newrepublic--2020-06-23--Our Summer of Financial Ruin

Our Summer of Financial Ruin

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has continued to climb in at least 23 states and reached record highs this week in Florida , Texas , and Oklahoma , among other places .
By the end of June , well over 2.3 million people in the country will have been infected , and more than 122,000 people will have died .
We remain very much in the middle of a pandemic , but you ’ d be forgiven for thinking otherwise .
Earlier this month , Albertsons—the second-largest grocery chain in the nation , with locations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise—ended its so-called “ hero pay , ” or a temporary raise of $ 2 per hour , for store workers .
Walmart plans to end hazard pay for its workers on July 3 ; Stop and Shop will end it on July 4 .
( How patriotic ! )
“ We are deeply grateful for how our front-line associates served their neighbors in an extreme time of need , ” Albertsons , whose profits tripled this year , said by way of a nonresponse to criticism from its workers ’ union .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand still or else vanish completely .
But the clock is ticking not just for hazard pay for essential workers in the private sector but also for the few federal protections passed by Congress at the end of March that have prevented a complete economic collapse .
In a few short months , when several necessary provisions in the government ’ s relief package expire and medical bills and other financial obligations arrive , a new kind of crisis will begin for millions of Americans .
By the end of July , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Cares Act , which amount to an additional $ 600 per week , are set to expire , despite the fact that the most recent available data from the May jobs report put the unemployment rate at 13 percent , with more than 20 million people still out of work and black and Latinx workers hit especially hard .
Republicans , for their part , have vowed to fight any attempts to extend those benefits , and several are even looking to convert them into bonuses for people who return to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health guidelines .
“ The president is looking at a reform measure that would still provide some kind of bonus for returning to work , but it will not be as large and it will create an incentive to work , ” Trump adviser Larry Kudlow said last week .
By the end of August , the federal moratorium on home foreclosures and renter evictions , which protect residents living in homes financed by federally backed mortgages—one in four rental units—will also expire .
Statewide eviction protections in places such as Arizona and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; in Florida , Virginia , Connecticut , and elsewhere , state-level eviction protections expire on or before July 1 .
The end of such orders are premature , to say the least : According to one estimate , nearly a third of Americans missed rent in June , and housing researchers and advocates have predicted a spike in homelessness if federal and state governments decline to extend housing protections .
“ A lot of people could be on the streets , ” Aaron Carr , the executive director of the Housing Rights @ @ @ @ @ @

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States has continued to climb in at least 23 states and reached record highs this week in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, among other places. By the end of June, well over 2.3 million people in the country will have been infected, and more than 122,000 people will have died. We remain very much in the middle of a pandemic, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Earlier this month, Albertsons—the second-largest grocery chain in the nation, with locations in several states where cases are on the rise—ended its so-called “hero pay,” or a temporary raise of $2 per hour, for store workers. Walmart plans to end hazard pay for its workers on July 3; Stop and Shop will end it on July 4. (How patriotic!) “We are deeply grateful for how our front-line associates served their neighbors in an extreme time of need,” Albertsons, whose profits tripled this year, said by way of a nonresponse to criticism from its workers’ union.
In lockdown, time often seems to stand still or else vanish completely. But the clock is ticking not just for hazard pay for essential workers in the private sector but also for the few federal protections passed by Congress at the end of March that have prevented a complete economic collapse. In a few short months, when several necessary provisions in the government’s relief package expire and medical bills and other financial obligations arrive, a new kind of crisis will begin for millions of Americans.


newrepublic--2020-06-23--The Many Sounds of Black Lives Matter

The Many Sounds of Black Lives Matter

Since lockdown began , I have become essentially reliant on the This Is Janet Jackson playlist on Spotify for my emotional well-being .
Early on , I decided to make this reclusive pop star , whose hits “ Miss You Much ” and “ I Get So Lonely ” reverberate like erotic anthems of isolation , the official chanteuse of my quarantine .
When I logged onto the app last week though , I suddenly noticed a new banner of playlists under the heading “ Black Music Matters.
” After weeks of being bombarded by empty corporate statements of solidarity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at best .
Delving into a BLM-timed “ Feelin ’ Myself ” list , I had to wonder : How would someone hoping to listen and learn react once they pressed Play on Saweetie ’ s “ Tap In ” : “ B-B-Billionaire n -- -- - wan na eat me out ( Hahaha ) / B -- -- , I ’ m from the West Coast / they wan na go down South ” ?
Yet the search for a soundtrack is understandable .
Martin Luther King called freedom songs , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ the soul of the movement.
” Songs function as a kind of political chorus , lending structure , flow , and collective intensity to what can otherwise feel like an atomized experience .
It is no wonder that in seeking to capture the complex set of emotions spawned by the recent policing killings that have roiled America , writers and critics are gravitating toward musical referents : civil rights anthems like Nina Simone ’ s “ Mississippi Goddam , ” jazz records like Hal Singer ’ s “ Malcolm X ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” early hip-hop hits like Public Enemy ’ s “ Fight the Power ” and NWA ’ s “ Fuck Tha Police.
” Likewise , any cynicism I had going into Spotify was swiftly disarmed by Sam Cooke ’ s “ A Change is Gon na Come , ” a song that nervously mingles Cooke ’ s despairing tone with hopeful lyrics , reflecting an appropriate ambivalence about America ’ s future .
Notably , these songs are not unique to the Black Lives Matter movement , which crystallized in response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Martin .
Save for possibly Kendrick Lamar ’ s uplifting hit “ Alright , ” which was sung at a number of BLM rallies after it came out in 2015 and got a recent bump in streams , the current movement has not found a definitive soundtrack all its own .
Fans bristle at the contradictory politics of the commercial musicians writing songs in response to these protests .
They prefer instead to mine existing—or even seemingly apolitical—music for revolutionary sentiments .
There is , after all , no shortage of music that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mourning , and defiant hope that black Americans have been experiencing on a loop for centuries now ; in fact , such songs largely serve as the foundation of American popular music .
The result has been a beautifully scattered playlist , one that reflects the radically decentralized nature of the Black Lives Matter movement itself .
If Black Lives Matter does not have a definitive sound , it is not because artists haven ’ t tried to provide one .
In just the last two weeks , hip-hop , R & B @ @ @ @ @ @ @ songs or remixes on almost a daily basis that address George Floyd ’ s death and the protests unfolding across the world .
Atlanta rapper Lil Baby released “ The Bigger Picture ” with a music video featuring recent footage from various protests .
Rapper YG just released “ FTP , ” a retooled version of his 2016 hit “ Fuck Donald Trump.
” The rock band The Killers added new lyrics addressing the death of George Floyd to their 2019 song “ Land of the Free ” : “ Eight measured minutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bag / Another stain on the flag .
”

Last week, rapper J. Cole dropped “Snow on tha Bluff,” a bafflingly tone-deaf response to the recent protests. The song was widely thought to be a takedown of the black female rapper and poet Noname who has been vocal on social media about the need for artists in the music industry to take a stronger stance on Black Lives Matter. Noname also runs a monthly book club featuring readings on radical politics and the effects of racial capitalism on the black community. In “Snow on tha Bluff,” J. Cole dismissively raps “I scrolled through her timeline in these wild times, and I started to read. / She mad at these crackers, she mad at these capitalists, mad at these murder police.” He advises her to change her approach, singing that he is bothered by her “queen tone.” J. Cole quickly took to Twitter to defend himself, though he refused to admit or deny that the song was about Noname.
Nonetheless, the lyrics and Cole’s sensitivity to critiques rooted in anti-capitalism speaks to the hip-hop industry’s increased coziness with corporate brands and promulgation of the idea that racial uplift is best achieved through capitalism. Likewise, popular hip-hop artists like Meek Mill, T.I., and Killer Mike have come out supporting the marches but condemning looting, despite the fact that looting is a long-recognized form of protest and civil disobedience. When Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, pointed out in a press conference that T.I. and Killer Mike owned significant real estate on the city’s west side, one Twitter user quipped: “I guess RJT,” referring to the name of Killer Mike’s rap duo, “stands for ‘Return The Jewels.’”
Black Lives Matter has eschewed many of the defining qualities of the civil rights movement, dispelling the need for charismatic male leaders or a top-down organizational structure. Its soundtrack is likewise radically diffuse, and it has spurred listeners to look for inspiration across time periods and genres, enabling them to look elsewhere when it feels like our favorite musicians are selling out. Critic Wesley Morris recently wrote about the newfound power Patti Labelle’s 1985 live cover of “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” has taken on for him in recent weeks. “This is not a protest anthem. It’s a lovers-at-a-crossroads jam,” he explained, charting all the ways the song embodies the exasperation black Americans have with a country that refuses to learn from its past.


newrepublic--2020-06-23--Ottessa Moshfegh’s Pursuit of Disgust

Ottessa Moshfegh’s Pursuit of Disgust

The novel is a matter of seduction .
Most novelists ply us with something we can not resist—language , character , humor , story—to win our attention .
Ottessa Moshfegh works by standoffishness , her language lean and efficient , her novels withholding the pleasure of plot or scene .
Those novels—Eileen ( 2015 ) , My Year of Rest and Relaxation ( 2018 ) , and , now , Death in Her Hands—are disorienting in a literal sense , their narrators disconnected from any real place but the page .
And about those narrators : They ’ re what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holds her readers at a remove .
Her affectless narrators describe events that sound over the top—running away from home , self-medicating into catatonia , stumbling onto what might be a murder scene—but the texture of the worlds they inhabit is not heightened or exalted .
In fact , it ’ s base , and gross .
Her novels ’ three women protagonists reject feminine ( indeed , human ) niceties : They ’ re dirty , drunken , drugged , debased , and this does not shame them—indeed , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showering , especially in winter since the hot water was spotty .
I liked to languish in my own filth as long as I could tolerate it , ” Eileen ’ s eponymous narrator tells us .
Here ’ s how Year ’ s nameless narrator quits her job at an art gallery : “ I pulled down my pants , squatted , and shat on the floor.… That felt like vindication .
That was my proper good-bye.
” Obviously , it ’ s Moshfegh ’ s characters who are outré , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to avoid confusing the two .
Moshfegh gives the sorts of interviews in which she declares , “ I ’ m the most self-assured person I ’ ve ever met , very arrogant at times , sure .
I can ’ t make a wrong move.
” She does not tweet , which is perhaps all for the best , given her assertion in an essay in The Guardian that “ We are all unruly and selfish sometimes.
” There ’ s a way to understand this as kind of a performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her , particularly given her youth and her gender .
The novels perform a similar rejection ; the hollow ideal of the badass , empowered woman is not for Moshfegh .
However profoundly troubled her narrators are , they are somehow free : liberated from convention , from society itself .
The novels take this on faith , and do not examine this arc , because Moshfegh is not interested in it .
These women do not care .
Moshfegh ’ s novels , uninterested in the dominant modes of contemporary fiction—the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politically engaged social novel , the self-aware meta-text—represent a riposte to her near-peers ( Jonathan Franzen , Ben Lerner , Rachel Kushner , et al. )
.
Rejection is her belief ; you might call it nihilism .
So it ’ s hard to know what to make of her newest novel , which posits rejection as the path to the holy .
It ’ s less a form of Stoicism than an inversion of the old saw that puts cleanliness next to Godliness .
Life is gross ; ain ’ t that @ @

However profoundly troubled her narrators are, they are somehow free: liberated from convention, from society itself. These women do not care.
Death’s narrator is a 72-year-old woman with the unlikely name Vesta Gul. She is widowed, and mourns her late husband, Walter, though it’s his death that grants her liberty—enough money to see out her days comfortably. She has moved to a cabin in the woods: “I felt I needed to hide a little. My mind needed a smaller world to roam.” She knocks around with only the company of her dog, Charlie—one of the better-drawn animal characters I’ve encountered. (Vesta and the dog dance, and then: “When I let go of his paws, he butted his head against my thighs, a kind of punctuation, and went back to his bowl of water.”) Once a week, she drives into town for groceries; she marks time by the bagels she consumes daily. “Those days, my list of things to do was short: Read, Nap, Eat,” she tells us. This refusal of excess food, entertainment (for which Vesta has only talk radio), or human contact is ennobled. Living in sylvan solitude, Vesta is like the heroic daughter of one of Jack London’s rugged individuals.
The discovery of the strange note—despite its promise, there is no dead body—throws Vesta first into action and ultimately into crisis. If Death in Her Hands is a mystery novel, our protagonist is our sleuth, but as there’s nothing to really investigate, Vesta’s imagination takes over. She decides to give the note’s anonymous author a name: “Blake.” It is a simple flight of fancy, but once Vesta thinks it, Blake becomes real, the book’s antagonist. Moshfegh merely appends to this development the observation: “Strange, strange what the mind will do.” This is almost statement of purpose.
I see this as confirmation that we can’t take anything that ensues—the discovery of clues, the encounters with police, the vivid picture of the imperiled Magda that develops—as real, but of course, a novel is artifice by definition. Death is a mystery closer to one of Vladimir Nabokov’s than Agatha Christie’s. Vesta is a hybrid of Miss Marple and Charles Kinbote; everything she sees is a clue to the supposed death of the unknowable Magda. You have to expect some resolution—the revelation of the killer is a murder mystery’s central promise—but I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to tell you right now that the butler most certainly did not do it.


newrepublic--2020-06-23--America Has Failed the Existential-Crisis Test

In March and April , as a shell-shocked planet tried to deal with a deadly pandemic no one understood , some people in the climate community found a silver lining : At least the world was united in trying to solve the problem .
Even in the United States , where many Republican leaders ignore or deny scientific truths about global warming , experts ’ recommendations about the coronavirus were taken seriously .
Stay-at-home orders were issued and largely adhered to in many states , and cities issued eviction moratoriums to make sure people could stay in their homes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , cushioning many American families from the economic crash .
Businesses ordered employees to work from home or otherwise established strict procedures ; conventions and sports leagues were canceled .
Ordinary people did what they could , from making masks to donating time or money to mutual aid organizations .
And the media covered Covid-19 , appropriately , as the biggest story in the world .
It was the kind of all-hands-on-deck approach that we should have seen the world take to climate change years ago .
“ We need to show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change as against COVID-19 , ” the head of the United Nation ’ s World Meteorological Organization said on Earth Day in April .
Leah Stokes , a climate policy researcher in California , told the Los Angeles Times she hoped the pandemic would “ wake people up ” and get them to listen to scientists .
“ If anything has given me hope when it comes to climate , it ’ s this massive mobilization across the planet to tackle this pandemic , ” Kathy Castor , the Florida Democrat who chairs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crisis , said in April .
“ That gives me hope that we will be able to attack the other , more slow-moving crisis that is the climate crisis.
” But as the weeks have dragged on , the Covid-19 response is less a cause for hope than despair .
If the early stages of the pandemic provided lessons on how a more unified world might address climate change , the current moment is demonstrating just how far away we are from being able to come together to solve a planetary crisis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re failing it .

The U.S. isn’t the only powerful country failing this test. China’s deny-and-obfuscate strategy at the outset helped speed the coronavirus’s spread around the world. Russia’s official stance that it has gotten Covid under control belies its likely catastrophic death and case totals. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to the crisis has mirrored Trump’s, with similarly disastrous results. And India’s poorly funded health system and widespread poverty mean that it is heading into a nightmare.
These nations—not those in Europe, which has mounted a stunning turnaround since March—are the company America keeps in pandemic infamy. While most Americans support commonsense disease-fighting measures like masks and stay-at-home orders, a substantial minority refuse to change their behavior even in small ways. But the problem is less the actions of individual people than state and federal leaders who don’t listen to evidence. Until very recently, the Republican governor of Arizona refused to allow local governments to require mask-wearing, even as cases in the state surged. In Washington, D.C., Trump has promised a “very generous” stimulus, but Mitch McConnell has vowed not to extend enhanced unemployment benefits. Senate Republicans reportedly are also reluctant to include aid to state and local governments on the grounds that Democrats would benefit.
If comparisons between the pandemic and climate change are valid, America’s response to the former is dispiriting to the fight against the latter. Just as most people agree on how to fight the coronavirus, a large majority of Americans support measures to combat global warming. But thanks to a number of anti-democratic features of American democracy, that consensus has not trickled up to the country’s political leaders, who have failed to treat the climate emergency with anything approaching urgency. If the federal government reacts to the greatest public health crisis in a century with half-measures, what could possibly convince it to react sufficiently to climate change? If governors won’t demand their citizens wear masks to save lives, will they be willing to get people to reduce their carbon footprints? If so many authoritarian and authoritarian-adjacent governments (including Trump’s) react to a pandemic with denial, what can we expect as the climate crisis worsens?


newrepublic--2020-06-24--America’s Cop Problem Is Also a Gun Problem

On the evening of June 15 , all hell broke loose in Albuquerque .
Police were called to a protest in Albuquerque , where a man had attacked several protesters , pulled a gun , and shot someone in the crowd .
The shooter—a 31-year-old Republican and unsuccessful city council candidate who had run , he ’ d said , “ out of fear the community is becoming a ‘ Third World Country ’ ” —was then surrounded by a protective , intimidating coterie of militiamen with guns .
Calling themselves the New Mexico Civic Guard , the tactically outfitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ demands for the removal of a statue of Juan de Oñate , a Spanish conquistador who persecuted Native Americans and whose monument had been controversial since its erection a quarter of a century ago .
The mere presence of the militiamen had already escalated tensions , even before the shooting .
Afterward , when police arrived on the scene , the result looked like a battlefield encounter : Heavily armed police forces in tactical gear confronted militant civilians in camouflage gripping assault-style firearms .
New Mexico Gov .
Michelle Lujan Grisham , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest , ” saying the men “ were there for one reason : To menace protesters , to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force.
” Unregulated force , of course , is not an uncommon sight today in the United States .
Last month , police had to contend with an angry mob of similarly well-armed protesters , including many militia members , who stormed the Michigan Capitol in Lansing .
In Tulsa , Oklahoma , as 6,800 Trump supporters gathered to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech , armed pro-Trump militias and biker gangs milled about downtown , including rifle-wielding members of the Cowboys Motorcycle Club , who identify themselves as “ a solid group of men from the US [ Special ] Ops , US military , Merc ’ s , and Militia.
” It ’ s not hard to imagine that law enforcement officers might be reflexively vigilant , to the point of armed edginess , in proximity to such “ Second Amendment Men ” with lightly modified weapons of war .
Yet police nationally this month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for peaceful , unarmed masses of protesters .
Emboldened perhaps by their military finery—bulletproof vests , helmets , and face shields , often shadowed by heavy armored vehicles of war—they have lashed out brutally at peaceful assemblies in public spaces , journalists in the conduct of their work , and onlookers in their homes .
Their appearance , like the armed militiamens ’ and bikers ’ , strikes ever more Americans as an act of aggression itself .

It’s a favorite saying of gun advocates that “an armed society is a polite society.” We have abundant evidence that that is hardly the case. Quite to the contrary, an armed society encourages—or even forces—people to solve problems with a gun, not shrink from violence. Police are gripped with a similar madness. Consider again how often, in recent weeks, police have blocked, bullied, kettled, gassed, and bashed protesters, rather than “pacifying” them. They simply reject the central notion that in a democracy, peace is upheld by rule of law and not rule of violence. This rejection is also evident in the National Rifle Association–supported “killology” and “sheepdog” training offered to police forces and gun-wielding citizens alike, training that treats the masses as unwitting sheep and elevates the sheepdogs who keep wolves at bay with “[s]uperior violence. Righteous violence.”
Despite its centrality to modern notions of democracy, the rule of law is easy to take for granted, more noticeable when it’s absent than when it’s present. It is the implicit sense of security that grounds civil society and enables it to function smoothly—or at all. Rule of law is enacted every day as an unspoken act of faith, founded on mutual trust. Rule of law operates without the threat of violence; it withers when guns show up—even in support of the law.
If you have to show a gun to get people to behave, they will question the legitimacy of the law, which, in democracy, is decided by popular consent, not violent force. A show of force, be it from police or gun owners, does not shore up a regime’s legitimacy and make it more secure; it does the opposite, betraying a lack of faith in the social contract.


newrepublic--2020-06-24--Jamaal Bowman and the Democratic Insurgency That Could Help Save the Planet

Jamaal Bowman is going to Washington .
The 44-year-old former public school principal with a Ph.D. in education—who ran to “ complete the work of Reconstruction , ” enact national rent control , and bring about a Green New Deal—has apparently defeated U.S. Representative Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary for New York ’ s 16th congressional district .
( The Republicans did not field a candidate in the deep-blue district , which spans parts of the Bronx and Westchester . )
A 16-term incumbent and the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee , Engel had received the full-throated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a party establishment—including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , Senator Chuck Schumer , and Hillary Clinton—that feared a repeat of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ’ s upset victory over longtime Representative Joe Crowley in 2018 .
Though ballots are still being counted , those endorsements seemed not to count for much , as Bowman is currently ahead by 25 points .
Last night was one in a long line of embarrassments for the party ’ s cautious and beleaguered old guard , whose mantra has been that a poll-tested and slow-moving centrism is the key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic leaders have avoided any proposals that smack of actual leftism , instead preferring to present anodyne policies to supposedly change-weary voters .
With Donald Trump in the White House ; an obscene corporate bailout of a congressional response to the coronavirus-induced recession ; and persistent , systemic racism that ’ s sparked a nationwide uprising , that theory of politics has less and less to show for itself .
It ’ s also a recipe for climate disaster , having produced precisely zero enduring wins at the federal level to scale back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s and Ocasio-Cortez ’ s , in other words , may well be among the best hopes to start healing our sick planet .
These politicians bring a working-class perspective to a climate crisis that was for decades defined by largely white and Beltway-centric Big Green groups , and their theory of politics doesn ’ t involve surrendering to a right that ’ s deeply hostile to decarbonization .
Bowman ’ s victory will be the fourth for Justice Democrats , a group that grew out of Bernie Sanders ’ s 2016 campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Tea Party of the left , Justice Democrats has sought to use volunteer armies and grassroots fundraising to remake the Democratic Party in the image of progressive social movements by promoting candidates who challenge the established wisdom—that is , to raise hell from inside and outside the halls of power .
Though Justice Democrats–endorsed underdogs have lost more than they have won , Bowman ’ s victory is a sign that establishment types like Engel can no longer ignore challenges from their left .
Nowhere has this movement had more influence than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burst into headlines because Ocasio-Cortez made the risky move to join a Sunrise Movement sit-in at Nancy Pelosi ’ s office .
The ambition of Democratic climate proposals in this year ’ s presidential primary suggests the climate left has successfully shifted the conversation .
Mainstream Democrats no longer default to talk of modest carbon prices and tax credits .
While leagues less ambitious than a proper Green New Deal , a $ 1.5 trillion infrastructure proposal unveiled by House leadership this week features—among other , less savory elements—tens of billions of dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retrofits , and a U.S .
Postal Service run on clean energy .
Responding to jabs from the GOP , Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio said the bill “ is the application of the principles of the Green New Deal .
And this proves that we can both deal with climate change , fossil fuel pollution and actually create millions of new high-paying American jobs.
” Bowman wasn ’ t the only win for progressives on Tuesday night .
Another Green New Deal supporter , progressive Mondaire Jones , appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York ’ s 17th District , where the seat is open .
And Ocasio-Cortez dispatched a primary challenger backed by $ 2 million worth of big money donations , including from top executives Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Goldman Sachs ’ s David Solomon .

Jamaal Bowman is going to Washington. The 44-year-old former public school principal with a Ph.D. in education—who ran to “complete the work of Reconstruction,” enact national rent control, and bring about a Green New Deal—has apparently defeated U.S. Representative Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th congressional district. (The Republicans did not field a candidate in the deep-blue district, which spans parts of the Bronx and Westchester.) A 16-term incumbent and the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Engel had received the full-throated backing of not just big-money donors but a party establishment—including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Hillary Clinton—that feared a repeat of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset victory over longtime Representative Joe Crowley in 2018. Though ballots are still being counted, those endorsements seemed not to count for much, as Bowman is currently ahead by 25 points.
Last night was one in a long line of embarrassments for the party’s cautious and beleaguered old guard, whose mantra has been that a poll-tested and slow-moving centrism is the key to winning elections. For decades, Democratic leaders have avoided any proposals that smack of actual leftism, instead preferring to present anodyne policies to supposedly change-weary voters. With Donald Trump in the White House; an obscene corporate bailout of a congressional response to the coronavirus-induced recession; and persistent, systemic racism that’s sparked a nationwide uprising, that theory of politics has less and less to show for itself. It’s also a recipe for climate disaster, having produced precisely zero enduring wins at the federal level to scale back emissions.


newrepublic--2020-06-24--A Dream of Lasting Solidarity at the Dyke March

I can ’ t take some cross-section of queer protest sentiment across America today—nobody can—so I was stuck , like everybody else , trying to decode the tiny part of the march around me that I could actually see .
As it was Juneteenth , there were many marches and actions to participate in , but the crowd was big and pretty mixed .
The police presence was heavy , in contrast to most years .
There also seemed ( I ’ m not psychic ) to be more white , cisgender men present than usual , but they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photographers , those keen to lead chants and bang drums , and the dudes who looked like they ’ d just left another protest and then rushed to the nearest analog .
To the unfocused eye , this larger and whiter crowd might have looked diluted , as if merged with Black Lives Matter at the expense of its old specificity .
The reality is more complicated .
Although the Dyke March itself has long been connected with radical politics , the mainstream American LGBT movement has long treated police abolition ( and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduction , trans rights , racism , and sex workers ’ rights ) as marginal , pushed to the side by the fight for marriage equality , and erasing the legacy of precisely the women whom marchers on Friday drew on cardboard to celebrate : Marsha P. Johnson , Sylvia Rivera , Miss Major Griffin-Gracy , Kim Watson , CeCe McDonald .
Many of those older campaigns , which some radicals see as assimilationist , fractured after Obama granted their wish , all their strategic aims put in one basket .
On Friday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ river , the abolitionist agenda was front and center of the 2020 Dyke March , as if it magically always had been so .
In one sense , the “ magic ” of the transformed march was simple dynamism , a response to changing priorities .
Of all the queer protest marches I ’ ve been on , the Dyke March traditionally has one of the most visible commitments to radical politics , challenging everything from white supremacy to cissexist beauty norms , so perhaps this was simple historical synergy of the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avengers x Black Lives Matter is a powerful combination .
At the same time , I could not shake the worry that this alliance might be temporary : The march is nowhere as big as Pride , so it ’ s nothing like proof of consensus .
Only three years have passed since the Black Pride 4 were arrested while trying to hold a peaceful silent vigil in memory of Philando Castile at a Pride Parade in Columbus , Ohio .
In a video published by Al Jazeera at the time , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ predominantly white crowd “ laughed and cheered ” as she and Kendall Denton , Ashley Braxton , and DeAndre Antonio Miles-Hercules were arrested .
What happened to those women on the sidelines ?
I honestly don ’ t know .
White supremacy has been as much a part of the LGBTQIA movement—itself an unwieldy coalition of interests that cut across class , race , and gender lines—as any other institution .
“ Having a Pride parade that is predominantly white and then over-policed by a system of police that have been murdering Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in that video , “ absolutely excludes Black and brown folk of color , trans folk , LGBTQIA folk from the Pride event—and from other events following.
” The Dyke March is not Pride , but it certainly counts as “ events following.
” Over the weekend , I reached out to two other protesters to share my anxieties .
Julia , who asked that I not use her real name , a white transgirl who was at the front of the march , felt frustrated by the way marshals , distinguished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traffic , were “ working with the cops ” to keep the pace of the march slow and “ literally pushing people off the roadway , physically restraining people from moving past the head of the march.
” This kind of collaboration was “ very distressing for a theoretically anti-cop protest , ” she said and , for her , symbolized the impulse to “ retain white respectability in order to maintain power over more marginalized groups , even when [ they are ] theoretically acting for the sake of them.
” Since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better things to do entirely .
Nancy , which is also not her real name , a Black clinical staffer at Planned Parenthood ( which provides trans health services and was recently the site of an organized CEO ousting ) , felt turned off by the march ’ s name .
“ I feel suspicious of things that call upon love at this moment , ” she said .
Emotion can smooth over the work that needs to be done , and “ there ’ s something about the idea of breaking the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much like 1990s multiculturalism ” —the Benetton ad effect , if you will .
After a run-in with a drum circle of mostly white women in the Village , she spent the evening relaxing outdoors with friends .

The Dyke March is not Pride, but it certainly counts as “events following.” Over the weekend, I reached out to two other protesters to share my anxieties. Julia, who asked that I not use her real name, a white transgirl who was at the front of the march, felt frustrated by the way marshals, distinguished by their running up ahead to block traffic, were “working with the cops” to keep the pace of the march slow and “literally pushing people off the roadway, physically restraining people from moving past the head of the march.” This kind of collaboration was “very distressing for a theoretically anti-cop protest,” she said and, for her, symbolized the impulse to “retain white respectability in order to maintain power over more marginalized groups, even when [they are] theoretically acting for the sake of them.”
Since it was Juneteenth, some people had better things to do entirely. Nancy, which is also not her real name, a Black clinical staffer at Planned Parenthood (which provides trans health services and was recently the site of an organized CEO ousting), felt turned off by the march’s name. “I feel suspicious of things that call upon love at this moment,” she said. Emotion can smooth over the work that needs to be done, and “there’s something about the idea of breaking the chains with love feels a little too much like 1990s multiculturalism”—the Benetton ad effect, if you will. After a run-in with a drum circle of mostly white women in the Village, she spent the evening relaxing outdoors with friends.
Nancy grew up in a student organizing group and sympathized with protesters suspicious of allies who appear to have come to the abolitionist movement overnight: “It’s a critical politic,” she said, “and it’s not one that a person necessarily comes to lightly.” There may be potential in these tenuous new coalitions, but whether people are committing to the long road of an abolitionist politic or just a slogan remains an open question in these early days. In an interview with NBC News in April, the organizer, educator, and curator Mariame Kaba insisted that history contains the lessons we need to learn. Looking back at movements around “domestic violence, and sexual violence in particular,” she said, you see how “the feminists of the 1960s and ’70s who were pushing for a more serious addressing of gender violence, particularly racialized gendered violence, were asking for the system to take that more seriously. But their solutions were decidedly noncarceral.”


newrepublic--2020-06-24--How to Fix America’s Broken Guest-Worker System

Just about everything that can be said about H-2B visas is also true of H-2A visas , which go to guest workers in agriculture .
The regulatory apparatus for H-2A workers was created by the same Simpson-Mazzoli law , and the rules are very similar to those for H-2B workers .
But Trump has exempted H-2A workers from the visa suspension because his administration deems them essential workers—itself a profound irony , given Trump ’ s frequent insistence that America doesn ’ t need foreign workers to get by .
In addition to H-2B visas , Trump has suspended J-1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alien is participating in an intern , trainee , teacher , camp counselor , au pair , or summer work travel program.
” This is much harder to defend .
The suspension sets up an unfair barrier for foreign students who need to work and poses a serious problem for higher education , which depends heavily on these students ’ highly skilled labor , especially in the sciences .
The au pair program , though , could use a kick in the pants .
Beloved by the haute bourgeoisie because it furnishes inexpensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myself was once a grateful beneficiary—its classification as a cultural exchange program rather than a work program leaves its administration in the hands of the State Department , which , as exposé after exposé has demonstrated , has little interest in monitoring the horrific abuses that some families dish out , or ability to do so .
Given the enormous political power of the program ’ s constituency , this is the likeliest part of Trump ’ s executive order to be reversed—indeed , the early word before the order was finalized was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The truth is , however , that the program could use a time-out while Congress figures out how to transfer its administration from Foggy Bottom to the Labor Department .
The visa suspension that ’ s created the most howls of outrage concerns highly skilled H-1B workers .
Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to pronounce himself “ deeply disappointed , ” and The Verge bewailed that “ tech companies accounted for roughly two-thirds of the total visas.
” That ’ s not exactly right .
Roughly two-thirds of H-1B workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the majority of H-1B visas go to contractors that provide foreign workers to perform tech jobs ( many of them not terribly high-skilled ) for companies of all kinds .
The distinction is important because if Company A ( say , Pacific Gas & Electric or perhaps AT & T ) fires Worker B and requires him to train Guest Worker C as a condition of receiving severance , it ’ s all perfectly legal , so long as Guest Worker C is employed not by Company A but rather by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the work .
All of this passes legal muster because Company A didn ’ t replace Worker B with a guest worker ; rather , it eliminated his or her job entirely and assigned a separate company to provide the labor .
The contracting companies are typically Indian , and typically they have no interest ( as , say Apple or Microsoft might ) in finding a way to keep Guest Worker C in the U.S .
These firms prefer instead to send Guest Worker C back to India , the better to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he or she acquired in the States .
The Trump administration has cracked down , to some extent , on abuse of this loophole , particularly on the Indian companies Tata and Infosys , which have dominated the H-1B market in the past .
But Tata still ranks third in H-1B approvals , and Infosys sixth , the Economic Policy Institute in May , and half the companies in the top 30 still “ have an outsourcing business model.
” Sixty percent of H-1B visa holders are paid below the local median wage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By all means , don ’ t let ’ s turn away foreign workers .
We must shelter them generously , welcome their enterprise , and provide them with opportunity and a chance at a prosperous life .
But the current guest-worker model isn ’ t cutting it .
The H-2B , J-1 , and H-1B visa programs are to varying degrees corrupt , and if suspending them encourages a future presidential administration to reform or replace them , then everyone involved will be much better off .

Just about everything that can be said about H-2B visas is also true of H-2A visas, which go to guest workers in agriculture. The regulatory apparatus for H-2A workers was created by the same Simpson-Mazzoli law, and the rules are very similar to those for H-2B workers. But Trump has exempted H-2A workers from the visa suspension because his administration deems them essential workers—itself a profound irony, given Trump’s frequent insistence that America doesn’t need foreign workers to get by.
In addition to H-2B visas, Trump has suspended J-1 visas “to the extent that the alien is participating in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program.” This is much harder to defend. The suspension sets up an unfair barrier for foreign students who need to work and poses a serious problem for higher education, which depends heavily on these students’ highly skilled labor, especially in the sciences.
The au pair program, though, could use a kick in the pants. Beloved by the haute bourgeoisie because it furnishes inexpensive live-in labor to care for their children—I myself was once a grateful beneficiary—its classification as a cultural exchange program rather than a work program leaves its administration in the hands of the State Department, which, as exposé after exposé has demonstrated, has little interest in monitoring the horrific abuses that some families dish out, or ability to do so. Given the enormous political power of the program’s constituency, this is the likeliest part of Trump’s executive order to be reversed—indeed, the early word before the order was finalized was that au pairs were to be excluded. The truth is, however, that the program could use a time-out while Congress figures out how to transfer its administration from Foggy Bottom to the Labor Department.


newrepublic--2020-06-24--Temping for the One Percent

Temping for the One Percent

For the one percenters—who occupy some of Manhattan ’ s priciest real estate—office space meant expansive lobbies with walls of granite and marble , interior pearwood paneling , conference rooms whose panoramic views inspire vertigo .
Now the executives of various firms are questioning whether to return to their office spaces at all , having realized the work of raiding the American economy can be done just as well elsewhere .
So if these upscale accoutrements are not necessary to funnel ever more wealth to the upper echelons of society , what purpose do they serve ?
It might be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is inextricably wrapped in one ’ s sense of space .
How do these titans of finance feel about themselves without the daily experience of grandeur ?
Without doors opening before them , one by one , reinforcing their conviction that literally nothing obstructs their path ?
Without people like me ?
Memories of these times have taken on a surreal twist .
The maskless faces of the men—the stubble around their lips and cheeks , their gum-smacking and mint-sucking—now seem overexposed , in retrospect .
These faces were always so clear to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most part , I was a glorified greeter , seated at a faux-gilded desk that spanned the length of my apartment .
If I had to use the bathroom or craved a snack , I first had to find a secretary to cover my spot .
When I wasn ’ t buzzing in suited men , I handled expense reports , found the matching receipts to $ 2,500 lunches , or stuffed envelopes with invitations to charity galas .
And in my free moments , I would sit there , writing and reading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the elevator to indicate a financier ’ s imminent arrival .
To unlock the doors—which it was necessary I do , my supervisors told me , before the employee reached the threshold—I had to press a ribbed button underneath my desk whose location , somehow , tended to grow less intuitive to me over the course of the day .
I thought of moving it somewhere more visible .
“ Don ’ t bring the button to the surface of the desk , ” one supervisor warned me .
“ We like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used her foot to nudge my backpack further behind my chair , “ out of sight.
” When the elevator opened , my hand would reach down , feeling for the button ’ s square contours , finding only fiberboard .
The men , fresh out of the elevator , anticipating uncontested entry , would pull on the door to find it still locked .
They ’ d look at me through the glass , perplexed , momentary exiles cast out from their own domain .
I admit here to feeling a surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would smile shyly and look down at their shoes , as if they knew they had shown their impatience and were ashamed , having confused my impotence with their own .
They shouldn ’ t have feared : The impotence was all mine .
How did I miss their approach ?
It was often the case that I was too absorbed in my work to hear the elevator at all .
I found myself laughing at , for instance , a blithe line by Samuel Beckett ( “ Personally of course I regret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense of bliss at this curriculum I ’ d built for myself .
I calculated again how many cents I was making a minute ( ~27 ) , and how many of these minutes I could dedicate to reading and writing , letting the emptiness of life eddy up around me , until I was delivered , by some fortuitous alchemy , back into the world of arts and letters ( without ever imagining , of course , that world ’ s own pandemic-prompted mayhem ) .
A knock—clearly in its second , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ d lift my head to see a gaggle of suited men standing outside , looking about in various directions , each performing his own faint waddle , waiting for my attention .
I ’ d leap up and reach for the button .
“ It ’ s under the desk , ” one yelled to me once , his voice muted from the other side of the glass .
“ No , I know , ” I hollered .
“ I know.
” In one instance involving a particularly elusive button @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as I got on my knees to peer beneath the fiberboard .
In a harmless breach of protocol , I had left the desk unmanned ( an urge struck for pistachios , unaffordable at the supermarket but often complimentary at the financial offices ) , and my button had apparently vanished in the meantime .
I realized , once genuflected , that actually the device had only lost its adhesion .
There it was , dangling in shadow , performing a slow , senile spin .
I snatched it , pressed it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to greet them .
“ I ’ m so sorry about that , ” I said .
Only one of these men looked me in the eye , a man I had unintentionally spurned one too many times , a partner and general counsel at the firm .
( He ’ d also been given a mini-profile in The New Yorker and has , apparently , helped to create a variety of American history storytelling exhibitions at both Carnegie Hall and the New York Historical Society . )
It was a look of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Perhaps he had recognized my hunger for power and the possibility , however infinitesimal , that one day we might actually be on equal footing .
It was a power that I was starting to accrue and exercise in subtle ways .
One of them was my secret collection of data .
Security footage was funneled into a split-screen monitor on my desk , which meant that , in certain sections within the office , I could track the men through the halls , study where they stood as they noshed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what time they went to the restroom , the other men with whom they went .
These benign activities now seem reckless , almost pornographic in their unmasked intimacy .
Back then , they were fodder for my voyeur self , who fantasized over assembling these minutiae into some kind of illustrative report .

They’d look at me through the glass, perplexed, momentary exiles cast out from their own domain. I admit here to feeling a surge of power.
In one instance involving a particularly elusive button, a group of men stood outside as I got on my knees to peer beneath the fiberboard. In a harmless breach of protocol, I had left the desk unmanned (an urge struck for pistachios, unaffordable at the supermarket but often complimentary at the financial offices), and my button had apparently vanished in the meantime. I realized, once genuflected, that actually the device had only lost its adhesion. There it was, dangling in shadow, performing a slow, senile spin. I snatched it, pressed it, allowed the men to enter, rose to greet them. “I’m so sorry about that,” I said. Only one of these men looked me in the eye, a man I had unintentionally spurned one too many times, a partner and general counsel at the firm. (He’d also been given a mini-profile in The New Yorker and has, apparently, helped to create a variety of American history storytelling exhibitions at both Carnegie Hall and the New York Historical Society.) It was a look of disgust. I did not blame him.
Perhaps he had recognized my hunger for power and the possibility, however infinitesimal, that one day we might actually be on equal footing. It was a power that I was starting to accrue and exercise in subtle ways. One of them was my secret collection of data. Security footage was funneled into a split-screen monitor on my desk, which meant that, in certain sections within the office, I could track the men through the halls, study where they stood as they noshed, whose desks they stopped by, at what time they went to the restroom, the other men with whom they went. These benign activities now seem reckless, almost pornographic in their unmasked intimacy. Back then, they were fodder for my voyeur self, who fantasized over assembling these minutiae into some kind of illustrative report.
But most of the time there was no surreptitious upper hand to be gained. The facilitation of food deliveries, for instance, was only ever a Sisyphean task—except that at its completion you lay down and let the boulder run over you. A delivery man would call me to say that he had almost arrived, his voice muffled from city wind and an invariably bad connection. “Which side is that again?” No answer. I’d take the elevator to the building’s lobby, which often had multiple entrances, one on either side of the street (entrances on both Lexington and Park, for example). I would race outside and scan the crowd for a man with a delivery backpack twice his size, compressing his posture. Failing to find him, I’d run across the building to the other entrance. Still no sign of him. I’d repeat this relay twice more. Sweating, I’d take a lunch-hour packed elevator back up to the lobby and would call him. No answer. The assistants to the hungry financiers would rush toward my desk. Where is the food? Then the courier would call. He’s been waiting for me. Where was I? I’d go back down and, by some miracle, we’d find each other. The urge to embrace was mutual. Back upstairs, I’d set out the food in a conference room or kitchen and, later, empty the leftover make-your-own-taco material into the trash.


newrepublic--2020-06-24--I Still Do Water Drops Because the Covid Crisis Hasn’t Ended the Border Crisis

In some ways , the pandemic has changed my work at No More Deaths .
In other ways , it ’ s exactly the same : Every day we get up early and load up our trucks and go out to different places to leave water .
Sometimes that means driving a lot and leaving water in four to five places that are close to the road .
Other times , we ’ ll drive out to one place and hike around 10 miles , round trip , to leave water and supplies in areas that are more remote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in southern Arizona , which we track using GPS coordinates .
We keep a logbook where we write down exactly what we find when we visit the sites so we can see where there ’ s more need and make more frequent water drops to those areas .
Before the pandemic , we were a year-round-operating volunteer program .
People came from all over the country—and sometimes all over the world—to spend a month with us to do water drops and help with search and rescue .
But because of Covid , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People here are in close quarters , and we really want to make sure that we ’ re able to operate safely .
So we ’ ve been relying pretty heavily on our local volunteer base in Tucson and encouraging local volunteers to go on water drops with the people they live with .
Instead of having a group of five out-of-town volunteers camping for a week and doing water drops , we now have groups of housemates coming out from Tucson daily to put out that food and water .
When we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wears a mask .
We ’ ve also implemented strict hand-washing guidelines , and we ’ re limiting our exposure to people we don ’ t live with .
We ’ ve been able to maintain a lot of our sites that way , but the pandemic has impacted the amount of food and water that we ’ ve put out .
So it ’ s been a bit of a balance .
But early on in the pandemic , we recognized that the humanitarian crisis at the border wasn ’ t stopping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We just didn ’ t see it as an option to just shut down , because of the realities of the extreme heat in the summer , and the way that Border Patrol scatters groups and people get disoriented and lost in the remote corridors of the desert .
That ’ s still going to kill people .
So we still need to be out there .
If we run into people when we ’ re out in the desert , we follow basic wilderness medicine guidelines .
Some of our volunteers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responders , some are nurses and doctors .
A big concern , early on , was that our volunteers could potentially pass Covid to somebody who might then end up in a detention center .
So everyone is masked and gloved , and we carry extra supplies to ensure that we ’ re not potentially giving somebody Covid .
We also use our water drops to clean up trash and deal with vandalism of our supplies , like our water bottles being destroyed .
It ’ s a pretty common occurrence—I ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every week .
For a while , it was hard to know for sure who was doing it because you had both Border Patrol and hunters out here , but then we did a big analysis of our logbook across a few years and found that there wasn ’ t a significant difference in vandalism between hunting season and other times .
So , because of how widespread the vandalism is , and how frequent it is , we concluded that Border Patrol was largely responsible .
Right now it ’ s 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles from the road except for Border Patrol .

Over the past few years, Border Patrol has tried to rebrand a bit and focus more on their search and rescue operations, and talk about how they also have a humanitarian mission. But it feels a bit like a ship captain pushing everybody on their boat into the water and then throwing in a few life jackets. They’re directly responsible for the crisis—they’re not an appropriate responder. Border Patrol is one of the least accountable agencies in the United States. They kill with impunity, and there aren’t many ways to provide oversight for them because they work in such remote areas.
With the recent immigration and travel restrictions, we’re also seeing now that they’re not taking as many people to detention centers anymore. Instead, they’re rapidly expelling people, without first going through a formal deportation process, into towns in Mexico along the border at ports of entry that have had no deportation agreement with the U.S. in the past. People who aren’t even from Mexico—people from any country of origin who get picked up by Border Patrol in the desert—are just getting driven down to Mexico and kind of dropped off. And those towns don’t have the infrastructure to accept people coming back from custody, or from the desert.
I’m really grateful for the people who are out in the streets right now fighting against police brutality and calling for defunding. For one thing, Black undocumented immigrants are more likely to be profiled by police and pulled over and put into deportation proceedings than non-Black undocumented immigrants. And I think the connections between policing, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Border Patrol are crystal clear: It’s a pretty common story for us to run into people in the desert who were living in the U.S. and targeted by law enforcement for a minor infraction, like driving without a taillight or something, and then ended up in custody or were deported, and are now coming back through the desert. And the flipside of that is that we’ve now seen Customs and Border Protection drones flying over Minneapolis, as well as the Border Patrol being deployed to Washington, D.C. I think the demand to defund is gaining steam, and I hope that it ends up reflected in policy over the next few years, because I think it has the potential to really change the situation out here, too.


newrepublic--2020-06-25--Stop Printing the R-Word

Stop Printing the R-Word

Last August , Washington Post columnist Theresa Vargas wrote about a third-party poll on public perception of the name and mascot of the Washington NFL team .
I won ’ t print it here because it ’ s a slur .
Despite the fact that the company that conducted the poll did not provide methodology and—like the paper ’ s own 2016 poll on the subject—allowed respondents to self-identify as Native American , Vargas uncritically published its claim that “ 68 percent of the respondents were not offended by the team ’ s name.
” This column happened to coincide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer at The New Republic and ended up being the focus of my first story here .
I ’ m proud of the actual argument my piece contained—that people who merely claim Native ancestry can not be continually lumped in with actual tribal citizens when determining whether an anti-Native slur is offensive .
But one aspect of that story still gnaws at me whenever I see it pop up or when I think back on it .
After the piece had been edited twice over and my editor agreed that we would not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headline was changed .
It now reads , “ Native American Imposters Keep Corrupting the ‘ [ Slur ] ’ Debate.
” The reasoning I was given had to do with search engine optimization .
It was not my preference , but I also did not fight against it .
Shortly after my piece went up , a Native editor I look up to at another publication reached out to me privately and took me to task for running the slur .
I initially tried to reason it away , to explain that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is by reckoning with it head-on .
In the past , I have worked with editors to use it cheekily in headlines as a way to point out the hypocrisy of the discourse around the word .
But this wasn ’ t that .
It was a straightforward headline on my first byline at this publication .
I didn ’ t fight it .
I came to realize I was wrong , and I had to admit as much .
My job , loosely put , is to report on Indian Country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ small world of New York media who is paid to regularly write and report about Native people in the capacity that I am .
I think deeply about these things in my professional and personal life .
I try to do justice to my subjects .
I still failed to uphold my own standards .
The situation itself can feel like a trap : If the slur was not in the headline , then its reach to potential readers would have been diminished by the cold algorithms that determine these kinds of things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The R-word is in the headline , even as its conclusion reads : “ I think all halfway decent publications and news programs should have ceased publishing and uttering the slur in all of their coverage—no matter what the NFL allows—years ago.
” The search engine optimization may have helped the piece travel , but its core argument was blunted .
Like I said—a trap .
The endgame , for myself and other Native people and others who want to be part of this work , is to de-normalize and abolish the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uttered with the casualness of “ Cowboys , ” “ Giants , ” or “ Eagles.
” This is a battle against both white supremacy and the capitalist structures upholding it : Because a particularly inscrutable white billionaire paid $ 800 million for a sports franchise , we must wait on him to determine when this cultural blight will finally end .
But in my own experience with this issue , I realized that the media is not actually beholden to the whims of Dan Snyder , the owner of the Washington NFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep the R-word alive for him .
Because really , if an outlet feels comfortable featuring the slur in its coverage of the team , why shouldn ’ t Snyder feel comfortable marketing it ?

My job, loosely put, is to report on Indian Country. There is no one else in the small world of New York media who is paid to regularly write and report about Native people in the capacity that I am. I think deeply about these things in my professional and personal life. I try to do justice to my subjects. I still failed to uphold my own standards. The situation itself can feel like a trap: If the slur was not in the headline, then its reach to potential readers would have been diminished by the cold algorithms that determine these kinds of things. But its presence was a contradiction. The R-word is in the headline, even as its conclusion reads: “I think all halfway decent publications and news programs should have ceased publishing and uttering the slur in all of their coverage—no matter what the NFL allows—years ago.” The search engine optimization may have helped the piece travel, but its core argument was blunted. Like I said—a trap.
The endgame, for myself and other Native people and others who want to be part of this work, is to de-normalize and abolish the use of a slur that is still uttered with the casualness of “Cowboys,” “Giants,” or “Eagles.” This is a battle against both white supremacy and the capitalist structures upholding it: Because a particularly inscrutable white billionaire paid $800 million for a sports franchise, we must wait on him to determine when this cultural blight will finally end. But in my own experience with this issue, I realized that the media is not actually beholden to the whims of Dan Snyder, the owner of the Washington NFL team. We do not have to keep the R-word alive for him. Because really, if an outlet feels comfortable featuring the slur in its coverage of the team, why shouldn’t Snyder feel comfortable marketing it?


newrepublic--2020-06-25--The Democrats’ Future Depends on D.C. Statehood

It ’ s a safe bet that Democrats will someday stitch new stars on the flag , even if it takes another 232 years .
It won ’ t happen in 2020 , and it may not even happen under a potential Biden presidency .
Nevertheless , raw political logic demands that it happen eventually .
Put simply , Democrats need new voters just as much as the four million people living in Washington and Puerto Rico need real votes .
Those two nonstates , the District and the Commonwealth , are in some respects opposites .
They are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lowest per-capita incomes , one a neglected island territory largely dependent on tourism , the other a wealthy city-state increasingly enmeshed in international networks of politics and finance .
But the Trump era has exposed their mutual civic affliction .
Puerto Ricans first endured the government ’ s inattention during the Hurricane Maria disaster , then watched for years as recovery dollars flowed to areas that had suffered a fraction of their pain .
Washington , shortchanged of relief funding during the Covid pandemic , has subsequently had to deter attempts by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police force during the recent wave of protests precipitated by the killing of George Floyd .
What has become clear is that nonvoting delegates such as Eleanor Holmes Norton , a spirited champion of D.C. and the longtime face of its bid for statehood , are a hollow substitute for true representatives who can approve or scuttle legislation , build coalitions , and put holds on executive nominees .
Places , like people , are ignored if they can ’ t cast meaningful votes .
The question is why Republicans , particularly those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to power , would help enfranchise people who aren ’ t likely to vote Republican anytime soon .
Imagine if , by some historical accident , a few rural pockets of the Mountain West had been given territorial status instead of full statehood , and their citizens were now itching to elect conservatives who would defend their gun rights and approve new pipelines .
Admittedly , it ’ s easier to imagine that a few Democrats would play ball , if only because their stated values demand it .
Still , plenty would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to blatantly pad their own caucus numbers .
Whatever their ostensible commitments to fairness and representation , Democrats must also see the enormous political advantage they stand to win by enfranchising Puerto Rico and the District .
This is particularly true in the Senate , where the party currently holds 47 of 100 seats and needs to reach parity at the very least for a Biden presidency to have a chance of success : Economic stimulus , progressive legislation , and Supreme Court nominations will be bottled up if they fall short by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unreasonable to imagine that the ability of future Democratic presidents to simply seat the Cabinet of their choice is at stake .
But in a world where Washington and Puerto Rico elected four Democratic senators to a 104-member body , the climb would be much less steep .
Given the partisan realignment currently underway , Democrats may see few alternatives .
Their last Senate majority , a product of wave elections in 2006 and 2008 , was built on reliable seats in South Dakota , Arkansas , and Louisiana that have since been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yes , the party is newly competitive in the Sun Belt states of Arizona and Georgia , but former battlegrounds like Ohio and Iowa are lurching rightward at the same time .
It ’ s an open question whether any other Democrat could hold the seats currently occupied by Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester ; Joe Manchin ’ s West Virginia seat is assuredly lost whenever he retires .
If President Biden enjoys a free hand next January , it would only require a majority vote in both houses for Democrats to grant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington ( assuming they are willing to garrote their inner parliamentarians and ditch the filibuster ) .
The move would be an exercise in what experts call “ constitutional hardball , ” the use of unsavory-but-legal tactics that tend to degrade our faith in democracy .
Adding new states , particularly to secure political agency for millions of citizens who have gone centuries without it , is perhaps not as extreme as packing the Supreme Court .
But it would represent an obvious escalation of the dirty war that has raged for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

What has become clear is that nonvoting delegates such as Eleanor Holmes Norton, a spirited champion of D.C. and the longtime face of its bid for statehood, are a hollow substitute for true representatives who can approve or scuttle legislation, build coalitions, and put holds on executive nominees. Places, like people, are ignored if they can’t cast meaningful votes.
The question is why Republicans, particularly those schooled in McConnell’s procedural will to power, would help enfranchise people who aren’t likely to vote Republican anytime soon. Imagine if, by some historical accident, a few rural pockets of the Mountain West had been given territorial status instead of full statehood, and their citizens were now itching to elect conservatives who would defend their gun rights and approve new pipelines. Admittedly, it’s easier to imagine that a few Democrats would play ball, if only because their stated values demand it. Still, plenty would find reasons to oppose a Republican bid to blatantly pad their own caucus numbers.
Whatever their ostensible commitments to fairness and representation, Democrats must also see the enormous political advantage they stand to win by enfranchising Puerto Rico and the District. This is particularly true in the Senate, where the party currently holds 47 of 100 seats and needs to reach parity at the very least for a Biden presidency to have a chance of success: Economic stimulus, progressive legislation, and Supreme Court nominations will be bottled up if they fall short by even one vote. It is not unreasonable to imagine that the ability of future Democratic presidents to simply seat the Cabinet of their choice is at stake. But in a world where Washington and Puerto Rico elected four Democratic senators to a 104-member body, the climb would be much less steep.


newrepublic--2020-06-25--Why Isn’t the Supreme Court on Twitter?

Why Isn’t the Supreme Court on Twitter?

State and local governments also regularly use social media , especially in the age of Covid-19 .
Governors and mayors used Twitter to publish regular updates about the level of restrictions they imposed to combat the pandemic .
While state legislatures generally have a less robust presence than Congress , hundreds of state lawmakers use social media to interact with their constituents and make announcements .
The state of New Jersey , true to form , even operates a Twitter account dedicated to posting memes and slang-laden jokes about the state ’ s greatness .
Twitter ’ s widespread acceptance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal judiciary ’ s absence all the more striking .
While the courts ’ administrative office maintains an account , only a smattering of federal district courts and bankruptcy courts have verified accounts themselves , some of which have only sporadic updates .
The federal circuit courts of appeal have no social media presence , though the Ninth Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit use YouTube to upload videos of their oral arguments .
And the Supreme Court itself only exists online at supremecourt.gov .
That website , which received a long-overdue overhaul in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ practitioners in mind instead of the general public .
What would a Supreme Court Twitter account look like ?
Some state courts have already provided a road map .
The Florida Supreme Court ’ s page regularly updates its followers on the court ’ s business , including when briefs are filed , oral arguments are held , and opinions are handed down .
Pennsylvania ’ s highest court offers a straightforward feed of when its orders and opinions are available .
In addition to updates on arguments and decisions , the Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the court ’ s various judges and other law-related groups .
Other countries have shown how those approaches can be scaled up to the national level .
The U.K. Supreme Court , for example , has provided regular updates on its proceedings and rulings for almost a decade .
The Supreme Court of Canada releases opinions on Twitter in both English and French , conforming with the country ’ s official policy of bilingualism .
It ’ s not hard to imagine a U.S. Supreme Court Twitter account that would , at minimum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re released , provide links to oral argument transcripts and audio recordings when they are available , and keep the public up to date about proceedings and practices .
Americans who are interested in the court ’ s proceedings must instead turn to other sources for updates .
SCOTUSblog , an independent outlet run by lawyers and journalists , often receives tens of thousands of visitors to its live blogs when the court is expected to release major rulings .
The site has become so synonymous with the court that Twitter users @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the court ’ s rulings to the blog ’ s Twitter account .
While SCOTUSblog does yeoman ’ s work in keeping the public apprised of the court ’ s workings , one can ’ t help but think that some of that work is the court ’ s responsibility , as well .
At least some of the justices are already familiar with social media .
In 2011 , Justice Stephen Breyer told a House Appropriations subcommittee that he had created an anonymous account to follow a series of protests in Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not regularly use it .
Justice Elena Kagan told the New York State Bar Association earlier this year that she also has an anonymous Twitter account .
“ I ’ ve never had a Facebook account , but I do lurk on Twitter , ” she said during the event .
“ So I use a different name and I never tweet myself .
But , you know it ’ s sort of interesting what you see sometimes.
” But as an institution , the Supreme Court is stiffly resistant to inviting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perennial proposals to require the court to televise its oral arguments have invariably been met with stiff resistance from the justices .
Former Justice David Souter told lawmakers in 1996 that “ the day you see a camera come into our courtroom , it ’ s going to roll over my dead body.
” Part of this resistance stems from concerns about misrepresenting the court ’ s proceedings with sound bites and misleading footage .
Arrogance and elitism also play a role .
Antonin Scalia once quipped that the law ’ s complexity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Law Review is not sold at the 7-Eleven.
” Too much mystique can have its drawbacks , however .
This isn ’ t the only area where federal judges have struggled to use technology in an open way .
PACER , the federal courts ’ electronic docket system , is supposed to provide the public with access to legal records with as few costs as possible .
In recent years , it ’ s become a lucrative source of funding for judicial projects even as the service becomes cheaper than ever to operate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeper cultural problem in the judiciary : viewing transparency as an obstacle to avoid rather than a principle to embrace .

Other countries have shown how those approaches can be scaled up to the national level. The U.K. Supreme Court, for example, has provided regular updates on its proceedings and rulings for almost a decade. The Supreme Court of Canada releases opinions on Twitter in both English and French, conforming with the country’s official policy of bilingualism. It’s not hard to imagine a U.S. Supreme Court Twitter account that would, at minimum, publish orders and opinions when they’re released, provide links to oral argument transcripts and audio recordings when they are available, and keep the public up to date about proceedings and practices.
Americans who are interested in the court’s proceedings must instead turn to other sources for updates. SCOTUSblog, an independent outlet run by lawyers and journalists, often receives tens of thousands of visitors to its live blogs when the court is expected to release major rulings. The site has become so synonymous with the court that Twitter users often direct their thoughts and feelings on the court’s rulings to the blog’s Twitter account. While SCOTUSblog does yeoman’s work in keeping the public apprised of the court’s workings, one can’t help but think that some of that work is the court’s responsibility, as well.
At least some of the justices are already familiar with social media. In 2011, Justice Stephen Breyer told a House Appropriations subcommittee that he had created an anonymous account to follow a series of protests in Iran the previous year but suggested he did not regularly use it. Justice Elena Kagan told the New York State Bar Association earlier this year that she also has an anonymous Twitter account. “I’ve never had a Facebook account, but I do lurk on Twitter,” she said during the event. “So I use a different name and I never tweet myself. But, you know it’s sort of interesting what you see sometimes.”


newrepublic--2020-06-25--John Bolton’s Accidentally Unflattering Self-Portrait

Rewind the tape a bit , and it is not particularly surprising that things have ended up where they are .
Bolton , who got his start in politics as a volunteer for the Barry Goldwater campaign of 1964 , interned for corrupt Nixon vice president Spiro Agnew , and has held positions in Republican administrations since Reagan , had some qualities that Trump could like .
He was opinionated , appeared frequently on Fox News , and was deeply polarizing .
At one point Trump bonded with Bolton by observing that they both inspire intense reactions : Like Bolton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love me or hate me .
John and I are exactly alike.
” They had other points of agreement .
Though he made himself available , Bolton was not chosen among the first round of Trump ’ s advisors .
But there were periodic meetings , and at one of them Bolton gave Trump a copy of his article “ Should We Take Global Governance Seriously ?
” , which was published in the Chicago Journal of International Law in 2000 .
Bolton writes that he gave it to Trump , “ not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but to remind him of the importance of preserving US sovereignty , ” although it is unclear how Trump would be reminded of this if he did not read the article .
It is easy to imagine what Bolton thought Trump might see in the article , which rather crudely contrasts the views of “ Globalists ” with those of “ Americanists , ” with Bolton decidedly among the latter .
The resonance with Trump ’ s “ America First ” agenda is clear enough .
Bolton excoriates the “ Globalists , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seized more readily the opportunities provided by the end of the Cold War to advance their agenda , building on an iceberg-like mass produced by years of writing , conference-going , resolution-passing , and networking.
” Bolton believes that “ Globalists ” —an ill-defined group of worldly bureaucrats in places like the United Nations , its subsidiary agencies , and NGOs—represent a threat to American sovereignty .
Bolton rejects the demands for global wealth redistribution or legal constraints on U.S. power .
His contempt for multilateral institutions remains unbent .
The article accuses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the back door , which gives his thinking the feeling of an old John Birch Society pamphlet with precisely the minimum quantum of professionalism added to make it viable for a law journal .
Bolton ’ s contempt for international institutions and international agreements is a commitment of long standing .
When his old boss George W. Bush—whom he greatly admires—nominated him to be his Ambassador to the United Nations , stories surfaced of Bolton saying “ The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories .
If it lost ten stories , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of difference.
” Such statements were , undoubtedly , part of the reason that many diplomats and everyone from the left of center held Bolton in low regard .
His hawkish , go-it-alone tendencies were only heightened in the years after 9/11 , with the Bush administration determined to prosecute the war in Iraq in spite of overwhelming objection from the rest of the world and multilateral institutions like the U.N .
Whereas many individuals who supported that war at the time have come around to the conclusion that it was the greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vietnam War , Bolton continues to think it was the right thing to do .
For Bolton , the world is full of enemies to be overcome and threats to be defeated , largely through military force and the threat of military force .
Like Trump , Bolton disapproves of President Obama , believing that Obama ’ s inaction allowed America ’ s enemies to gain strength and influence .
They both despise parts of the foreign policy bureaucracy , though for Trump it is the intelligence community and for Bolton it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Both Bolton and Trump wanted out of Obama ’ s Iran deal and reversed steps toward the normalization of relations with Cuba .
Bolton praised Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement , a move he called “ an important victory against global governance.
” Similarly , while serving as National Security Advisor , Bolton was eager to get the United States out of treaties , such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 , rather than update them .
“ Times change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” writes Bolton , suggesting a rather odd set of repeated encounters with liberals .
But there are differences between Bolton ’ s vision and Trump ’ s .
For all that they shared , Trump ’ s obsessions are not Bolton ’ s .
Trump believes that U.S. hegemony has been a bad deal for the United States .
He cares about the cost of bases and alliances .
And while certainly no dove , he doesn ’ t like losing and seems to have little appetite for risking American lives in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thousands of miles away.
” In 2016 , Trump tried to portray himself as having always been an opponent of the war in Iraq .
The record is more complex , but one thing that The Room Where It Happened makes clear is that Trump thinks of himself as a critic of the war .
“ This was done by a stupid person named George Bush , ” Trump tells Bolton .
“ Millions of people killed , trillions of dollars , and we just can ’ t do it .
Another six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said before , and we ’ re still getting our asses kicked.
” Trump is eager to make a deal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan , thinking that his opposition to “ endless wars ” helped get him elected .
Trump has admitted that he never checked to see if Bolton had changed his view on Iraq before hiring him .
Bolton , who believes in regime change for bad actors elsewhere and presidencies for bad actors at home , never doubts American good faith and intentions .
Trump does .
In 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights record , Trump responded “ There are a lot of killers .
You think our country ’ s so innocent ?
” Trump seems to relate easily to undemocratic rulers and even to envy them .
And it here that his and Bolton ’ s worldviews diverged irreparably .
An important moment of rupture for Bolton ’ s service in the White House was Trump ’ s response to attacks on coalition troops based in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias .
Trump ended up deciding that the planned retaliatory attacks were too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said , worried after someone told him it might cause 150 casualties .
Trump decided that the U.S. response was not proportionate .
“ In my government experience , ” writes Bolton , “ this was the most irrational thing I ever witnessed any President do.
” It may have been irrational , and perhaps Trump ’ s reasoning was in some way defective , but it produced an outcome far less costly than a deadly war in the Middle East .

For Bolton, the world is full of enemies to be overcome and threats to be defeated, largely through military force and the threat of military force.
Bolton’s contempt for international institutions and international agreements is a commitment of long standing. When his old boss George W. Bush—whom he greatly admires—nominated him to be his ambassador to the U.N., stories surfaced of Bolton saying, “The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If it lost ten stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.” Such statements were, undoubtedly, part of the reason that many diplomats and everyone from the left of center held Bolton in low regard. His hawkish, go-it-alone tendencies were only heightened in the years after 9/11, with the Bush administration determined to prosecute the war in Iraq in spite of overwhelming objection from the rest of the world and multilateral institutions like the U.N. Whereas many individuals who supported that war at the time have come around to the conclusion that it was the greatest error in U.S. foreign policy since the Vietnam War, Bolton continues to think it was the right thing to do.
For Bolton, the world is full of enemies to be overcome and threats to be defeated, largely through military force and the threat of military force. Like Trump, Bolton disapproves of President Obama, believing that Obama’s inaction allowed America’s enemies to gain strength and influence. They both despise parts of the foreign policy bureaucracy, though for Trump it is the intelligence community and for Bolton it is the civil service and diplomatic corps. Both Bolton and Trump wanted out of Obama’s Iran deal and reversed steps toward the normalization of relations with Cuba. Bolton praised Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, a move he called “an important victory against global governance.” Similarly, while serving as national security adviser, Bolton was eager to get the U.S. out of treaties, such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, rather than update them. “Times change, as liberals like to say,” writes Bolton, suggesting a rather odd set of repeated encounters with liberals.
But there are differences between Bolton’s vision and Trump’s. For all that they shared, Trump’s obsessions are not Bolton’s. Trump believes that U.S. hegemony has been a bad deal for the U.S. He cares about the cost of bases and alliances. And while certainly no dove, he doesn’t like losing and seems to have little appetite for risking American lives in affairs that he frequently describes as “thousands of miles away.” In 2016, Trump tried to portray himself as having always been an opponent of the war in Iraq. The record is more complex, but one thing that The Room Where It Happened makes clear is that Trump thinks of himself as a critic of the war. “This was done by a stupid person named George Bush,” Trump tells Bolton. “Millions of people killed, trillions of dollars, and we just can’t do it. Another six months, that’s what they said before, and we’re still getting our asses kicked.” Trump is eager to make a deal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, thinking that his opposition to “endless wars” helped get him elected. Trump has admitted that he never checked to see if Bolton had changed his view on Iraq before hiring him.


newrepublic--2020-06-25--How America Exports Police Violence Around the World

“ The problem of anti-Black policing … is one that is very much alive throughout our hemisphere , and around the world , ” said Christen Smith , an anthropologist whose work focuses on police violence against Black people in Brazil .
“ The way we police at home is also the way we police elsewhere.
” Walking home from protests in recent weeks has brought me back to my time spent living in Mexico City , where police in riot gear , carrying AK-47s , standing around passively on any given day in upper-class commercial districts , are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largesse is on full display , as they stare off blankly into the distance , fidgeting and picking their noses .
The fact that they are holding weapons that could easily kill you is a passive , constant threat .
The U.S. government has funneled over $ 3 billion in security and development assistance to Mexico in recent decades , much of it in the name of stopping the flow of illicit drugs—and just as often , its people—to the U.S .
This funding has involved multiple attempts to reform the police .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ than a purge of personnel , followed by a rebranding of different “ elite ” police units , every time a new president is sworn into office .
Other half-hearted measures involve the transfers of equipment , training , strategy , guns , and intelligence to Mexican police and military .
The overall strategy , carried out in the name of the war on drugs , has chiefly involved the targeting and capturing of the heads of drug cartels .
This has mostly led to a splintering and proliferation of violence across Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 60,000 disappeared since 2008 .
Meanwhile , the security buildup of the U.S.-Mexico border wall has come alongside similar training and assistance to Mexico ’ s border patrol , notably in helping the Mexican government beef up security along its southern border to stop and deter Central American asylum-seekers before they even reach the U.S. border .
Mexico ’ s border patrol , like our own , has been implicated in systematic human rights abuses .
The U.S. has also funded judicial reforms , as well as some nongovernmental organizations working on corruption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some 90 percent of crimes in Mexico remain unsolved .
Mexicans know that the problem with the cops goes far beyond “ a few bad apples.
” Since the drug war began , it ’ s become increasingly difficult to locate exactly where the cops and the military end and where the “ criminal organizations ” they ’ ve pledged to fight begin .
Despite this , the overall law enforcement strategy goes mostly unquestioned .
This is largely due to the power dynamics at play : If Mexico—or any number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things differently , the U.S. would retaliate by cutting off aid , imposing sanctions , or even supporting a change to a more like-minded regime .
As in the U.S. , it ’ s difficult for many to see an alternative to the police—though in some parts of rural Mexico , Indigenous communities have sought to expel the police from their neighborhoods and replace them with their own self-defense forces .
But the police and military maintain a monopoly on authorized violence , no matter how “ impervious to reform ” these institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Though movements against state violence have deep roots in Latin America , the recent protests in the U.S. have reverberated in unique ways across the region , too , bringing renewed attention to racist and violent policing practices in these countries .
In Guadalajara , Mexico , protests broke out earlier this month after a video emerged of the police arresting 30-year-old Giovanni López and beating him to death , allegedly for not wearing a face mask in public .
On social media , posts proliferated of photos of López alongside a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussion of race and racism in Mexico .
Protesters connected the incident to police biases and excessive use of force against darker-skinned Indigenous and poor people in Mexico .
In Brazil , anti-Black policing is an even more salient issue—what Smith and anti-police activists call a “ genocidal crisis.
” On May 20 , that crisis became embodied by 14-year-old João Pedro Matos Pinto , who was killed by police inside his uncle ’ s house during a raid .
The incident prompted renewed protests across the country , drawing parallels to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Brazil , however , activists have logged many years in the fight to abolish and demilitarize the police and to direct government largesse in a more just way .
In many parts of the country , explained Smith , “ You don ’ t have a decent hospital , you don ’ t have a decent school , but you do have police with tanks and armored cars and military-grade weapons .
”

Though movements against state violence have deep roots in Latin America, the recent protests in the U.S. have reverberated in unique ways across the region, too, bringing renewed attention to racist and violent policing practices in these countries. In Guadalajara, Mexico, protests broke out earlier this month after a video emerged of the police arresting 30-year-old Giovanni López, allegedly for not wearing a face mask in public. López was later found dead, having been tortured.* On social media, posts proliferated of photos of López alongside a photo of George Floyd, prompting a discussion of race and racism in Mexico. Protesters connected the incident to police biases and excessive use of force against darker-skinned Indigenous and poor people in Mexico.
In Brazil, anti-Black policing is an even more salient issue—what Smith and anti-police activists call a “genocidal crisis.” On May 20, that crisis became embodied by 14-year-old João Pedro Matos Pinto, who was killed by police inside his uncle’s house during a raid. The incident prompted renewed protests across the country, drawing parallels to the movement that has arisen in the U.S. In Brazil, however, activists have logged many years in the fight to abolish and demilitarize the police and to direct government largesse in a more just way. In many parts of the country, explained Smith, “You don’t have a decent hospital, you don’t have a decent school, but you do have police with tanks and armored cars and military-grade weapons.”
Though figures vary, it’s clear that there is an epidemic of violence perpetrated by the police in Brazil. According to Smith, in 2019, police in Brazil killed 5,804 people, or 16 people a day, compared to about three per day in the U.S. Between 70 and 95 percent of these killings are of people of African descent, she estimated. And that’s just the official count, which is likely far from complete. While direct U.S. funding of the police in Brazil is fairly limited, there is a long history of U.S. underwriting of police and military abuses in the country, both through programs that trained Brazil’s generals in torture techniques during its military dictatorship during the Cold War, and today, via military cooperation and other training and counternarcotics programs.