Ah, the enlightening groves of academe. Attend UCLA and you can learn about " The Queer and Trans Politics of Prison Abolition," which is all about
on-the-ground work to...build resistance to the prison industrial complex in queer and trans communities as well as scholar-activists working to build analysis of the gendered and raced nature of imprisonment, the history of prison reform and prison abolition movements, and marginalization of prisoners in "gay rights" struggles.
Panelists will address questions such as: How do we build strategies for resisting imprisonment that centralize the leadership of currently and formerly imprisoned people? What does a queer and trans politics of imprisonment look like? What relationship does the current "gay rights" movement have to policing and imprisonment? What concrete strategies are working in the quest for prison abolition?
There are without doubt serious issues regarding gay prisoners, the foremost being prison rape (not mentioned in the description). But the notion that the "queer and trans communities" that exists only in the fervid imagination of academic activists should act as the vanguard for "prison abolition"-as if without prisons we'd all live in harmony-may just be the epitome of moronic leftism.
15 Comments for “More Very Queer Theory”
posted by Avee on
No ENDA without prison abolition!
posted by Last Of The Moderate Gays on
. . . Our tax dollars at work. It’s yet another log on the fire for religious fundies . . .
posted by Herb Spencer on
Because this event does not present a balanced perspective – on whatever issues it purports to explore – it can hardly be considered an educational one, which makes it inappropriate for UCLA to be spending tax dollars on it, or any other school wasting time or money on it.
Among other notable absences on the panel are the presence of the many gay men and lesbians who defend inmate lawsuits and habeas corpus claims in the state and federal courts on behalf of their respective governments.
This is hardly a “queer” issue, except, perhaps, as that word is sometimes used to denote spoliation of something. It’s nothing more than another example of the leftist academy at its revenue-wasting worst!
posted by Another Steve on
New favorite call to action: “Centralize the leadership of currently and formerly imprisoned people.”
posted by Jorge on
The only people who would want to abolish prisons are criminals and the whiny people who make excuses for them. Where on earth anyone gets the idea of inventing excuses for queer, trans, and gendered/raced criminality is way beyond me. First of all I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Second of all, this strange new flavor of criminality exists, we should be devoting ourselves to eradicating it, instead of compounding the problem by “resisting imprisonment.”
posted by Brian Miller on
This is the problem with identity politics movements — there’s always a clumsy effort to tie an entire parcel of irrelevant political affiliations to the identity being politicized.
Unfortunately for folks inclined to pursue such a political effort, gay identity is part of what makes up an individual — and is expressed individually. There’s really no such thing as “queer perspectives on prison” offering unilateral direction any more than there is such a thing as “queer perspectives on tax policy.”
Certainly, political organizations focused on prison or tax policy would like to pretend otherwise, but their aspirations will remain unfulfilled.
posted by ETJB on
Again, the fact that some one says something bad, does not make them a leftists or even an accurate representation of most liberals.
Since I was not at the actual lecture, I really cannot make a comment about it. Also, Libertarianism would oppose government run prisions
posted by Brian Miller on
Libertarianism would oppose government run prisions
Sheesh, is there any fabricated crap that you won’t sling when you’re lacking an argument with a basis in fact?
posted by ETJB on
Brian;
I said: Libertarianism would oppose government run prisons.
Here is just one example of the Libertarian philosophy be used to support such a policy; http://www.libertariannation.org/a/n029h1.html
posted by Craig2 on
But are private run prisons any better? What would happen if a fundamentalist sect, pressure group or business successfully tendered for such an option?
Take Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship, for instance. What would happen to lesbian, gay and trans prisoners in that environment?
Craig2
Wellington, NZ
posted by MMMM on
That is the most pretentious course description ever. And that’s too bad. We really could benefit from knowing more about the topics in the first paragraph: the prison industrial complex, crime, criminal law, methods and issues in law enforcement. For example, just to begin with an anthropological observation – that the most dangerous population in any society is (supposedly) young males, including disproportionately, or for disproportionate irrational reasons, young gay males. Why is that so, and to what extent is horseshxt at the top of our law enforcement priorities? And – another example – wouldn’t it be nice for college students to know the actual history of drug and alchohol prohibition and the cost of unintended consequences, such as creating a gulag nation while at the same time creating conditions for black market cartels to flourish, infiltrate, corrupt, and terrorize. It would be nice if people knew more.
posted by Brian Miller on
Here is just one example of the Libertarian philosophy be used to support such a policy
A link to a Randian web site does not underpin your baseless and idiotic lie — the equivalent of declaring that Democrats support the eradication of private property and then linking to a “liberal” site supporting the idea.
Libertarians typically support prison for violent crimes and the commitment of fraud. We generally oppose the death penalty. The Libertarian Platform underscores these concepts and, in fact, calls for an enhancement to the integrity of the prison system:
Immediately reform the justice system’s mandatory sentencing policies to ensure that violent offenders are not released from jail to make room for non-violent offenders.
Policies keeping violent offenders in prison don’t lead to the “opposition of government run prisons.”
Another ETJB fabrication debunked.
Keep this up and people will start checking the sky’s color when you say it’s blue, your credibility will be so shot.
posted by Brian Miller on
are private run prisons any better
That depends, really.
I’d rather be in a privately run contract prison with decent facilities than, say, the government-run facility at Guantanamo Bay.
Take Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship, for instance. What would happen to lesbian, gay and trans prisoners in that environment?
Such an environment in a privately-operated or publicly-operated prison would be illegal under the First Amendment, which governs the conduct of government in this country. Someone in jail is in jail for violating the law, and the prison operator (as the agent of the government) would not be permitted to violate the freedom of religion (and from religion) of the inmate as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
I’m open to the idea of privately operated prisons, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that such arrangements are automatically “better” or “worse.” The assertion that Libertarians would automatically support a privately operated prison for all circumstances is parently false.
posted by ETJB on
Brian;
I posted a link to an article making a Libertarian-Randian argument for privatization of prisons.
Here is another article making a similar case by the Reason Foundation; http://www.reason.org/commentaries/segal_20040811.shtml
Here is just one example of the Libertarian philosophy be used to support such a policy
The fact; Libertarians are certainly talking about the privatization of prisons and advocating their position within mainstream libertarian thought.
You said: Libertarians typically support prison for violent crimes and the commitment of fraud.
Well, that is not the point! The point is that some (if not many) libertarians support the privatization of prisions.
If it were not mainstream to make such an argument (within libertarian circles) you think people would be outraged when it was said.
Yet, even if we had public prisons (in a libertarian nation), we would probably have a private police & fire department and its anyones guess what would happen to the homeless who ‘tresspass’ on the sidewalk, roads or streets.
BTW, how are you coming with that evidence about civil rights? Found anything?
We generally oppose the death penalty. The Libertarian Platform underscores these concepts and, in fact, calls for an enhancement to the integrity of the prison system:
Immediately reform the justice system’s mandatory sentencing policies to ensure that violent offenders are not released from jail to make room for non-violent offenders.
Policies keeping violent offenders in prison don’t lead to the “opposition of government run prisons.”
Another ETJB fabrication debunked.
Keep this up and people will start checking the sky’s color when you say it’s blue, your credibility will be so shot.
posted by ETJB on
The 1st Amendment would NOT apply in a private prison. Another one of the holes in right-libertarian claim to be pro-civil liberties.
The Bill of Rights does not apply to private entities, land, people. They deal only with government censorship.
If prisons were privatized, then the prisoners would have no Bill of Rights, and LGBT prisoners could be forced to undergo religious re-education.
Of coarse, the most economic thing would simple be to make every crime (in a libertarian nation) a capital one. Perhaps that is what they really want.