prisonization
Prisonization refers to the process where inmates adapt to and adopt the norms, values, and behaviors of the prison subculture to survive and navigate the stresses of incarceration. This assimilation can lead to individuals becoming distant from the values and behaviors of the outside world.
mass incarceration
Mass incarceration refers to the dramatic increase in incarceration rates, particularly in the United States, where the prison population has risen significantly since the 1970s.
stultifying
tending to stifle enthusiasm, initiative, or freedom of action.
decarceration,
Decarceration in the United States involves government policies and community campaigns aimed at reducing the number of people held in custody or custodial supervision. Decarceration, the opposite of incarceration, also entails reducing the rate of imprisonment at the federal, state and municipal level.
punitive
inflicting or intended as punishment.
marginalized
treatment of a person, group, or concept as insignificant or peripheral.
prison industrial complex
The "prison-industrial complex" refers to the interconnected network of government agencies, private companies, and individuals who benefit financially and politically from mass incarceration. It encompasses various sectors, including prisons, corrections, policing, and surveillance, often prioritizing profit and political gain over rehabilitation or public safety.
ideology
a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
reform
make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it
abolition
the action or an act of abolishing a system, practice, or institution.
The long-running HBO program Oz has managed to persuade many viewers that they know exactly whatgoes on in male maximum-security prisons
Its false we dont know much that happens behind bars. Theres a lot of abuse sexual abuse trafficking and a lot of forced slave work. Many of the folks behind bars are being forced into labor without pay or very minimum
As important as some reforms may be—the eliminationof sexual abuse and medical neglect in women's prison, forexample—frameworks that rely exclusively on reforms helpto produce the stultifying idea that nothing lies beyond theprison
She acknowledges that some reforms (like addressing sexual abuse or improving medical care) are necessary and beneficial. she also critiques reformist thinking when it becomes the sole focus.
We thus think about imprisonment as a fate reserved forothers, a fate reserved for the "evildoers," to use a termrecently popularized by George W. Bush
Davis points out how political rhetoric reinforces the idea that prison is only for morally corrupt or dangerous people. This shows that structrual ineqaulity really lead many marginalized people into the corrupt system
The prison has become a black hole intowhich the detritus of contemporary capitalism is deposited
She connects the rise of mass incarceration to economic systems. She pretty much says that prisons are used to secure the fallouts of capitlisim and poverty by locking up.
We take prisons for granted but areoften afraid to face the realities they produce
Davis really emphasizes on how the societal reluctance to confront the consequences of the prison system. This allows its continued existence without any scruitiny.
Theprison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract siteinto which undesirables are deposited, relieving us of theresponsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting thosecommunities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers
She argues that prisons serve to really perpetuate social inequalities and skewer justice just by isolating marginalized individuals. While deflecting attention from systemic problems.
The prison is considered so"natural" that it is extremely hard to imagine life without it.
Davis really crituiques how horribly normalized prisons are in society. and how much this really hinders finding new ways to dicipline thats more healthy and better then throwing people in cages.
In most circles prison abolition is simplyunthinkable and implausible. Prison abolitionists are dis-
She talks about the skepicisim thats surrounding abolition of prison, and mentioning that most advicates are marginailzed and their ideas often dismissed.
n most parts of the world, it is taken for granted that whoever is convicted of a serious crime will be sent to prison
Davis challenges the assumption that imprisonment is the only response to commiting a serious crime. and how its inevitability going to happen
istoricalamnesia
Historical amnesia refers to a selective forgetting or overlooking of historical events, particularly those that may challenge current narratives or beliefs.
regime
a government, especially an authoritarian one.
exacerbates
make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.
vilify
To write about a group of people or a person in a slanderous way
redistributive
Redistributive refers to actions or policies aimed at reallocating resources, like income and wealth, from individuals or groups to others, often with the goal of achieving a more equitable distribution
organized aban-donment
Organized abandonment starts with intentional disinvestment of certain neighborhoods, primarily low-income, Black, and other communities of color, through racist policies and practices that results in the flight of economic activity and jobs, abandonment of public services, and housing.
tractable
(of a person) easy to control or influence.
sovereign
a supreme ruler, especially a monarch.
criminaliza-tion
the action of turning an activity into a criminal offense by making it illegal.
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political philosophy and economic policy movement that advocates for free markets, privatization, deregulation, and reduced government intervention in the economy.
Criminalization ultimately contributes to the third aspect ofneoliberalism: its cultural project. The shift from a welfare to aneoliberal state damages the economic and social security ofmany people; thus, neoliberalism requires a cultural project to getpeople to buy in to programs that harm them. And what is aproven way to gain a person’s allegiance? As seen in the rise of fas-cist leaders in history or right-wing leaders currently around theworld, including Donald Trump, a highly effective tool is toaggravate social hierarchies
Instead of seeing structural causes, people are taught to blame themselves or others for poverty or hardship.
The governmentcriminalized the act in the 1920s and has ramped up enforcementin recent decades. 13 With these shifts, a migrant becomes a crimi-nal, and detention and deportation become legitimate conse-quences of their choice to break the law.
They criminalzied undocumented migration and really underscored how those laws were politically and socially constructed. It often changeds depending on the needed labor.
Criminalization is an especially effective strategy to enhancestate control and enrich capital, because it displaces the source ofdisorder. The structural forces that dislocate people (job losses,withering social services, increased living costs, etc.) recede intothe background, while we focus our ire on individuals who breakthe law. Criminals can be “vilified night after night,” cast asdeserving of punishment, even if their activity was made into acrime by changes in the state’s law and policy.
By criminilzing people (drug abusers and immigrants) the state will deflect any shred of attention on systimatic problems like poverty or inequality and racism. The redirection villanizes and creates harmful polices that the public will back up because they see only the issues the goverment brings not the actial issues behind it.
Richard Nixon’s launch of the War on Drugs exemplifiessuch efforts to control those who don’t fall in line under theguise of helping the country. The War on Drugs criminalizeddrug use and toughened punishments for drug violations, but itwas not about protecting people from narcotics. Indeed, illicitdrug use was already declining. “What this was really about,” asNixon’s domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman reflected yearslater, was the administration’s “two enemies: the antiwar left andblack people.” He continued:We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war orblack, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with mari-juana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavil
There is evidence of how state power used drug policy not to protect public health, but to criminalize dissent and racialized communities. Like this direct quote tells richard nixon knew well that what they were doing is controlling the masses.
This massive attempt at societal control started just as socialmovements like Black Power, resistance against the VietnamWar, and Third World movements were calling for justice,equity, and the opposite of neoliberal ideals. In the same periodthat social justice organizing was dismantling explicit discrimi-nation, neoliberal policies have worked to manage increasinginequality
The rise in mass inserection and immigration enforced the response in the 1960/70s liberation movment. It was supposed tio supress social change but it didnt.
Crime is not a natural,pre-existing, or self-evident category of human life, though it isoften treated as all of those things. Crime occurs when someonebreaks the law. It is thus a product of the law, which means that itis a product of political choices made under specific historicalconditions.
I think they are trying to make us see crime as a political construct. Whatever is deemed illiegal really depends on whos in power and whatever they want to protect. Their idea of stability is criminazlzing whatever they don't like IE immigration or protesting.
Such amplified legal regimes are crucial in creating the con-ditions for neoliberal capitalism to thrive.
neoliberalism shifts the role of the state: less regulation of the market, more control over marginalized groups.
Foreign-born people have become increasingly criminal-ized, cast as outlaws for merely crossing borders or existing inU.S. territory. This criminalization then serves to disciplinetheir labor, since the threat of deportation makes undocumentedpeople less likely to protest for higher wages or better workingconditions.
They explain how criminalization becomes a strategy was to control labor and have low paying labor. This has undoncumented people into submission because they dont have the right to get payed normally since they arent documented. its awfful but we profit on underpayed labor in America.
oliberal policies exacerbate a paradoxical relationship createdby the free movement of capital and the restricted movement ofpeople
The paradox illistrates a contradiction in globlization say money services and goods can move much freely but laborers and people can not move freely. The paragraph critiques how the economic systems get profit from mirgant labor while restricting and getting criminalized.
States escalated its border security and immigration restric-tions. The result has been an amped-up approach to immigra-tion, based on restriction and security, rather than the social,economic, and cultural strengths that immigrants bring.
This sets up the critique that the us immigration system went from inclusion to exclusion. Old immigrants vs new immigrants. This highlights how the immigration and border polices is base of ideolgy instead of humaine
loating signifier
A "floating signifier" is a term in semiotics and discourse analysis referring to a word or concept whose meaning is not fixed and can vary depending on the context and how it's used
barri
Barrio: in the US) the Spanish-speaking quarter of a town or city, especially one with a high poverty level.
op surgery.
A gender-affirming surgery for transgender men and nonbinary people that involves removing breast tissue; in the mural, represented through thorn-shaped scars.
cholo
Cholo is a loosely defined Spanish term that has had various meanings. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for people of mixed-blood heritage in the Spanish Empire i
triptych
a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together side by side and used as an altarpiece.
pañoart
The Spanish word "paño" ultimately derives from the Latin word "pannus," meaning "piece of cloth". The term evolved to refer to the art form of drawing on cloth, particularly within prison settings, where it became a way for prisoners to express themselves and communicate
On June 13, 2015, in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, Galeríade la Raza unveiled a digital mural on the gallery’s exterior wall on BryantAvenue entitled Por Vida, by visual artist Manuel Paul,
Public art showing and affirming brown queer existence
Gutiérrez’s story reveals the antitrans nativistand xenophobic sentiments that dominate the US public sphere and cir-culate within the political aims and discourses of minoritarian communi -ties organized around vectors such as sexuality, gender, and race
This really summarizes her claim that even when we are progressive there are people who are still viewed as a threat because they are undocumented or even more marginalzied
rown transsubjects are easily depicted as problems because their existence disruptsteleological narratives of progress
This really challenges the mainstream Lgbtq of moving foreward since we are shown how many marginalized voices get left behind
The repeated negation of Gutiérrez in the public sphere re-vealed the political efficacy of her intervention and the indelible mark herbrown trans body made on this celebratory moment of progressive LGBTQpolitics
The backlash she recives shows how impactful it was and that it definitly made a statement. That strength was really shown with the violance that came back after
There was evenone comment that described Gutiérrez as an “it” that should be deported,highlighting the ease with which outright hate speech toward undocu-mented and transgender people occurs in the United States.
This really shows how the transphobia and xenophobia that happen and how marginlized voices are quickly to get silenced the second they speak up
On social media, many ofthe disparaging responses to Gutiérrez’s political action were premised onone of the following claims: “I am a transgender person, but . . . ,” “I thinkthis is an important issue, but . . . ,” “I am gay and support trans rights,but . . . ,” or “I have transgender friends, but . . . .”8 Such statements high-light that the performative gesture of claiming proximity to or affinity withGutiérrez is often accompanied by a simultaneous negation.
This really shows how a preformative friendship or allyship can create a identification and support while also being devaluing Gutiérrez’s words and actions. Its not helping the trans community in any way
Her disruption was a performative utterance, specificallya brown trans utterance.
This introduces a concept that the disruption is not only politicial but also very affective a statemnet that can only be made through her voice.
Within the walls of the White House,Gutiérrez’s comportment, specifically her affective projection of outrage,interrupted the affective protocols of pride, gratitude, and respect that hadcohered into an imagined homonormative nationalist affect.
Gutierrez violates the expected emotional scripts of celebration and the gratitude thats embodying a more angry and conviction of expression thats often not allowed to be shown by marginalized groups.
The most violent it-eration of heckling that took place was the attendee who shouted, “This isnot for you. It’s for all of us.
In this moment the boundries have been drawn around those who are in "all of us"but are excluding the undocumented and the national lgbtq trans folks.
Many described Gutiérrez as a “heckler.” However, it would be more ap-propriate to name the reception attendees as such for attempting to silenceher with booing and chanting in support of Obama.
This reverses the narrative that the desruption isnt from Gutierrezs voice but from the crowds of peoples decorum and how they try to silence those voices.
Rodríguez notes, “Unfortunately, nowadays, in a timewhen friends of mine share pictures of Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox,with a healthy dose of ‘Yaaas,’ there is no room for brave souls like Gutie-rrez.”4 Gutiérrez’s silencing and shaming by the president and LGBTQindividuals at the event and on social media after the video of the interrup-tion went viral revealed the ongoing tension concerning the place of trans-gender rights within the larger, mainstream LGBTQ rights movement.
There was a lot of critique on the superficial that trans visibility when it comes to repectability. There was a contrast of radical acrivists like gutirttrz who challegend the power.
Obama re-sponded to Gutiérrez by pointing at and admonishing her, “Shame on you.You’re in my house!
In this quote it highlights the power dynamic and a of national belonging. Obama invokes lots of authority in his presidency, and he uses it to silence her.
During PresidentObama’s speech to his guests he was interrupted by trans Latina activist Jen-nicet Gutiérrez, who admonished Obama for his administration’s treatmentof LGBTQ immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)detention.
This solidifies her identity and She directly links to trans liberation and justiace,
In the summer of 2015, just days before the US Supreme Court releasedits historic decision on the marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges, theWhite House hosted a reception for LGBTQ leaders
Situates Gutiérrez’s protest was a triumph for LGBTQ rights, but it foreshadowed the contrast between the mainstream celebration and a marginalized disagreement.
KXLpipeline
The KXL pipeline refers to the "Keystone XL" pipeline. It was a proposed expansion of the Keystone Pipeline system, intended to transport crude oil from Canada to the United States
Reclaiming Native Truth
Reclaiming Native Truth is a national effort to foster cultural, social and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination
assimilation
. the process of taking in and fully understanding information or ideas.
paternalistic relationship
one where a dominant figure makes decisions for others, often with the intention of protecting their well-being, but without allowing them to make their own choices
philanthropy
the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.
sovereignt
supreme power or authority.
decolonization
is the process by which colonized territories gain independence from their colonizing power
meta narrative
A larger framework or story that shapes how people interpret events or identities.
Land Back
A movement that calls for the return of Indigenous lands to Indigenous people.
Militant Christian españoles colonized Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, andNew Mexico in the name of Spain’s Christian monarchs
Religion was the biggest tool in colonization and forcing colonial rule. it definitely shows its influence in todays day that its been mixed into many cultures.
Many of the people of European ancestry who first colonized and settled what eventu-ally became the American Southwest migrated there from the Iberian Peninsula, fromwhat we now call Spain, but which in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was a seriesof independent kingdoms that were gradually aggregated, most definitively by the 1469marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragón and Queen Isabella of Castile, which laid thefoundation for the emergence of modern Spain.
This reminds me the fact that Caribbean society emerged from the Spaniards colonization. With even more influence from different cultures due to the slave trade and plantation trade.
“A ‘greaser’ was a Mexican— originating in the filthy, greasyappearance of the natives.
This was a derogatory slur and was weaponized by citizens and the government. Its crazy that it got turned into a act and a pass even though it has such a rough past.
when news of Mexico’s independence reached New Mexico, Texas, and Califor-
Nationhood isnt very automatic since theres a lot of mixed identies.
Anglos saw no apparent physical or cultural differencebetween the californios and Mexicans; both were alike
This reflect how the dominating groups often ignore the diversity in the marginalized group. This reminds me of how Asians got mixed together and not really viewed for their diversity.
Above, we discussed the mid-nineteenth century origins of the word “Latino”as an English-language panethnicity that brings together, from below
This is imposed naming vs self naming because labels like Latino were used as empowerment while the government used Hispanic as a label.
Calling someone a “Mexican” in 1850 was deeply insulting to a mexicano becausethe English word “Mexican” signified a dominated population, stigmatized by defeatand subordination.
This shows how powerful language is and how it can shift meanings through out the years. People took it and made it something new.
The term mexicano began to appear in legal documents andcensus records only in the 1830s, and then, for only a small percentage of the popula-tion
This shows how it took a while for identities to form many people didn't associate with Mexico because that wasn't their origin
The Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas brought together men fromdifferent regions, and through their common experiences of warfare, established themas a victorious colonizing class.
This reinforces the fact that warfare is a unifying force and not just the spanish but also for other colonial power. They love developing connection through their love for dominonce.
hispanoamericanos
A older identies for spanish american
panethnicity
Panethnicity: involves the formation of inclusive group identities that arise from the merging of smaller national, regional, or tribal identities.
ethnic category
Ethnic category: A classification of people based on shared cultural traits
calidad
Calidad: Quality
panethnicity
Panethnicity is a political neologism used to group various ethnic groups together based on their related cultural origins
apocrypha
Apocryphal: of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
range of Latin American– origin immigrants in the United States.In this section we will also turn to the word “Hispanic,” which likewise entered ourvocabulary as an English-language word imposed from above, by the U.S. CensusBureau in 1980, to aggregate Latin American– origin peoples as a panethnic group.The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines a “Latino” (note that it is now an Englishword found in most American English dictionaries) as “A Latin-American inhabitantof the United States.” According to the OED, the word’s etymology is latinoamericano,which in Spanish means “Latin American.” The OED offers several historical uses ofthe word, starting in 1945 and running to 1974, when “Latino” entered popular parlanceamong English speakers.
Hispanic was imposed from above by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1980 and Latino emerged from below in activist movements of the 1970s. This reminds me the fact that there is a debate on what label the community should use came from the goverment and not the community itself.
he emergence of ethnic labels that demarcatesocial boundaries occurs in different temporal registers, sometimes quite rapidly andother times more slowly
The act of naming is tied to the controling so colonizers force ethnic labels. The magrinilized groups resisted by making their own labels. The way the more dominant group imposes labels and names on the smaller of the two reminds me how the US tried to do the same and tell US who we are and tried to force tell many marginizled groups who they were and what they were. WHO are they to tell us who we are.
Since the early 1970s, sociologists in the United States have been particularly fascinatedby the emergence of panethnicities, which are confederations created when several dis-tinct ethnic groups come together in alliance for social, economic, or cultural advan-tage, thereby augmenting their numeric power and influence around issues of commonconcern. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, for example, indigenous peoples suchas the Cherokee, the Apache, and the Menominee came to be understood sociologi-cally as “Native Americans
Panethnicities happen when the distinct ethnic groups unite for social, political advantage or economic advantage. The example of Native and Asian Americans adopting umbrella terms to connect their communities. This resonates with how the Latino identity has evolved for political power.
Molly, who was clearly unfamiliar with this U.S.-based ethnic category, interpreted the question as best she could. She heard “Latina”not as one word but as two— la and Tina—interpreting “la” as “the,” and “Tina” as herfriend’s name. Indeed, her name was not Tina; it was Molly.This story of miscommunication across national borders, when repeated, frequentlyprovokes nervous laughter among Spanish/English bilingual speakers in the westernUnited States. It shows how the ethnic groups and categories that are known and oper-ate in one national space often make no sense when transported just a few miles northor south. When national regimes categorize populations, the very act of naming givesthem a living reality.Ethnic groups, whether deemed minorities in nation-states or simply identifiedas members of a subordinated and marginalized group in a given polity, have alwaysresisted and defied the easy classifications of their oppressors.
It highlights how ethnic categories often lose meaning across the borders especially when it comes to language and culture. They clump them together since they share similar traits but they aren't the same at all. It shows how ethnicity is not just an identify but also a construct shaped by policies and the language barrier.