Our society has built an institution to harm (not help) victims of violence. In this episode, my mother and I discuss how exploitation is a centering logic in this institution that protects powerful individuals.

When we expand the power of law enforcement and the state, we expand the power of institutions that aim to control the overpoliced factions of society in ways that are counter to the goal of liberation. 

White supremacy has been a structuring logic of this society since before it was formally established. Within our system, feminist activism has at times succeeded in tipping the scales in favor of marginalized groups. However, feminist activism in this country has and continues to exist within a context of white supremacy, and it has repeatedly been co-opted to meet supremacist goals.

The neoliberal state gains financially from cycles of violence. Valuable resources that could be invested into communities are being misused to punish and exploit. Our investment into punishment means that the carceral state is doing great. Meanwhile, victims continue to shoulder the burdens of violence. 

A few terms come to mind: racist/rapists, white supremacist/sexual predators, nazi/pedophiles, corrupt misogynists, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, political power, the status quo, racism, sexism, stalking, harassment, retaliation, victim-blaming, defamation, impossible standards....and so on. Shall I continue?

The law and culture need to change around the issue of sexual abuse.

The Tucson community preserves sexual abuse. White supremacists feel that they get to decide what 'legitimate' harm is depending on who is accused of what and who the accuser is, and they frame resistance to abuse as the real violence. Meanwhile, they engage in violence as a group. This is a strategy under white supremacy to shift the focus away from social accountability. Americans are just as racist now as they were in the 1920s.

Many Tucson Americans like to give to charity while promoting policies that lead to wealth inequality, mass incarceration and homelessness. It's all a political front.

It is always fascinating to talk to people who protect white supremacy.

The legal mechanisms that purport to prevent misogyny can actually be the vehicle for it. Our society has built an institution to harm (not help) victims of violence and our carceral approach to violence ensures that the neoliberal state gains financially from cycles of violence. I discuss what I have come to think of as 'legal plunder' with my mother Kristy.