On One Elsewords: Conservatives Say the Justice System Has Been Weaponized. Cop City Proves Them Right.
In which I write for Jacobin about the inherent political nature of law enforcement, and conservatives convenient blind eye to how the law is constantly weaponized against left wing organization and dissent:
When Donald Trump was indicted on seven charges related to his mishandling of classified documents and attempting to hide his possession of those materials from federal authorities, Republicans reacted precisely as you would expect.
Marco Rubio predicted the fall of the republic. Kari Lake delivered a “public service announcement” that attempts to hold the former president accountable would result in armed resistance. Kevin McCarthy seemingly forgot that the president doesn’t hand down federal indictments. And presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis sanctimoniously declared that “the weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society.”
DeSantis and company are actually right to be concerned with the weaponization of law enforcement against political enemies. They are, however, completely wrong about who actually gets targeted and just how long this has been happening.
The justice system is a weapon by nature. It’s a tool whose main purpose is to inflict harm on those who have broken the law, and the law itself is politically constructed, with people who have power and resources able to shape it to their needs. If the Republican Party really wants to stop law enforcement from targeting citizens for political ends, they should turn their eyes from Mar-a-Lago to Atlanta.
Check out the rest of piece here.
Solidarity Forever.
"The justice system is a weapon by nature. It’s a tool whose main purpose is to inflict harm on those who have broken the law..." Woof, so whoever "holds" those institutions "holds the weapon". that's not how the justice system OUGHT to work (perhaps it does) and it's certainly not how other institutions OUGHT to work. I almost want to say that government officials and employees shouldn't have the right to vote because they're implicitly biased.
"The eyes are useless when the heart is “blind”. History seems to be blind when it comes to treating minorities and other nationalities with kindness and respect... The idea of giving law enforcement an entire area of land near the very people mistreated and forgotten should be embarrassing to lawmakers worldwide... It further demonstrates the lack of concern for those individuals not able to fight big corporations and dark money to live a better life... Cowardly intimidation of anyone because of the color of their skin is scary... How many people do we have to bury before America wakes up? Education is the only way to stop ignorance from contributing to minorities' demise... Wake up America, before it's too late!!