost the =ght right o+ the #at"


19/23

No matter what you think, structures and institutions

pervade6your thought e$periment can not wish them

away or drain them o! their power6pacing !ace in your

own redou#ta#e individua agency is reay )ust pacing

!aith in the !ree market

Ec*uskey 2004-artha, Professor of Politial =iene and *o!en8s=tudies at U> ;er6eley, !u"alo La# Re$ie# Thin6ing *ith *olvesB "eft"egal Theory After the Right8s Rise# an essay in Revie+ of Left Legalism%LeftCriti&ue.

"eft "egalis! tends to drift fro! its ritial reognition that all la+ involvespotentially dangerous po+er to+ard a +istful desire for liberalis!s neutrality$

The ontributors often seem seduced #y the neoi#era !antasy that anunreguated space o! !ree, independent, and authentic individua

su#)ectivity awaits those who re)ect i#era rights$Q& ' *hen Halleyritii)es fe!inist la+ refor!s for engaging in !oral regulation, she ad!its

that this o!plaint @!a6es one sound li6e a libertarian$ Q& D =i!ilarly, +hen?ord ritii)es left and liberal @ultural rights@ for eerising !oral andpolitial po+er, he tends to avoid the harder 4uestions of +hih !oral andpolitial po+er is !ost 2usti:ed$ ?or ea!ple, he re)ects a construction o!racia equaity that woud incude a right o! workers to wear #raided

hair out o! !ear that such a right woud constrain individuas a#iity

to de=ne their own cutura identity$ Q&& @Private institutions, in !ar6edontrast to the state, +ith a very fe+ eeptions, do not even atte!pt toprovide suh authoritative ensorship and approval$ *hen and if they do,they usually are !et +ith e4ually legiti!ate o!petitors +ho ensor andapprove of dierent things$@Q& 9P From a critica perspective, state

power and ega rights pervade these supposedy privateinstitutions" 5nd !rom a e!t perspective, the supposedy private

spheres o! workpace, church, !amiy, pantation, housing market,

heath care system, and mass media-!or )ust a !ew e$ampes-

historicay have #een deepy enmeshed in, constrained #y, and

productive o! the same historica inequaities and coercive powers

that pervade the state" I! courts deny cutura rights to #ack

workers who choose to wear cornrows, to consider Fords e$ampe,

they wi ikey recognize and en!orce not individua !reedom to

de=ne identity, #ut empoyers rights , !or e$ampe, to =re a white

woman whose make-up is deemed insu(cienty !eminine, or to =re

a #ack woman whose un-straightened hair is deemed insu(cientypro!essiona" 5nd without un#inking !aith in a !undamentay !air

market, it seems unikey that those un!eminine and

unpro!essiona women wi readiy =nd an equa num#er o!

simiary rewarding )o#s where empoyers are equay eager to

reward their particuar gender and race e$pressions and to penaize

othersfor instane, +hite !en +ithout !a6e(up or +hite !en +ho dontalter their naturally straight, balding, or graying hair$Ta6ing seriously the


20/23

apaity of legal rights to produe as +ell as to protet individuals and theirinterests, e!t activism and inteectuaism shoud have a the morereason to engage, rather than cede, rights-#ased aw re!orm"*endy;ro+ns hapter on rights a3r!s the paradoial neessity and danger offe!inist rights, but then tends to i!agine that the produtive apaity of

rights +ill neessarily threaten left ideals$Q9C *hy does ;ro+n see aproble!, rather than a possibility, +hen she observes that left visions ofrights based on interseting identities +ill bring into being ne+ politialsub2etso!!enting on the ea!ple of A50= ativists+ho sought partiipation in ?ood and 0rug Ad!inistration proedures, theyargue that, @this 6ind of left legalis! see6s to involve the left diretly ingovernaneB one you +in, you are the state$@Q9% 'hey are right to warnthat any particuar e!t reguatory e+ort shoud #e scrutinized !or

anti-e!t impact, and that in a society o! systematic su#ordination,

!ew reguatory re!orms wi #e !ree o! poitica constraints that make

i#eration !or some contingent on oppression o! other su#ordinated

groups"Get they ignore that the same pro#ematic e+ects equay

chaenge any e!t a#stention !rom @or resistance to A state

governance, uness we !a #ack on !undamentaist !aith in an

autonomous private sphere inherenty and naturay sa!e !romoppressive power @as do right-wing market or mora

!undamentaists.$


21/23

--1arrea materia gains have #een made #oth institutionay

and sociay M even i! some racism is inevita#e, essening

is sti worth whie

3ouie 1-7a!elle ;ouie, Q1 0ee!ber %C1I, *hy 5 A! pti!isti About the ?uture of RaeRelations in A!eria#, =late,

httpBNN+++$slate$o!NartilesNne+sOandOpolitisNpolitisN%C1IN1%NfutureOofOa!eriaOsOraeOrelationsO+hyOi

Oa!Oopti!istiOdespiteOferguson$ht!l,!2b.

I! 5merica seems more divided, he says, itCs #ecause weCre more aware

o! our racia shortcomings " >ItCs understanda#e the pos might say,

you know, that race reations have gotten worse6#ecause when itCs

in the news and you see something ike Ferguson or the Larner case

in New Gork, then it attracts attention"?And if !any +hite A!erians have a sho6edresponse to lai!s of unfairness and disri!ination, it8s beause it8s outside their purvie+$ 5f you8d as6ed +hites in those

2urisditions,# he said, referring to raial pro:ling in 5llinois, M0o you thin6 tra3 stops +ere done fairlyleveland, ?erguson,and Fe+ or6, and the star6 divide in ho+ bla6s and +hites see la+ enfore!ent$ ;ut ba!a isn8t +rong$ *hen it o!esto rae relations, A!eria is better than it8s ever been$ The !ost obvious observation is the fat of ba!a8s eletionLandre(eletionLto the presideny$ As a !ilestone in A!erian life, this goes beyond eletoral politis$ The person +ho

oupies that o3e is not only the head of the eeutive branh of the federal govern!ent,# +rites Harvard "a+ professorRandall Kennedy for the A!erian Prospet, The president is also the nation8s !ourner(in(hief, booster(in(hief, spouse(in(hief, and parent(in(hief$# He ontinuesB That a bla6 !an has been the !aster of the *hite House for the past siyears does indeed reet and reinfore a re!ar6able soio(psyhologial transfor!ation in the A!erian raial sene$#

%hen it comes to race reations, 5merica is #etter than itCs ever

#een" ou an see this in the data$ Aording to authors "a+rene 0$ ;obo of Harvard, >a!ille X$ >harles of theUniversity of Pennsylvania, aria Krysan of the University of 5llinois, >hiago, and Aliia 0$ =i!!ons of =tanford Universityin The Real Reord on Raial Attitudes#La paper in the %C1% volu!e of =oial Trends in A!erian "ifeB ?indings fro! the

eneral =oial =urvey =ine 19D%L+hites have progressed on a +ide range of !easures$ 5s recenty as

1990, more than 0 percent o! whites supported a homeownerCs

right to discriminate on the #asis o! raceK #y 200, that num#er haddropped to 2 percent-inluding %G perent of highly eduated Forthern +hites.$ 'he same

goes !or the percentage o! whites who said #acks were >ess

inteigent? than whites, which dipped !rom neary Q0 percent in

1990 to ess than 0 percent in 200$ And so fe+ +hites support shool segregation that the

eneral =oial =urvey has dropped the ite! fro! its 4uestionnaire$ %hites are aso more toerant

o! interracia marriage"*hen :rst !easured in 199C, note the authors, fully 'G perent of +hitesopposed unions bet+een lose relatives and bla6 A!erians$ ;y %CC&, that nu!ber had delined to %G perent, and in a%C1Q allup survey, &I perent of +hites said they approved of interraial !arriages bet+een bla6s and +hites$ =o!e ofthe !ost o!prehensive pollingSoutside of the eneral =oial =urveyLo!es fro! the Pe+ Researh >enter$ Aording toa %C1C report, 'I perent of +hites say they +ould be :ne +ith it# if a fa!ily !e!ber !arried a bla6 A!erian, +hile%D perent say they +ould be bothered# but aepting$ nly ' perent say they +ould re2et the !arriage$ =upport is

lo+est a!ong older +hites, and highest a!ong +hite !illennials, +ho don8t dier in approval fro! their bla6 and

Hispani peers$ ItCs not a sunshine" 5s o! 200, according to the L//, onya quarter o! whites woud ive in a neigh#orhood thatCs ha! #ack,

and in a 2000 survey, 1 in S whites chose an a-white neigh#orhood

as an idea, whie 1 in chose one without any #acks$ A plurality of +hites stillsay bla6s aren8t hard +or6ingLor at least, not as hard +or6ing as +hitesLand, notes Pe+, !ost +hites say the ountry

has done enough to give bla6s e4ual rights +ith +hites$# 'here are intense disagreements

on poice treatment , and neary one-ha! o! white miennias say

discrimination against whites is as #ig a pro#em as discrimination

against minorities"And in terms o! crimina )ustice and punitiveness,
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/future_of_america_s_race_relations_why_i_am_optimistic_despite_ferguson.htmlhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/future_of_america_s_race_relations_why_i_am_optimistic_despite_ferguson.htmlhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/future_of_america_s_race_relations_why_i_am_optimistic_despite_ferguson.htmlhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/future_of_america_s_race_relations_why_i_am_optimistic_despite_ferguson.htmlhttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/future_of_america_s_race_relations_why_i_am_optimistic_despite_ferguson.html


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we know that whites are more ikey to support harsher punishment

when the convict is #ack" /ti, weve made genuine gains, and our

time is an incredi#e departure !rom the reativey recent past, when

apartheid rued the /outh and racist attitudes were u#iquitous in

every area o! nationa i!e$ Even no+, +ith the spi6e in raial tur!oil, +e see hange$ *hite and bla6A!erians +ere outraged by the ho6ing death of Eri arner in Fe+ or6 >ity, +hite and bla6 A!erians have united in

protests against polie brutality, and the other+ise indierent Republian PartyL+ith its largely +hite onstituenyLhasbegun to !a6e s!all !oves to+ard ri!inal 2ustie refor!, +ith support fro! !a2or donors li6e the Koh brothers$ 5f, li6ePresident ba!a, you are opti!isti about the diretion of A!erian rae relations, the fats are on your side$ *ith that

said, we shoudnCt con!use optimism a#out race reations-or, again, ho+ +hites

vie+ bla6s and other groups. with optimism a#out racia progress, or how groups

!are in reation to each other$ There, the ne+s isn8t 2ust badLit8s blea6$ This goes beyond thefa!iliar fats about young bla6 !ales and polie violene$ n the environ!ental front, bla6 o!!unities are eposed to!ore pollutionLand suer !ore pollution(related ail!entsLthan any of their ounterparts$ ;la6 une!ploy!ent is stilldouble that of +hitesLeven for ollege graduatesLand the !edian +ealth of bla6 fa!ilies has plunged sine the reatReession, all but erasing the gains of the previous three deades$ Residential segregation and onentrated poverty arestill the reality for !any bla6 A!eriansLthe produt of a half(entury of disri!inatory housing poliy$ 5ndeed, thetypial !iddle(lass bla6 hild enounters a level of poverty un6no+n to the vast !a2ority of +hite hildren$ Then there8s!ass inareration$ 5n his boo6 Punish!ent and 5ne4uality in A!eria, soiologist ;rue *estern sho+s that prison is the

do!inantLand !ost for!ativeLinstitution in the lives of poor bla6 !en in the United =tates$ This is only looselyonneted to ri!e/ +hile poor bla6 !en o!!it !ore ri!es than !ost other A!erians, prison population gro+thdoesn8t tra6 national ri!e trends$ 5n fat, ri!e a!ong young bla6 !en has plunged, +hile inareration has steadily

inreased$ And inareration isn8t the reason for the deline$ Roughly nine(tenths of the deline in serious ri!e throughthe 199Cs +ould have happened +ithout the prison boo!,# +rites *estern$ The long(ter! i!pliations of !assinareration are too large to ea!ine here, but it su3es to say t+o things$ ?irst, that !ass i!prison!ent of poor bla6!en asts a pall over our narrative of eono!i progress$ After ad2usting for disparities in 2oblessness and inareration,*estern found that young bla6 !en have eperiened virtually no real eono!i gains on young +hites in the :fteenyears sine 1999$# 5n fat, around three(4uarters of the apparent gains in relative +ages are attributable not to a real

i!prove!ent in the eono!i situation of Afrian A!erians, but to esalating rates of 2oblessness and inarerationa!ong the group$# The gains of young bla6 !en, touted in the heady days of the 199Cs eono!i epansion, +ereillusory$ ver all, beause prison is a hugely orrosive inuene on the ourse of an individual8s life, a +hole ohort of poorbla6 !en should epet lives +ith inseure e!ploy!ent, lo+ +ages, fa!ily disruption, and soial isolation$ 5n allli6elihood, the strati:ation in the bla6 o!!unityL+here the dierene bet+een +ell(o and +orst(o is hugeL+ill

+iden$ I! the reaity o! changing white attitudes are grounds !or racia

optimism, then the !act o! #ack stagnation and retrenchment are

grounds !or racia pessimism"And there8s a strong ase that the latter out+eighs the for!er$ Fotonly +ill these eono!i trends ta6e deades to play out, but it8s unlear if A!erians are +illing to devote the t i!e andeort to losing our raial gaps and integrating poor bla6 A!erians into the national !ainstrea!$ 5f the present push

against e4ual partiipationLee!pli:ed by voter 50 and onservative atta6s on the Joting Rights AtLis any indiation,it8s hard to i!agine a future +here the publi spends ta dollars to : the onse4uenes of its past disri!ination$ *orse,

the sa!e opti!is! around rae relations ould under!ine a push to i!prove onditionsLi! things seem

good, even i! deep inequaities sti e$ist, thereCs no reason to make

them #etter" 'hen again, you coud say the same o! 5merica in the

19S0s" 3acks won ma)or victories, #ut an end to &im *rowL!uh less

atte!pts to a!eliorate its eetsLseemed !ar on the horizon$ 3y the end o! the

19Q0s, however, we had outawed segregation, gained voting rights,

outawed housing discrimination, and oriented the entire !edera

government toward securing opportunity !or #ack 5mericans " Ges,

there were =erce reactions !rom the right, and many o! the poicies

and gains have #een compromised or6in crimina )ustice6activey

undermined";ut even at the height of the post(ivil rights ba6lash, in the onservative 2ubilee of the Reaganyears, there +as no 4uestion that bla6s +ere better o$ This isn8t the soft bigotry of lo+ epetationsLit8s !eaningful

hange$ 'he #ack strugge !or equa rightsLfor full partnership in the A!erian eperi!entL

o#viousy isnCt over "The proof is every+here, fro! an unfair ri!inal 2ustie syste! to an eono!y that

disards bla6 potential$ 5f there is a 4uestion, it goes ba6 to opti!is! versus pessi!is!$ /houd our

steady progression make us optimisticH r are our short memories

-redlining# !eans nothing to !ost A!erians., #acksiding-Rede!ption# follo+ed Reonstrution, !ass

inareration follo+ed the end of 7 i! >ro+., and retreat to myth-*e !ade it on our o+n, +hy an8t they


23/23

do it. cause !or pessimismH As best 5 an, 5 live !y life as an opti!ist$ ;ut there are times

ICm convinced !aiure is inevita#e, that +e8ll never sha6e ourselves of +hite supre!ay and its

legay$ 3ut even i! thatCs trueLeven if the struggle is doo!ed and that8s our tragedy as A!eriansL

the #atte is sti worth =ghting $ To borro+ fro! *illia! 7a!es, 5f this life be not a real :ght, in+hih so!ething is eternally gained for the universe by suess, it is no better than a ga!e of private theatrials fro!+hih one !ay +ithdra+ at +ill$ ;ut it feels li6e a real :ghtLas if there +ere so!ething really +ild in the universe +hih

+e, +ith all our idealities and faithfulnesses, are needed to redee!$#

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