The existence of cops is integral to keeping poor people from having their basic needs met, whether it is through criminalization or guarding dumpsters full of food. CW: poverty, mentions of police violence On Tuesday, February 16, images of a dozen cops guarding dumpsters went viral on Twitter. People were rightfully horrified—and unsurprised—that cops were...
Tag: police
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The Police And FBI Are Not Our Heroes, Stop Praising Them
The police aren’t suddenly a trust-worthy institution just because of January 6th’s insurrection events. Critiquing the white supremacist institution of policing isn’t just for when it’s convenient. By Gloria Oladipo On January 6th, a mass of white supremacists broke into Capitol Hill with the intent of avenging Trump’s “stolen” election and killing United States politicians....
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All Cops Are Bastards… Especially to Service Workers
Because of how the service industry is structured and affected by very real oppressions, service workers the perfect prey for state-sanctioned bullies like the police. Did you read that title? Good, because I mean that shit. But in the interest of writing from a slightly different perspective on things, let’s just say that I meant...
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News Round-Up: NYPD Forgot To Take Their Lactaid and Framed Their Diarrhea as a Poisoning
NYPD tried to blame their sensitive stomachs on Shake Shack employees poisoning them, Mercury in microbraids begins this week and more headlines from today. By Clarkisha Kent Even in the midst of a global pandemic and the fight of and for our [Black-ass] lives, the world continues to spin. Bombarding us at every which way...
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Radicalizing Your Family Against White Supremacy Is Essential for Liberation
Whatever you do, don’t give up. People are counting on us to radicalize as many accomplices as we possibly can. The change must start with our own families. We all have our spheres of influence. Most of us don’t have huge platforms where we can reach millions of people and sway their political beliefs. But...
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Amy Cooper, White Spaces and The Political Project of Whiteness
Amy Cooper, like most white people, is invested in maintaining white supremacy at all costs because it guarantees her power at the expense of BIPOC. TW: discussions of anti-Blackness, police violence, incarceration, murder, and white supremacy. “I’m going to tell them that there is an African-American man threatening my life,” says the woman identified as...
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The Domestic Violence I Survived Taught Me The Importance of Prison Abolition
So often, the criminal justice system retraumatizes victims of domestic and sexual violence, further magnifying the harm inflicted. TW: This essay contains discussions and descriptions of intimate partner violence By Michelle Zacarias When I was 22-years-old I became wrapped up in one of the most wildly abusive relationships of my life. I was entering my...
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Why We Cannot Trust DNA Companies Like Ancestry and 23andMe
Biometric identification — of which DNA testing is a form of along with fingerprinting, facial recognition, etc. — was not created in a race-neutral vacuum. By Vanessa Taylor With the popularity of at-home DNA tests rising, the idea of companies using their databases to conduct medical research is noble on its surface. Earlier this month,...
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2020 Democrats And Their Harmful Histories With Police
Just like Kamala, most of the prominent white candidates have complicated (read: bad) histories with policing, incarceration, and Black people in general. When Senator Kamala Harris dropped out of the presidential race last week, her supporters on Twitter claimed that she was unfairly treated by the “Kamala is a cop” narrative. They said that belaboring...
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Emerald Garner Needs Us To Remember Eric and Erica Garner
We have a responsibility to keep this history because people like Eric and Erica Garner deserve to be remembered and heard. This month, just one day before the five-year statute of limitations expired, the Justice Department announced their decision not to charge NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo with violating the civil rights of Eric Garner when...