Last night, I watched the most interesting movie called American Violet. In addition to starting my mental wheels turning about the multitude of injustices that currently plague our American judicial and prison systems, watching the film made me realize that I watch a lot of interesting films. And read a lot of interesting articles and books. Usually when I come across a work that makes me think or inspires me in some way, I make a mention on Facebook and hope to catch the eyes of my online friends. But often, I yearn to share a deeper reflection on those pieces than a mere Facebook status can provide. And so here we are.
This blog is dedicated to all the informational tid-bits that I come across and deem worthy of sharing. I hope to start some conversations as I share what I find interesting and how I reflect on it. I'd say that about 99% of the time, my reflections and thoughts revolve around international issues, current events, politics, social change, cultural differences, and social (in)justice in general. So if that's not your thing -- fair warning now. But I'm hoping it is, in some way or another, and I hope to hear your thoughts, faithful readers, as I post my own perspective on the many crazy things happening in the world today.
And so the first post is dedicated to the film that inspired my new blog. American Violet is a fictional film that explores the racial biases inherent in many areas of the American judiciary today. It takes place in a small, east Texas town in 2000 and shares the story of a single mother who is falsely accused of drug-dealing as part of a larger scheme by police, DAs and judges to essentially rid the town of poor, undesirable black people. The film touches on many important issues -- the skewed targeting of drug task forces on crack cocaine versus regular cocaine, the lifetime of punishment that follows a convicted felon, and the fact that a majority of the incarcerated never even had their day in court (most take a plea bargain to avoid the risk of trial).
This film touched me particularly because I took at course last year on 'Race and Space' -- essentially looking at the production of racist spaces and racial regimes and how they work. I wrote a term paper on the racial bias inherent in America's judicial system, particularly involving drug laws. (Crack cocaine is punished exponentially more severely than other drugs. It also happens to be a cheaper alternative to cocaine and heroine, and so the drug of choice in low-income urban areas. Poor people and black people tend to inhabit low-income urban areas, and hence are the de facto victims in America's 'War on Drugs'.) The class, and my paper, were definitely a wake-up call to the way that race can permeate a society and play an invisible role in determining one's fate, even after so-called overt racial discrimination becomes taboo. (Check out The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander for a fascinating description of exactly how this works today.)
I think this is also a relevant story line in today's political climate, where certain groups tend to demonize low-income groups and blame poverty on the poor. I won't mention names, but I believe that anyone who doesn't acknowledge the structural reasons for maintaining such a high level of poverty among some social groups and income inequality through the country is simply...wrong. This is one issue that inspires me to work in social justice in a domestic context, despite my incredibly strong passion for international issues as well.
So -- I hope this initial post caught your attention! We'll see how the new blogging experiment goes, but I hope to get some questions and comments and suggestions for other interesting issues to explore! Otherwise, I'm sure something will strike my fancy soon enough!
Good night and good luck, from the District.
Peace.
PS - I guess I should add that I recently moved to DC, and hence the name of the blog...giving my take on what's up in the District (of Columbia).
This blog is dedicated to all the informational tid-bits that I come across and deem worthy of sharing. I hope to start some conversations as I share what I find interesting and how I reflect on it. I'd say that about 99% of the time, my reflections and thoughts revolve around international issues, current events, politics, social change, cultural differences, and social (in)justice in general. So if that's not your thing -- fair warning now. But I'm hoping it is, in some way or another, and I hope to hear your thoughts, faithful readers, as I post my own perspective on the many crazy things happening in the world today.
And so the first post is dedicated to the film that inspired my new blog. American Violet is a fictional film that explores the racial biases inherent in many areas of the American judiciary today. It takes place in a small, east Texas town in 2000 and shares the story of a single mother who is falsely accused of drug-dealing as part of a larger scheme by police, DAs and judges to essentially rid the town of poor, undesirable black people. The film touches on many important issues -- the skewed targeting of drug task forces on crack cocaine versus regular cocaine, the lifetime of punishment that follows a convicted felon, and the fact that a majority of the incarcerated never even had their day in court (most take a plea bargain to avoid the risk of trial).
This film touched me particularly because I took at course last year on 'Race and Space' -- essentially looking at the production of racist spaces and racial regimes and how they work. I wrote a term paper on the racial bias inherent in America's judicial system, particularly involving drug laws. (Crack cocaine is punished exponentially more severely than other drugs. It also happens to be a cheaper alternative to cocaine and heroine, and so the drug of choice in low-income urban areas. Poor people and black people tend to inhabit low-income urban areas, and hence are the de facto victims in America's 'War on Drugs'.) The class, and my paper, were definitely a wake-up call to the way that race can permeate a society and play an invisible role in determining one's fate, even after so-called overt racial discrimination becomes taboo. (Check out The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander for a fascinating description of exactly how this works today.)
I think this is also a relevant story line in today's political climate, where certain groups tend to demonize low-income groups and blame poverty on the poor. I won't mention names, but I believe that anyone who doesn't acknowledge the structural reasons for maintaining such a high level of poverty among some social groups and income inequality through the country is simply...wrong. This is one issue that inspires me to work in social justice in a domestic context, despite my incredibly strong passion for international issues as well.
So -- I hope this initial post caught your attention! We'll see how the new blogging experiment goes, but I hope to get some questions and comments and suggestions for other interesting issues to explore! Otherwise, I'm sure something will strike my fancy soon enough!
Good night and good luck, from the District.
Peace.
PS - I guess I should add that I recently moved to DC, and hence the name of the blog...giving my take on what's up in the District (of Columbia).
