https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau Culture and Power en-us 2020-09-24 13:52:09 UTC 2025-12-29 16:17:58 UTC hello@padlet.com B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/794008194 This podcast episode by NPR's Hidden Brain and attached Washington Post Article talk about the Broken Windows Approach analyzed by Harcourt, which both Han and Fassin bring up in their work. I was very surprised to find out that the original broken window study (which is not supported by empirical evidence) was conducted by Zombarrado, who was also in charge of the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment. 

This broken window approach, which was picked up Rudy Giuliani and NYCPD, argued that people committing small offenses have a natural inclination to commit violent crime and should be punished. The podcast also talks about how this led to the start of the stop-and-frisk, because it was a type of preemptive punishment. 

Finally, the stories in the episode also illustrate Harcourts theory of punitive illusion- in that there is a gap between the reality of unequal distribution of punishment and the ideal of fair, effective punishment. Politicians and the news reported the success of the Broken Window approach because there was a huge drop in crime rates- however, they failed to include that crime rates were dropping everywhere, even in city's not implementing this order maintenance type of policing. Additionally, complaints of police misconduct rose drastically, as they are given a wider discretion to enforce the law- this was also brought up in the Serial s3e3. ]]> 2020-10-01 09:21:02 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/794008194 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/794085879 Both of these readings (Fassin and Han) recognize the racial inequalities and social standings within the crime and punishment they focus on crime as a way to distinguish populations and target those (minorities and low-income) already deemed punishable by society. While both show the ways in which order maintenance policing justifies constant, intensified surveillance of low-income, disadvantaged neighborhoods, and how this unequal distribution of punishment reproduces existing social inequalities.   Han shows this through the way in which constant policing has become a "condition of life" in a low-income neighborhood in Santiago, while Fassin illustrates this through a variety of statistics- in which young black males are more like to go to prison than university.

While these readings do offer importance insight into the racial and socio-economic disparities and the way these result in an unequal distribution of punishment- neither fully address that this is not simply a failure of the justice system but actually embedded within the very structure of power, authority and history of society. For example, Fassin only mentions in the conclusion that these social disparities are "often the legacy of particular historical circumstances such as slavery, colonization or immigration". I think that within readings it is not enough to show the racism prevalent within justice systems, etc. but to fully explore how these inequalities came about and their continued legacy years later. As was mentioned at one point in the podcast, just because judges receive and acknowledge race and inequality training, often it does not affect their rulings. 

This article by the NYT focuses on the prison system in America, and shows the ways in which slavery has led to a view of black people as criminal, which justified new strategies of racial control. It also shows why this legacy of inequalities continues despite "obvious reform solutions" (DB)- because of the systematic nature of racism, many people (even those against racism) reproduce these inequalities through "unintentional" racism. That is why I think- while Fassin's article has great contributions- the way he speaks about inequality, low income, and minorities without questioning these terms and ignoring the legacy of slavery within the United States, creates a simplified representation of inequalities within the justice system as existing in a vacuum- simply the fault of police and judges. But I think it is more complicated and we should ask why police and politicians use black people as a scapegoat and why is it not questioned by society- because ignorance cannot be used as an excuse anymore. ]]> 2020-10-01 10:16:20 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/794085879 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/796428993 This opinion article from the NYT talks not only about the recent political debate over Deferred Action for Childhood Action (DACA) but the premise and language surrounding this type of immigration. Started by Obama, DACA allowed illegal immigrants who came to the USA as children to defer deportation and obtain a work permit, however this act does not lead to citizenship, and still classifies these recipients as illegal. In this way, similar to our essential readings resources and our tutorial discussion, the DACA act works to determine who "deserves" citizenship in the USA. 

Protests erupted in 2017 after Trump revoked the DACA program, as reporters and immigrant advocates argued that immigrants were "hard workers" and "vital to our economy". While it is true that the USA profits off of the work of immigrants (legal and illegal) acts such as DACA and DREAM view migrants as two-dimensional, only valued for their contribution to the economy. This language of a "hardworking" immigrant is rampant within dialogues of those supporting migrants by "proving" their usefulness. 

Similar to Ticktin's account of sick and disabled bodies, certain migrants are considered more "deserving" than others which creates a hierarchy of immigrants. For example, prospective DACA recipients cannot have any criminal records, in an attempt to differentiate between the productive migrants and the "bad"/criminal migrants. This designation as criminal is appointed to minors, to avoid this identification, migrants must be 'of good moral character'. This type of requirement is purposefully open ended, so immigration authorities (and their biases) are given the discretion to decide who will be deported. However this legislation does not grant citizenship or residency, meaning the threat of deportation is always possible, and (similar to last week) can become a condition of life in anticipation of deportation. 

This article points out the ways in which immigration laws perpetuate inequalities and discrimination through the inclusion of certain migrants and the exclusion of others. Within the context of the American Dream- the belief that anyone can become successful through hard work- this framing of 'good' migrants is shown in a new light. Showing productive migrants only as an economic asset to the US perpetuates racist assumptions of migrants as less-than human, and do not deserve the respect and rights accorded to human beings. In this way, migrants have to "prove" their value to stay in their country. ]]> 2020-10-01 21:24:20 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/796428993 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/806452853 This article focuses on the allegations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Irwin county detention center in Georgia. It follows the accounts of woman, one being Pauline Binam, given unwanted and unconsented hysterectomies, which removes their ability to conceive. These practices of forced sterilization are not new to the United States, including those deemed "unfit" such as felons, minorities, Native Americans, and those considered mentally deficient.

The practice of eugenics in the United States has a racially-motivated history of controlling the population. In this way, they have targeted vulnerable groups- those that are not considered fully citizens and therefore are not accorded the rights of human beings. In this way, such as Ticktin's illustration of which bodies are deserving of compassion and common humanity, and how this informs who is given citizenship. This discourse is also present in Ardent's argument that institutions of citizenship are used to exclude people from dignity and common respect. And even argues that camps (including deportation camps) are the archetypal site where this denial happens. This shows why these certain groups are abused without citizenship, they are vulnerable and exploited without the ability to claim any rights or respect.

Similar to Khosravi's argument, this article says that the border is not "simply the edges of a state", but an essential reference of national identity- which is informed by racial biases (Khosravi, 322). In the example of forced sterilization, the border is inscribed onto the bodies of these migrants to halt their ability to have children, and therefore manage the population. This is especially pertinent in the US, as any child born on US soil is an American Citizen, so eugenic practices are used to control "undesirable" populations. 

This shows the racial discrimination and gendered aspects of immigration and citizenship. The designation of citizenship offers access to rights, while any other classification results in "justified" violation of humanity and, even lack of bodily autonomy. And, as Khosravi argues immigration laws are all "about the unequal distribution of the right to move and feel at home." 

]]> 2020-10-06 12:51:57 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/806452853 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/869314839 This weeks topics and readings made me think of this picture of Angela Peoples (taken by Kevin Banatte) at the Women's March in D.C. in 2017. Her sign reads "Don't Forget: White women voted for Trump" while she stands in front of three white woman taking pictures of themselves attending the protest. This march was criticized for its white feminism from the outset- it was called the Million Women March, copying the name of the 1997 black womens march. 

The popularity and attendance of the Women's March was presented as a inspiration of female unity, however this notion quickly falls apart under the consideration that 53% of white women voted for Trump. The neglect of white woman when considering their own implicit and complicit actions in the institutions of white supremacy and patriarchy is an ongoing theme throughout history [such as people voting for Trump as a joke]. This complicity is intersected with a weird optics of protests- where protests become "trendy". The attending of protests and social media posts seems like an act instead of understanding their role in these institutions, there is a performative role. This can be seen not only in this march but the recent BLM protests as well. 

It would be interesting to see if there is a direct correlation between social media posting and the rise in popularity of protests. On the one hand it seems a continuation of the benefits of being white- they know their right to protest will be protected and they are not in any life threatening situation. In this way white women can present themselves as "radical" without having to actually subscribe to this and follow through with their actions. This brings up the question that are all people protesting actually resisting? Or are they perpetuating systems that benefit themselves? Here I think it is important to explore why people are resisting, or if they are even resisting at all?]]> 2020-10-28 12:36:52 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/869314839 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/889852608 The work on everyday resistance, especially that of Abu-Lughod is very important. With big protests becoming more mainstream and 'trendy' it becomes hard to distinguish between real resistance and the perpetuation of systems of power. This is not meant to create a hierarchy of types of resistance but to recognize that people join large-scale revolts for different reasons. 

This book review focuses on the life of Marie- Madeline Fourcade, a leader of one of France's anti-Nazi resistance organizations. While this is by no means a small act of resistance, what interested me the most was the dialogue around her gender. As the review states " her asset as a spy was her gender." Instead of focusing on her bravery or shrewdness her most important contribution was being unsuspecting. The review also brings up her children to "which she was shockingly cold" and "took jaw-dropping risks" when pregnant.  These morally charged statements show that even when a person is resisting one form of power (the Nazi's) she is still expected to subscribe to other social norms. Instead of being applauded as a mother trying to make the world a better place for her children and lead by example she is critiqued for not being maternal enough. 

I thought this review on the life of Fourcade was an interesting combination of big scale revolt of those in power and everyday resistance to the patriarchy. This illustrated the danger of romanticizing resistance as a unified front, there are internal divisions within resistance groups. I think it is also interesting to note that she has been erased from history despite running a successful resistance groups- it makes me wonder what other groups are not included in narratives of resistance and protest? What of more marginalised groups of women of color or poor people? ]]> 2020-11-04 13:43:46 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/889852608 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/900649304 This week's essential resources, especially Bringa's film made me think about the way violence is made visible. The 24 hour news cycle has led to a lot of exposure of violence. The profoundness of the film without showing any extreme acts of violence. It made me wonder about the desensitization to violence that occurs through constant exposure of violent news and how it affects people's reactions to such violence. This is especially pertinent within this week, were the 24/7 news coverage of the American election has led to increased anxiety and fear of the aftermaths. In my home state there have been people boarding up shops in preparation for riots no matter who wins the election. ]]> 2020-11-08 01:06:51 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/900649304 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/900696646 Adding on to my last post, this article is about the 'Proud Boys' a group that claims to be a fraternity but is listed as a hate group. Here, we see what happens when violence has no consequences, in that, these white men whose investigations "remain open" and are free to attend more protests such as these. In one of the cases mentioned, a black victim of hate crime by the Proud Boys, Mykel Mosley was actually detained despite video evidence that showed he did not start the altercation. There is also undertones of masculinity in that the Proud Boys venerate traditional gender roles, and say, "You’re not a man until you’ve had the crap beaten out of you [and] beaten the crap out of someone else". There are also racialized and anti-immigrant agenda which draw upon racialized ideas of people of color as subhuman, in that "You try to speak to them as humans, they disregard that and use it as weakness. But they do listen to your fist smashing into their face."]]> 2020-11-08 02:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/900696646 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022749080 This article helped me understand populism a little bit better, it goes over Laclau's definition of politics in more laymen terms. This article argues that while populism gets a bad reputation - in that politicians describe it as an "alien infection" that has come to turn the constituency against its politicians - it is really just a form of democracy. This reminded me of Starakakis who said, "By demonizing any reference to the people, such irresponsible anti-populism risks undermining democracy itself together with disagreement, equality, antagonism and pluralism" (Stavrakakis, 2014, 513). Populism is often portrayed as bad, especially when it is associated with right-wing movements such as Trump, and thus conflated with anti-immigration policies and authoritarianism. But I think that it is interesting that these working class whites and industrial poor in America are written off as racist, sexist, and homophobic, when in a degree like anthropology, "the people" are often the most studied and attempted to be understood.  ]]> 2020-12-16 03:42:38 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022749080 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022776636 The journal article 'News Media and the racialization of protest: an analysis of Black Lives Matter articles' gave an interesting perspective into the intersection of media and populism. As Gottberg argues in the Color of Mobs, the media constructs understandings of acceptable political subjects by representing them as "destructive mob" or as a "legal, peaceful protest" (Gottberg, 2011, 271). Gottberg argues that this has a racialized aspect, as the Chavista movement is commonly portrayed as a "dark-skinned mob that overtakes the streets" (Gottberg, 2011, 272). This made be think of Black Lives Matter, and the way those protests are commonly portrayed as criminal, disruptive, and dangerous, with media outlets focusing on burning cars and destruction to property.

This article by Leopold & Bell explores the portrayal of BLM protests within news articles. They argue that journalists and editors can act as "agents of racialization that define social reality rather than solely reflecting it" (727). This is illustrated in the fact that many of the articles called into question the innocence of adult and child victims (730). These understandings of black lives matter movements are predicated upon conceptions of black people as inherently criminal. This conceptions were similar to the examples in Gottbergs article, such as the comedy sketch in which a creole man tries to court a feminine figure that represents the people, assumed to be dark skinned and poor. To seduce her, this upper-class man must resemble the people, which for him means not to shower, brush his teeth or dress neatly (285).

These similarities between the media portrayals of Chavistas and Black Lives Matter movements got me thinking; why are the BLM protests not considered a movement of "the people", such as the Chavistas? Black people are certainly not considered "the elites" and are a minority group of people fighting for their claim to the nation. Yet the media portrays BLM as a reckless, dangerous mob action- not a fight for independence and freedom. Is this because of a history of colonialism in which black people will never be considered "true" americans?

Leopold, Joy & Bell, Myrtle P, (2017) News media and the racialization of protest: an analysis of Black Lives Matter articles. Equality, diversity and inclusion an international journal, 36(8), pp.720–735.]]> 2020-12-16 04:03:31 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022776636 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022814526 The song Us and Them by Pink Floyd shows how the framework between "the people" and the "elite" is a framework not just used by state actors, but individuals in their daily lives. In the song, "us" are called the "ordinary people", while "them" are not only the Vietnamese, but also the general commanding the American troops. Here, the general can be seen as a type of "elite" who is unaffected by the fighting. This is exemplified in the line, "Forward he cried from the rear/ And the front rank died" and "The general sat/ and the lines on the map/ moved from side to side." I think this, in a way, mimics parts of populism as it is an "appeal to the people against the established structure of power and the dominant ideas and values of society" (Canovan, 2016, 3). Similarly, this anti-war song is revolting against the government and structures of power. ]]> 2020-12-16 04:30:09 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1022814526 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025467395 The notion of "us" and "them" within populism made me think about the rights accorded to individuals, which in the US is based on citizenship status. This news article is about the Trump administration's new citizenship test. The new test is more complicated than the last and forces officials to take more time administering each individual test. These new rules limits the amount of applicants exam officers can give. Additionally, they tried to double the citizenship application fee to over $ 1,000 dollars, which must be paid regardless if citizenship is awarded. The process of naturalization is a long, expensive and complicated process used to establish the boundaries of the nation state. I remember when I was in high school we all took the citizenship test to show us how difficult it is to become a citizen of the US.  

Citizenship is used to establish who is "us" and who is "them". Within the US, there is a history of complicated legal processes to withhold the rights of citizens. Similar to the citizenship test, the black codes of the Jim Crow era worked to prevent black people from exercising their right to vote. Here, despite black people established as citizens of the US, restrictive laws like the Grandfather clause and tax requirements stopped them from voting. This history established a legacy in which the US is conceived as a white nation, and therefore its citizens must be white. This is still present today, and shown through the new citizenship laws and immigration agenda that specifically works to keep Latinx people disenfranchised. This works to separate "us" (white citizens) as separate and identifiable from "them" (BIPOC). This is especially apparent within the Trump administration, specifically Trump himself, in which he refers to all Latinx people as "the mexicans". This language homogenizes many different groups of people, many of those who do not even identify as Latinx but happen to speak Spanish. This depiction creates an image of a threatening mob (similar to Gottberg in The Color of Mobs) that have come to steal jobs and wreck havoc. The language used in his speeches depicts Latinx bodies as "out of place" in the US. Here, Latinx's are portrayed as criminals, rapists, drug dealers who are a threat to white America. Thus, Latinx are presented as a direct contrast to white America, and helps to establish the boundary between "us" and "them", "citizens" and "illegal immigrants". ]]> 2020-12-16 19:32:56 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025467395 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025742829 Covid- 19 has disproportionately affected Black, Latinx, and Indigenous peoples. The increased news coverage on Covid-19, and the hopes of a vaccine, fail to acknowledge that "the people who need the vaccine the most won't have access to it". A dark history of unauthorized medical experimentation and unequal access to care reminds me of the journal article written by Farmer. While he focuses on the modern AIDS and tuberculosis epidemic in Haiti, there are many similarities with structural violence in the US, and many intersections between US policy and the Haitian revolution. He defines structural violence as "violence exerted systematically - that is, indirectly - by everyone who belongs to a certain social order" (307). This violence limits the agency of victims, such as the case of Anite, who went to 14 clinics without receiving care for breast cancer. The historic and economic processes affect who is given care and who isn't. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced acknowledgement of the effects of inequality on susceptibility and access to services.

This makes me think of relations of power, specifically Foucault. The notion of sovereignty "the right to take life or let live" figures heavily into the medical field, where it is the power to foster life or to neglect it until death. Drawing on Mbembe and his notion of necropolitics, this is put into systems of violence and domination through "the power and capacity to dictate who may live and who must die" (2019, 66). This distinction is driven by the economy, as Farmer said "governments have been more concerned with pillaging than with protecting rights" (311). Thus, the distribution of AIDS in Haiti, and Covid-19 in America is historically given and economically driven. 


]]> 2020-12-16 20:56:35 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025742829 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025891124 Hage's (2003) article, 'Comes a time we are all enthusiasm' speaks about the ethics of pursuing an anthropology of suicide bombing. He posits that terrorism is not the worst violence of humanity, but has come to be seen as much more violent than say colonial violence. He argues that Palestinian suicide bombings are borne out of desperation and a culture of martyrdom (Hage, 2003, 29). This article made me think of the ethical considerations of anthropologists and the duty of anthropologists to be engaged in activism within their work. 

The Forbes article is about the growing activism on social media and led by many high-school students. This fits within a legacy of student-led activism, which comes from a history of the Civil Rights movement - such as the Greensboro sit-ins. The inspiring work of student activism makes me think of the role of activism within anthropology. Anthropologist that do not recognize the intersections of power and politics, as well as their own implicit biases reproduce inequalities and relations of power. ]]> 2020-12-16 21:55:04 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025891124 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025974634 This weeks lecture, and readings about suicide bombings and terrorism got me thinking about 9/11.   This event is so widely recognized and mourned in American society. Everyone has a story about where they were on 9/11 or when they found out it happened. (My dad was in the Pentagon parking lot coming out of a meeting when the pentagon plane hit). In middle school we performed a play about 9/11 and had guest speakers who were first responders on the site. 

This, and the subsequent War on Terror, led to increased hate crimes on Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim. Even now, in 2020 Muslims are targets of hate crimes and have increased since Trump's election. The Muslim Ban institutionalized this violence against Muslims, as well as situates Muslims as Other. While the widespread effects of 9/11 are still harped on, other forms of violence with higher mortality rates, is not considered such a terrible act. This is not to say that terrorist violence is acceptable, but it is important to understand the conditions in which terrorists perceive this violence as their only option. Additionally, the anthropology of suicide bombing and terrorism often has a moralizing agenda - such as condemning such violence or seen as supporting it for simply having a neutral opinion]]> 2020-12-16 22:37:48 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025974634 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025996560 While media attention on police brutality has grown with the Black Lives Matter movement, the loss of life of disabled people at the hands of police is not given as much publicity. Many of the people who are killed by the police have some kind of disability. The majority of these people are also black which leads to increased stigmatization and physical violence on these black, disabled people. In the case of mental health crisis, police officers are often the first ones called, as there is a lack of services to address these issues. This problem does not stop at arrest though, in courts and prisons there are not enough facilities to help those in need. While a lot of the anthropological readings we do focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender - assumptions still stand that the norm is that of an able body. ]]> 2020-12-16 22:51:23 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1025996560 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1026019101 In the recent US presidential election, the Virginia ballot voted on bipartisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is when politicians divide the state into districts in a way that favors or hurts Democrats or Republicans. This helps political parties stay in power and reduces the power of the voters. While the US espouses itself as a democracy practices such as gerrymandering reveal the manipulation behind the electoral system. ]]> 2020-12-16 23:05:20 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1026019101 B118939 https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1026030352 Within a democracy, elections only work if the losing side admits defeat. Trump's calls of voter fraud and refusal to step down erodes the strength of the election system. The electoral system only stands because of its investment of the people, which is shown through voting. Trump's calls of a false election goes against the foundation of American democracy. This leads to a fracturing of the nation in which Trump and his supporters go against the institution of democracy and create even more polarization between Democrats and Republicans. ]]> 2020-12-16 23:12:29 UTC https://padlet.com/b118939/igxryyexe9xposau/wish/1026030352