thenation--2020-08-03--When You Have Diabetes, Even a Routine Police Encounter Can Turn Fatal

During the first week of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis , a video of a 20-year-old woman begging a police officer for her insulin moments after her arrest in Cincinnati went went viral on Twitter .
As Alexis Wilkins recounted later in a phone interview , she and several friends were getting a ride home with a fellow protester when a police officer put a palm on the car to stop the driver .
The young women were ordered to get out of the car and sit on the curb .
Wilkins soon realized that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manage her Type 1 diabetes was still lying on the floor by the passenger ’ s seat .
Having experienced an adrenaline rush after the protest , she had eaten a quick snack to bring her blood sugar back up , which would in turn need to be lowered again with a dose of insulin .
To her relief , Wilkins ’ s bag was eventually retrieved , and she was able to prevent dangerous blood sugar levels while in custody .
In the end , she told me , she was separated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half hour , during which time she was terrified that the bag would be lost in the shuffle .
If that happened , she would have missed two critical doses of medication , as well as a necessary battery change for her insulin pump , which was slated to run out of juice later that evening .
Wilkins could have quickly faced a serious medical emergency .
Given the stakes , Wilkins ’ s terror was entirely rational .
The harrowing scene highlights the special danger that draconian policing poses for people with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to medical supplies including insulin , snacks , pumps , syringes , glucose testing strips or cell phone apps , on a near-constant basis , without interruption .
Their vulnerability to state violence is shared by others with disabilities and chronic medical conditions , who may be less able to weather police encounters or even brief periods of detention .
As Matthew Segal , the legal director of ACLU Massachusetts , stressed , “ A decent chunk of ‘ use of force ’ cases involved people who needed to work who were in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis…who ended up getting hurt or killed… .
It ’ s very common for the police to deal very harshly with people who simply need help.
” Indeed , research suggests that up to half of people killed by police have a disability , and that it is relatively common for diabetics in crisis to be injured or killed by police .
In fact , a landmark Supreme Court case on the use of force in policing involved Dethorne Graham , a Black man with diabetes .
In 1984 , Graham began having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friend for a ride to a convenience store to get some juice to raise his blood sugar .
When Graham walked into the store , he saw how long the line was and quickly walked back out again to go somewhere else .
A nearby officer judged this behavior as suspicious , so he followed Graham and his friend and pulled them over .
Without confirming that nothing was amiss at the store , the officer detained Graham at the curb .
A scuffle ensued , in which an officer allegedly slammed Graham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his friend ’ s car .
By the time he was finally released , Graham had fainted and incurred shoulder and head injuries , multiple scratches , and a broken foot .
You Can ’ t Police Your Way to Public Health Medical Bills Are Their Own Trauma Graham ’ s suit against the officer eventually made it to the Supreme Court , whose ruling set a precedent that many cops think of as their “ First Amendment.
” It established a standard for assessing police ’ s use of force by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The test asks whether a reasonable person in the accused officer ’ s position would have done the same thing .
As Segal explains , this precedent has tended to center the police ’ s point of view , rather than that of the victims of their actions .
“ It has led to a body of case law that is just extraordinarily , extraordinarily deferential to police… .
If you see everything from the perspective of a police officer , then suddenly a horrible beating of a man just trying to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I think that Graham vs. Connor is the origin of a sociology that says whatever the officers did , we ’ re going to tell the entire story from their perspective.
” And from the perspective of far too many officers , the perfectly reasonable actions of someone with diabetes—like asking for a bag to remain in eyeshot or quickly leaving a store with a long line—might be considered suspect .
When a diabetic ’ s blood sugar is askew , they tend to behave erratically—reacting more aggressively than usual , tripping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commands .
And in Graham ’ s case , his race certainly put him at significantly more risk .
As Segal put it , “ It becomes far less ‘ reasonable ’ what the officer did if you accept the proposition that Black people tell the truth.
’ ” Wilkins , too , was shaken to imagine how her close call might have played out if she weren ’ t white : “ I ’ m incredibly lucky that , as traumatic as it was , it could have been worse and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t .
Because I know it is for people of color every single day.
” The dangers of these police encounters snap into even sharper focus when you consider who is most likely to suffer from serious diabetes complications in the first place .
Black Americans are 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than whites , and twice as likely to die of it .
Black Americans are also more likely to have low incomes and unstable housing , both of which make diabetes even more challenging to manage .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Type 2 diabetes living in a park in Chinatown in Los Angeles , told me that all of these things frequently intersect : Being unhoused exacerbates his diabetes symptoms by making it very difficult to eat a nutritious diet , and also leaves him vulnerable to aggressive policing .
In the past few years , he estimates that he ’ s lost medications around eight different times to street sweeps , when cleanup teams and police officers clear out homeless encampments and discard residents ’ possessions .
Losing one ’ s medication and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chronic disease nearly impossible to manage .
“ They just take all your stuff and dump it in the trash… .
Now you ’ re dealing with a traumatic experience , trying to figure out how to restructure your life : Whom do you call to get those resources , or to try to get an appointment if you ’ re diabetic ?
Doctors aren ’ t just twiddling their thumbs.… You may walk in like I ’ ve done a couple of times and they ’ ll say they don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the medication to keep you going , but maybe you ’ re so demoralized that , you know , you just give up.
” And when diabetes patients are held in police custody or filtered into jails and prisons , the situation can quickly deteriorate further .
According to the American Diabetes Association , diabetes care is often denied to people in short-term custody .
And management of the condition is often subpar in incarceration settings : Last year , an investigation found a dozen deaths from diabetic ketoacidosis—a serious complication triggered when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerously high—in Georgia prisons and jails , presumably because of shoddy care management .
The impact of these challenges was described to me by a man named Bob Carder , a Type 1 diabetic who recounted several harrowing days he spent in an Ohio jail sometime around 2009 , when he was 24 years old .
After being picked up one Friday evening for an old warrant related to an allegedly unpaid speeding ticket , Carder recalled the guards ’ taking away his supplies during processing .
They told him they ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But over the course of the weekend , he received only a few units of insulin per day , far less than his typical allotment .
When Police and Public Health Collide in the Age of Covid-19 “ Anything in jail , if you make a request , if they even hear you , it takes hours .
I mean , six , seven , eight hours sometimes… and they don ’ t care .
If you make noise , if you knock on the door , they ’ ll just start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t get food tonight , ’ or ‘ We ’ re just going to turn the TV off , ’ and then the rest of the people in your cell hate you , because you just got the TV shut off , even though you ’ re trying not to die.
” Eventually , Carder says , his blood sugar rose so high that he was dragging himself across the floor to make it to the toilet to vomit .
His cellmates were so alarmed that they too began begging for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Carder was rushed to the hospital , where he suffered a heart attack in the waiting room .
Three days later , he woke up in the hospital , handcuffed to his bed .
In the end , Carder probably cheated death by just a few hours—all over a speeding ticket .
Looking back , I asked , what does he think the police and guards he dealt with were thinking ?
Why did they spend days ignoring and rejecting his pleas ?
“ They don ’ t see me as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number , ” he said .
“ To be boxed up , and shipped out… .
I don ’ t think the majority of them that I ’ ve dealt with wake up and go , ‘ How am I going to ruin somebody ’ s life today ?
’ But at the same time , they ’ re also not thinking , ‘ How do I make sure I don ’ t ruin somebody ’ s life today ?
’ ”

During the first week of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a video of a 20-year-old woman begging a police officer for her insulin moments after her arrest in Cincinnati went went viral on Twitter. As Alexis Wilkins recounted later in a phone interview, she and several friends were getting a ride home with a fellow protester when a police officer put a palm on the car to stop the driver. The young women were ordered to get out of the car and sit on the curb. Wilkins soon realized that her bag containing the supplies necessary to manage her Type 1 diabetes was still lying on the floor by the passenger’s seat. Having experienced an adrenaline rush after the protest, she had eaten a quick snack to bring her blood sugar back up, which would in turn need to be lowered again with a dose of insulin.
To her relief, Wilkins’s bag was eventually retrieved, and she was able to prevent dangerous blood sugar levels while in custody. In the end, she told me, she was separated from her life-sustaining supplies for around a half hour, during which time she was terrified that the bag would be lost in the shuffle. If that happened, she would have missed two critical doses of medication, as well as a necessary battery change for her insulin pump, which was slated to run out of juice later that evening. Wilkins could have quickly faced a serious medical emergency.
Given the stakes, Wilkins’s terror was entirely rational. The harrowing scene highlights the special danger that draconian policing poses for people with diabetes, whose health depends on access to medical supplies including insulin, snacks, pumps, syringes, glucose testing strips or cell phone apps, on a near-constant basis, without interruption. Their vulnerability to state violence is shared by others with disabilities and chronic medical conditions, who may be less able to weather police encounters or even brief periods of detention. As Matthew Segal, the legal director of ACLU Massachusetts, stressed, “A decent chunk of ‘use of force’ cases involved people who needed to work who were in some kind of physical or mental health crisis…who ended up getting hurt or killed…. It’s very common for the police to deal very harshly with people who simply need help.” Indeed, research suggests that up to half of people killed by police have a disability, and that it is relatively common for diabetics in crisis to be injured or killed by police.
In fact, a landmark Supreme Court case on the use of force in policing involved Dethorne Graham, a Black man with diabetes. In 1984, Graham began having an insulin reaction, and asked a friend for a ride to a convenience store to get some juice to raise his blood sugar. When Graham walked into the store, he saw how long the line was and quickly walked back out again to go somewhere else. A nearby officer judged this behavior as suspicious, so he followed Graham and his friend and pulled them over. Without confirming that nothing was amiss at the store, the officer detained Graham at the curb. A scuffle ensued, in which an officer allegedly slammed Graham’s head on the roof of his friend’s car. By the time he was finally released, Graham had fainted and incurred shoulder and head injuries, multiple scratches, and a broken foot. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann More From Natalie Shure ‘Opponents of Medicare for All Are Deathly Afraid’ March 1, 2021 Before Forcing the Vote on Medicare for All, We Must Build Power February 23, 2021 What’s Keeping the Vaccine From Getting to Those Who Need it Most? February 3, 2021
Graham’s suit against the officer eventually made it to the Supreme Court, whose ruling set a precedent that many cops think of as their “First Amendment.” It established a standard for assessing police’s use of force by a so-called “objective reasonableness” test. The test asks whether a reasonable person in the accused officer’s position would have done the same thing. As Segal explains, this precedent has tended to center the police’s point of view, rather than that of the victims of their actions. “It has led to a body of case law that is just extraordinarily, extraordinarily deferential to police…. If you see everything from the perspective of a police officer, then suddenly a horrible beating of a man just trying to get orange juice is just a reasonable mistake…. I think that Graham vs. Connor is the origin of a sociology that says whatever the officers did, we’re going to tell the entire story from their perspective.”
And from the perspective of far too many officers, the perfectly reasonable actions of someone with diabetes—like asking for a bag to remain in eyeshot or quickly leaving a store with a long line—might be considered suspect. When a diabetic’s blood sugar is askew, they tend to behave erratically—reacting more aggressively than usual, tripping over their words or struggling to process commands. And in Graham’s case, his race certainly put him at significantly more risk.
As Segal put it, “It becomes far less ‘reasonable’ what the officer did if you accept the proposition that Black people tell the truth.’” Wilkins, too, was shaken to imagine how her close call might have played out if she weren’t white: “I’m incredibly lucky that, as traumatic as it was, it could have been worse and I’m glad that it wasn’t. Because I know it is for people of color every single day.” Current Issue View our current issue
The dangers of these police encounters snap into even sharper focus when you consider who is most likely to suffer from serious diabetes complications in the first place. Black Americans are 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than whites, and twice as likely to die of it. Black Americans are also more likely to have low incomes and unstable housing, both of which make diabetes even more challenging to manage.
Theo Henderson, an African American with Type 2 diabetes living in a park in Chinatown in Los Angeles, told me that all of these things frequently intersect: Being unhoused exacerbates his diabetes symptoms by making it very difficult to eat a nutritious diet, and also leaves him vulnerable to aggressive policing. In the past few years, he estimates that he’s lost medications around eight different times to street sweeps, when cleanup teams and police officers clear out homeless encampments and discard residents’ possessions.
Losing one’s medication and diabetes supplies so frequently makes a challenging chronic disease nearly impossible to manage. “They just take all your stuff and dump it in the trash…. Now you’re dealing with a traumatic experience, trying to figure out how to restructure your life: Whom do you call to get those resources, or to try to get an appointment if you’re diabetic? Doctors aren’t just twiddling their thumbs.… You may walk in like I’ve done a couple of times and they’ll say they don’t have availability. And you may need the medication to keep you going, but maybe you’re so demoralized that, you know, you just give up.”
And when diabetes patients are held in police custody or filtered into jails and prisons, the situation can quickly deteriorate further. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes care is often denied to people in short-term custody. And management of the condition is often subpar in incarceration settings: Last year, an investigation found a dozen deaths from diabetic ketoacidosis—a serious complication triggered when a lack of insulin drives glucose levels dangerously high—in Georgia prisons and jails, presumably because of shoddy care management.
The impact of these challenges was described to me by a man named Bob Carder, a Type 1 diabetic who recounted several harrowing days he spent in an Ohio jail sometime around 2009, when he was 24 years old. After being picked up one Friday evening for an old warrant related to an allegedly unpaid speeding ticket, Carder recalled the guards’ taking away his supplies during processing. They told him they’d administer his drugs as they deemed necessary. But over the course of the weekend, he received only a few units of insulin per day, far less than his typical allotment. Related Article When Police and Public Health Collide in the Age of Covid-19 Gregg Gonsalves
“Anything in jail, if you make a request, if they even hear you, it takes hours. I mean, six, seven, eight hours sometimes… and they don’t care. If you make noise, if you knock on the door, they’ll just start doing things like, ‘You guys won’t get food tonight,’ or ‘We’re just going to turn the TV off,’ and then the rest of the people in your cell hate you, because you just got the TV shut off, even though you’re trying not to die.”
Eventually, Carder says, his blood sugar rose so high that he was dragging himself across the floor to make it to the toilet to vomit. His cellmates were so alarmed that they too began begging for medical attention. On the following Monday, Carder was rushed to the hospital, where he suffered a heart attack in the waiting room. Three days later, he woke up in the hospital, handcuffed to his bed.
In the end, Carder probably cheated death by just a few hours—all over a speeding ticket. Looking back, I asked, what does he think the police and guards he dealt with were thinking? Why did they spend days ignoring and rejecting his pleas?
“They don’t see me as an individual. They see me as a number,” he said. “To be boxed up, and shipped out…. I don’t think the majority of them that I’ve dealt with wake up and go, ‘How am I going to ruin somebody’s life today?’ But at the same time, they’re also not thinking, ‘How do I make sure I don’t ruin somebody’s life today?’”


thenation--2020-08-03--Should the World Boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics?

The Olympics are experiencing an existential crisis .
The coronavirus has knocked back the Tokyo Games a full year .
There ’ s an upsurge of athlete activism among Olympians who view the International Olympic Committee ’ s rule prohibiting political dissent at the Games as out of step with the times .
Fewer cities are competing to host future Games , in part thanks to activist movements that keep popping up in potential host cities to challenge the Olympic machine .
IOC President Thomas Bach acknowledged the strain during his opening speech at recent IOC meetings where he lamented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political purposes as one of our biggest challenges.
” He also raised the specter of an Olympic boycott , with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics the obvious subtext .
“ Boycotts and discrimination because of political background or nationality are once again a real danger , ” he said .
In the United States , China has become an all-purpose , bipartisan political punching bag .
In a recent speech on China , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to test-drive material for a new-wave axis of evil .
“ The free world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he stated .
Somewhat nonsensically , Pompeo added , “ Securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time.
” Meanwhile , Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden attacked China in a recent ad as if he were trying to outflank Trump from the right .
Prior to that , the US Congressional Executive Commission on China , led by two Republicans , Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Christopher Smith of New Jersey , wrote a letter to Bach demanding that the IOC “ reassign the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A visiting fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times demanding a boycott of Beijing .
In Canada , a columnist at the National Post demanded the same .
Much of this is political posturing .
But beneath the layers of self-serving puffery lurks a grim truth : The Chinese government ’ s treatment of the ethnic Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang Province and its brutal crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong clash mightily with the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter .
Trump , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uighur camps in conversation with Xi Jinping for fear of derailing their trade deal , which highlights the United States ’ hypocrisy on this issue .
But it ’ s impossible to square China ’ s actions with the “ fundamental principle of Olympism , ” to support “ the harmonious development of humankind , with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.
” Michael Bennett Thinks the NFL Is Starting to Wake Up Olympic sponsor Nike , a company that has placed itself at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being embraced in US sports , used Uighur forced labor to make its shoes .
Its only reaction in the face of this horror has been to say that it is “ conducting ongoing diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and assess potential risks related to employment of Uighur or other ethnic minorities.
” Yes , the dystopic repression in China should disqualify the country from hosting the Winter Olympics in Beijing .
But all Olympic hosts , including the United States , which is slated to host the 2028 Summer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same scrutiny .
The IOC is hamstrung by its own selective ethics .
After all , it handed the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing after receiving assurance from China that hosting would spur improvements on the human rights front .
To state the obvious , that didn ’ t happen .
As Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said , “ The 2008 Beijing Games have put an end—once and for all—to the notion that these Olympics are a ‘ force for good.
’ ” She added , “ The reality is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Games has been a catalyst for abuses , leading to massive forced evictions , a surge in the arrest , detention , and harassment of critics , repeated violations of media freedom , and increased political repression.
” And yet , in 2015 , the IOC went ahead and chose Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics , cramming this grim history down the memory hole .
There can be no Olympics , no celebration of China , as long as the Uighur Muslim population is being sent to their deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convincingly argued that China ’ s treatment of its Uighur population meets the United Nations definition of genocide .
As Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch said , “ The 2008 Olympics were already legendary for human rights abuses .
The current situation is leagues worse.
” Confronted with this mountain of evidence , the IOC ’ s response has been weak-kneed at best , acting like nothing is amiss .
Bach insists his hands are tied .
The IOC , he argued , “ has not the mandate nor the authority to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China .
These are “ political issues ” that the IOC lacks the remit to address , he said .
This is a jaw-dropping abdication of responsibility , an extraordinary failure of leadership .
We need to stand with political resistance in China , and if that resistance includes calls to boycott the 2022 Games , then we should support them .
Meanwhile , activists standing up for Black lives across the United States are being repressed by local , state , and federal police forces .
In Portland , activists are teargassed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repression has injured numerous protesters as , ironically , they protest police brutality .
And in Los Angeles , which is set to hold the 2028 Olympics , homelessness is a humanitarian crisis in plain sight , and one that the mayor there is failing to properly address .
The fact of the matter is that we should carefully examine the political aims and motivations of those calling for a boycott of Beijing 2022 .
We should scrutinize the demands for such a boycott and the kind of solidarity being offered .
Most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complaints there are to be made about China ’ s human rights record to the truth that it ’ s the Olympics and the IOC through their own actions that demand a boycott .

The Olympics are experiencing an existential crisis. The coronavirus has knocked back the Tokyo Games a full year. There’s an upsurge of athlete activism among Olympians who view the International Olympic Committee’s rule prohibiting political dissent at the Games as out of step with the times. Fewer cities are competing to host future Games, in part thanks to activist movements that keep popping up in potential host cities to challenge the Olympic machine.
IOC President Thomas Bach acknowledged the strain during his opening speech at recent IOC meetings where he lamented “the growing misuse of sport for political purposes as one of our biggest challenges.” He also raised the specter of an Olympic boycott, with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics the obvious subtext. “Boycotts and discrimination because of political background or nationality are once again a real danger,” he said.
In the United States, China has become an all-purpose, bipartisan political punching bag. In a recent speech on China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to test-drive material for a new-wave axis of evil. “The free world must triumph over this new tyranny,” he stated. Somewhat nonsensically, Pompeo added, “Securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time.” Meanwhile, Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden attacked China in a recent ad as if he were trying to outflank Trump from the right. Prior to that, the US Congressional Executive Commission on China, led by two Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Christopher Smith of New Jersey, wrote a letter to Bach demanding that the IOC “reassign the location of the 2022 Winter Olympics.” A visiting fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times demanding a boycott of Beijing. In Canada, a columnist at the National Post demanded the same.
Much of this is political posturing. But beneath the layers of self-serving puffery lurks a grim truth: The Chinese government’s treatment of the ethnic Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang Province and its brutal crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong clash mightily with the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter. Trump, of course, essentially green-lighted the building of Uighur camps in conversation with Xi Jinping for fear of derailing their trade deal, which highlights the United States’ hypocrisy on this issue. But it’s impossible to square China’s actions with the “fundamental principle of Olympism,” to support “the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann More From Dave Zirin “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash August 15, 2023 Why the Right Wanted the USWNT to Lose August 10, 2023 Carli Lloyd’s Attacks on the USWNT Are Personal—and Political August 1, 2023
Olympic sponsor Nike, a company that has placed itself at the heart of the “woke capitalism” being embraced in US sports, used Uighur forced labor to make its shoes. Its only reaction in the face of this horror has been to say that it is “conducting ongoing diligence with our suppliers in China to identify and assess potential risks related to employment of Uighur or other ethnic minorities.”
Yes, the dystopic repression in China should disqualify the country from hosting the Winter Olympics in Beijing. But all Olympic hosts, including the United States, which is slated to host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, should receive the same scrutiny.
The IOC is hamstrung by its own selective ethics. After all, it handed the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing after receiving assurance from China that hosting would spur improvements on the human rights front. To state the obvious, that didn’t happen. As Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch said, “The 2008 Beijing Games have put an end—once and for all—to the notion that these Olympics are a ‘force for good.’” She added, “The reality is that the Chinese government’s hosting of the Games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention, and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression.” And yet, in 2015, the IOC went ahead and chose Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, cramming this grim history down the memory hole. Current Issue View our current issue
There can be no Olympics, no celebration of China, as long as the Uighur Muslim population is being sent to their deaths. Georgetown University Professor James Millward has convincingly argued that China’s treatment of its Uighur population meets the United Nations definition of genocide. As Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch said, “The 2008 Olympics were already legendary for human rights abuses. The current situation is leagues worse.”
Confronted with this mountain of evidence, the IOC’s response has been weak-kneed at best, acting like nothing is amiss. Bach insists his hands are tied. The IOC, he argued, “has not the mandate nor the authority to solve the human rights problems” in China. These are “political issues” that the IOC lacks the remit to address, he said. This is a jaw-dropping abdication of responsibility, an extraordinary failure of leadership. Related Article Olympic Workers of the World Unite! Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff
We need to stand with political resistance in China, and if that resistance includes calls to boycott the 2022 Games, then we should support them. Meanwhile, activists standing up for Black lives across the United States are being repressed by local, state, and federal police forces. In Portland, activists are teargassed and attacked with impact munitions. The repression has injured numerous protesters as, ironically, they protest police brutality. And in Los Angeles, which is set to hold the 2028 Olympics, homelessness is a humanitarian crisis in plain sight, and one that the mayor there is failing to properly address.
The fact of the matter is that we should carefully examine the political aims and motivations of those calling for a boycott of Beijing 2022. We should scrutinize the demands for such a boycott and the kind of solidarity being offered. Most critically, we must always link whatever complaints there are to be made about China’s human rights record to the truth that it’s the Olympics and the IOC through their own actions that demand a boycott.


thenation--2020-08-03--To Defeat Trump, Discredit His Movement, and Elect Progressives

We , the undersigned democratic socialists , want to make clear that the priority for the left in 2020 should be the electoral defeat of Donald Trump and the Trumpist Republican Party in November .
At present , the only way to accomplish that will be to vote for his Democratic opponent .
The racist , xenophobic , misogynist authoritarianism of Trumpism poses an immediate existential danger to people of color , to immigrants , to reproductive rights , to trade unions , to LGBTQIA people , to Muslims , to Jews , to members of other religions , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would fortify our authoritarian State , expand imperial aggression , and collapse the political space for democratic and left forces at home .
Reversing the creeping neo-fascism at play in our country is a strategic imperative , the most urgent political task before us .
Trump ’ s regime is literally imposing massive casualties on people of color , immigrants , and women , by means of its work-or-starve campaign to restart the economy in the face of a raging pandemic ; through indulgence of random , murderous assaults epitomized by the cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Ahmaud Arbery ; by the shutdown of abortion clinics ; and by virtual death sentences imposed on incarcerated persons , including those detained by the vicious Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency .
The mob attacks on Democratic state governments encouraged by the president call to mind the reversal of Reconstruction by terrorist partisans of the old Confederacy , after the Civil War .
Thousands are dying of the coronavirus each week , disproportionately people of color , particularly elderly nursing home residents , the incarcerated , and detained immigrants .
How many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialists , we believe that the best way to defeat Trumpism as well as Trump himself is with a platform the breaks decisively with neoliberal policies , especially austerity , privatization , deregulation , and anti-worker trade deals .
But in the near term , as a practical matter , alliances are also necessary with other anti-Trump forces , for the sake of a Democratic victory in November .
We should continue to promote the interests of working people above the 1 percent ; to take on institutional racism and sexism in law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; to address catastrophic climate change ; and to promote public health .
But our core mission need not preclude us from urging a vote against Trump .
Nor should it discourage us from enthusiastically backing progressive elected officials and candidates for office , such as “ the Squad ” in the House of Representatives .
Particularly important is vigorous support for avowed democratic socialists , such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib .
They must be defended from efforts to pillory and defeat them , not least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office can grow .
Our electoral work will have the greatest impact when done cooperatively among all progressive constituencies , including trade unions , civil rights organizations , and community groups , as well as progressive political organizations .
This collaborative approach powered the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and helped to elect Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib , among others .
Trump ’ s commitment to the destruction of basic democratic institutions—the right to vote , an independent judiciary , a free press , Congress as a coequal branch of government , the sovereign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a progressive agenda impossible .
Nothing is more important than ensuring his removal from the White House in 2021. ax erger an antor eo asey arl avidson ohn milio arbara hrenreich usan einer ill letcher r. rances ox iven athleen eier ose utierrez ichard ealey arbara opkins erry udson arbara oye ichael azin andall ennedy eanne racher harles enchner ose a uz araka arimore-Hall tephen erner enny ewis elson ichtenstein ric ar ob aster eborah eier us ewport d tt atha ollitt hris iddiough ichele ossi ax awicky ay chaffner arilyn neiderman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name to this statement , go to www.dsanorthstar.org/defeattrump

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We, the undersigned democratic socialists, want to make clear that the priority for the left in 2020 should be the electoral defeat of Donald Trump and the Trumpist Republican Party in November. At present, the only way to accomplish that will be to vote for his Democratic opponent.
The racist, xenophobic, misogynist authoritarianism of Trumpism poses an immediate existential danger to people of color, to immigrants, to reproductive rights, to trade unions, to LGBTQIA people, to Muslims, to Jews, to members of other religions, and to democracy itself. A Trump victory would fortify our authoritarian State, expand imperial aggression, and collapse the political space for democratic and left forces at home. Reversing the creeping neo-fascism at play in our country is a strategic imperative, the most urgent political task before us.
Trump’s regime is literally imposing massive casualties on people of color, immigrants, and women, by means of its work-or-starve campaign to restart the economy in the face of a raging pandemic; through indulgence of random, murderous assaults epitomized by the cases of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery; by the shutdown of abortion clinics; and by virtual death sentences imposed on incarcerated persons, including those detained by the vicious Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The mob attacks on Democratic state governments encouraged by the president call to mind the reversal of Reconstruction by terrorist partisans of the old Confederacy, after the Civil War.
Thousands are dying of the coronavirus each week, disproportionately people of color, particularly elderly nursing home residents, the incarcerated, and detained immigrants. How many more must be sacrificed?
As democratic socialists, we believe that the best way to defeat Trumpism as well as Trump himself is with a platform the breaks decisively with neoliberal policies, especially austerity, privatization, deregulation, and anti-worker trade deals. But in the near term, as a practical matter, alliances are also necessary with other anti-Trump forces, for the sake of a Democratic victory in November. Current Issue View our current issue
We should continue to promote the interests of working people above the 1 percent; to take on institutional racism and sexism in law enforcement, employment, and social services; to address catastrophic climate change; and to promote public health. But our core mission need not preclude us from urging a vote against Trump. Nor should it discourage us from enthusiastically backing progressive elected officials and candidates for office, such as “the Squad” in the House of Representatives.
Particularly important is vigorous support for avowed democratic socialists, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. They must be defended from efforts to pillory and defeat them, not least so that the ranks of progressives in office can grow. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
Our electoral work will have the greatest impact when done cooperatively among all progressive constituencies, including trade unions, civil rights organizations, and community groups, as well as progressive political organizations. This collaborative approach powered the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and helped to elect Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib, among others.
Trump’s commitment to the destruction of basic democratic institutions—the right to vote, an independent judiciary, a free press, Congress as a coequal branch of government, the sovereign character of state governments—would make further pursuit of a progressive agenda impossible. Nothing is more important than ensuring his removal from the White House in 2021.
M ax B erger
D an C antor
L eo C asey
C arl D avidson
J ohn D’E milio
B arbara E hrenreich
S usan F einer
B ill F letcher J r.
F rances F ox P iven
K athleen G eier
J ose G utierrez
R ichard H ealey
B arbara E. H opkins
G erry H udson
B arbara J oye
M ichael K azin
R andall K ennedy
J eanne K racher
C harles L enchner
J ose L a L uz
D araka L arimore-Hall
S tephen L erner
P enny L ewis
N elson L ichtenstein
E ric M ar
B ob M aster
D eborah M eier
G us N ewport
E d O tt
K atha P ollitt
C hris R iddiough
M ichele R ossi
M ax S awicky
J ay S chaffner
M arilyn S neiderman
C ornel W est
E than Y oung
To add your name to this statement, go to www.dsanorthstar.org/defeattrump


thenation--2020-08-03--Homeland Security Is Quietly Tying Antifa to Foreign Powers

Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) intelligence officials are targeting activists it considers “ antifa ” and attempting to tie them to a foreign power , according to a DHS intelligence report obtained exclusively by The Nation .
The intelligence report , titled “ The Syrian Conflict and its Nexus to the U.S.-based Antifascist Movement , ” mentions several Americans , including a left-wing podcast host who traveled to Syria to fight ISIS .
The report includes a readout of these individuals ’ personal information , including their Social Security numbers , home addresses , and social media accounts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DHS ’ s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams .
As the intelligence report states , “ ANTIFA is being analyzed under the 2019 DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism ( CT ) and Targeted Violence.
” Dated July 14 , the document , marked for official use only and law enforcement sensitive , draws on a blend of publicly available information and state and federal law enforcement intelligence .
It was provided to The Nation by a source who previously worked on DHS intelligence .
“ They targeted Americans like they ’ re Al @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer with knowledge of the operations told The Nation .
The officer , who served for years in the DHS ’ s Office of Intelligence & Analysis ( I & A ) , compared the operations to the illegal surveillance of activists during the civil rights era .
“ They essentially were violating people ’ s rights like this was the ’ 60s…the type of shit the Church and Pike committee [ s ] had to address.
” While the law generally prohibits intelligence agencies from spying on US residents , many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual is believed to be acting as an agent of a foreign power .
“ Designating someone as foreign-sponsored can make a huge legal and practical difference in the government ’ s ability to pursue them , ” explained Steven Aftergood , who heads the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists .
“ It ’ s a crucial distinction .
Once someone ( or some group ) is identified as an agent of a foreign power , they are subject to warrantless search and surveillance in a way that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other US person .
The whole apparatus of US intelligence can be brought to bear on someone who is considered an agent of a foreign power.
” Last week , the DHS reassigned its intelligence chief after The Washington Post revealed that the agency had been compiling intelligence reports on American journalists and activists in Portland .
In response to President Trump ’ s executive order to protect monuments and other federal property , the DHS created the “ Protecting American Communities Task Force , ” which sent DHS assets to Portland and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself in transition under the Trump administration.
“ They are always pressuring I & A for political reasons ; it ’ s been like that since the election , ” the former intelligence officer said .
This weekend , Politico reported that DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli loosened oversight of I & A .
Cuccinelli , at I & A ’ s request , curtailed the requirement that the DHS ’ s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties approve I & A ’ s intelligence products prior to distribution to law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the US military , which cooperated with the YPG in fighting ISIS for years .
Last year , President Trump enraged many in the US military when he green-lighted a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish militia .
Jim Mattis reportedly resigned as defense secretary in part because of what he considered a betrayal of our Kurdish allies .
The intelligence report describes over half a dozen people who traveled to Syria in order to fight alongside Kurdish factions—usually the YPG , but also other Kurdish groups like the PKK and the Peshmerga @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied membership in antifa but variously identified with far-left causes .
The DHS appears to define antifa broadly , to encompass various left-wing tendencies : “ [ A ] ntifa is driven by a mixed range of far-left political ideologies , including anti-capitalism , communism , socialism , and anarchism.
” In two cases , evidence of antifa affiliation was limited to photos taken in front of an antifa flag .
As the intelligence report itself notes , “ ANTIFA claims no official leadership , ” raising questions about whether antifa even exists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The first individual mentioned in the intelligence report , Brace Belden , cohosts the popular left-wing podcast TrueAnon , and fought with the YPG in 2016 .
The information appears to be partly drawn from a 2017 article on Belden in Rolling Stone .
Belden is described as “ a minor criminal and drug addict who started reading Marx and Lenin in drug rehabilitation treatment and became involved in a number of political causes before deciding to fight alongside the YPG.
” The report goes on to describe an encounter between Belden and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ association .
“ I am not now nor have I ever been a member of any antifa organization , ” he told The Nation .
“ The US government has been spying on and smearing communists for 100 years , but they usually have the decency not to call a Red an anarchist !
” “ There appears to be a clear connection…between ANTIFA ideology and Kurdish democratic federalism teachings and ideology , ” the intelligence report states .
At least one of the activists listed is described as being ethnically Kurdish .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ designate antifa a “ terrorist organization.
” While antifa groups have engaged in acts of property destruction , antifa has not been linked to a single murder in the United States , according to data compiled in the past 25 years by the Center for Strategic and International Studies .
By contrast , the same data found that far-right extremist groups had killed 329 people .
The intelligence report appears to conclude that the individuals described were not acting on behalf of a foreign group—save for one unnamed person .
“ Aside from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there does not appear to be evidence of a centralized effort to give marching orders to returning ANTIFA-affiliated USPER [ US person ] foreign fighters once they return to the United States .
”

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Department of Homeland Security intelligence officials are targeting activists it considers antifa and attempting to tie them to a foreign power, according to a DHS intelligence report obtained exclusively by The Nation.
The intelligence report, titled “The Syrian Conflict and Its Nexus to the U.S.-based Antifascist Movement,” mentions several Americans, including a left-wing podcast host who traveled to Syria to fight ISIS. The report includes these individuals’ personal information, including their Social Security numbers, home addresses, and social media accounts, much of the data generated by the DHS’s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams. As the intelligence report states, “ANTIFA is being analyzed under the 2019 DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism (CT) and Targeted Violence.”
Dated July 14, the document, marked for official use only and law enforcement sensitive, draws on a blend of publicly available information and state and federal law enforcement intelligence. It was provided to The Nation by a source who previously worked on DHS intelligence.
“They targeted Americans like they’re Al Qaeda,” a former senior DHS intelligence officer with knowledge of the operations told The Nation. The officer, who served for years in the DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), compared the operations to the illegal surveillance of activists during the civil rights era. “They essentially were violating people’s rights like this was the ’60s…the type of shit the Church and Pike committee[s] had to address.” Whither Antifa The FBI Finds ‘No Intel Indicating Antifa Involvement’ in Sunday’s Violence Ken Klippenstein
While the law generally prohibits intelligence agencies from spying on US residents, many of those protections do not apply if the individual is believed to be acting as an agent of a foreign power.
“Designating someone as foreign-sponsored can make a huge legal and practical difference in the government’s ability to pursue them,” explained Steven Aftergood, who heads the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. “It’s a crucial distinction. Once someone (or some group) is identified as an agent of a foreign power, they are subject to warrantless search and surveillance in a way that would be illegal and unconstitutional for any other US person. The whole apparatus of US intelligence can be brought to bear on someone who is considered an agent of a foreign power.” Current Issue View our current issue
Last week the DHS reassigned its intelligence chief after The Washington Post revealed that the agency had been compiling intelligence reports on American journalists and activists in Portland, Ore. In response to President Trump’s executive order to protect monuments and other federal property, the DHS created the Protecting American Communities Task Force, which sent DHS assets to Portland and other cities. The agency has found itself in transition under the Trump administration.“They are always pressuring I&A for political reasons. It’s been like that since the election,” the former intelligence officer said. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
This weekend, Politico reported that DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli loosened oversight of I&A. Cuccinelli, at I&A’s request, curtailed the requirement that the DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties approve I&A’s intelligence products before distribution to law enforcement partners.
The intelligence report’s executive summary states:
In June 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) National Targeting Center (NTC) Counter Network Division (CND) compiled CBP encounter data on individuals who returned from Syria and fought with the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG, translation: PEOPLE’S PROTECTION UNITS), and had some with reported ties to a U.S.-based ANTIFA (Anti-fascist) movement. CBP concerns about and interest in these individuals stem from the types of skills and motivations that may have developed during their time overseas in foreign conflicts.
These skills were also appreciated by the US military, which cooperated with the YPG in fighting ISIS for years. Last year Trump enraged many in the US military when he green-lit a Turkish offensive against the Kurdish militia. Jim Mattis reportedly resigned as defense secretary in part because of what he considered a betrayal of our Kurdish allies.
The intelligence report describes over half a dozen people who traveled to Syria in order to fight alongside Kurdish factions—usually the YPG but also other Kurdish groups like the PKK and the Peshmerga. Some of the individuals described have denied membership in antifa but variously identified with far-left causes. The DHS appears to define antifa broadly to encompass various left-wing tendencies: “Antifa is driven by a mixed range of far-left political ideologies, including anti-capitalism, communism, socialism, and anarchism.” In two cases, evidence of antifa affiliation was limited to photos taken in front of an antifa flag. As the intelligence report notes, “ANTIFA claims no official leadership,” raising questions about whether antifa even exists in any sort of operational capacity.
The first individual mentioned in the intelligence report, Brace Belden, cohosts the popular left-wing podcast TrueAnon and fought with the YPG in 2016. The report appears to be partly drawn from a 2017 article on Belden in Rolling Stone, and describes him as “a minor criminal and drug addict who started reading Marx and Lenin in drug rehabilitation treatment and became involved in a number of political causes before deciding to fight alongside the YPG.”
The report says of an encounter between Belden and border authorities:
U.S. citizen (USC) Brace BELDEN was encountered on 08 April 2017, arriving in San Francisco, California from Frankfurt, Germany. BELDEN was returning from a six month tour of volunteering to fight with the YPG under the umbrella of the Syrian Democrat Forces (SDF) fighting ISIS in Syria as part of the ongoing Raqqa offensive starting in November 2016 to retake Raqqa from ISIS. BELDEN stated he recently learned that an open source article had been written about him and his “Anarchist” fighters.
Belden scoffed at the association. “I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of any antifa organization,” he told The Nation. “The US government has been spying on and smearing communists for 100 years, but they usually have the decency not to call a Red an anarchist.”
“There appears to be a clear connection…between ANTIFA ideology and Kurdish democratic federalism teachings and ideology,” the intelligence report states. At least one of the activists listed is described as ethnically Kurdish.
On May 31, Trump vowed to designate antifa a terrorist organization. While antifa groups have engaged in acts of property destruction, antifa has not been linked to a single killing in the United States, according to data compiled in the past 25 years by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. By contrast, the same data found that far-right extremist groups killed 329 people.
The intelligence report appears to conclude that the individuals described were not acting on behalf of a foreign group—save for one unnamed person.
“Aside from a single instance derived from open-source reporting, there does not appear to be evidence of a centralized effort to give marching orders to returning ANTIFA-affiliated USPER [US person] foreign fighters once they return to the United States.”


thenation--2020-08-03--The Deaths of 150,000 Americans Are on Trump’s Hands

Last week , the number of Americans dead from Covid-19 surpassed 150,000 .
Despite a death toll that now exceeds the total loss of life seen in some of America ’ s greatest wars , we still have no national plan for testing .
No plan for contact tracing .
Our rules for mask use and social distancing are haphazard at best , and a selfish minority of Americans actively ignore what rules are in place .
More people will die .
We have over 4 million cases , and that number is growing rapidly .
Some of those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some of those who are now sick but don ’ t know it yet will soon die .
Some who are now perfectly healthy will become infected and die .
Consider : The last person to die of Covid-19 this year hasn ’ t even been infected yet .
Somebody who has done all of the right things thus far—worn a mask , washed their hands , and , if lucky , spent the better part of five months socially distant and lonely—will nonetheless come into contact with someone who hasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and die before the holidays .
People will continue to die needlessly because other people couldn ’ t be bothered to take the threat seriously .
Nobody will pay for these senseless deaths .
Nobody will go to jail because they didn ’ t wear a mask and infected somebody who had a preexisting condition .
No prosecutor is going to be able to make a “ reckless homicide ” charge stick , because all a would-be defendant has to do is say , “ I was just listening to the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Donald Trump , will never pay for what he ’ s done .
Oh , he might lose an election .
He might even be compelled to leave office once he loses ( though that is still kind of up in the air ) .
But Trump will never be held criminally accountable for the deaths he has caused .
We can not calculate how many Americans would have died even if we did everything right versus how many Americans have died and will die because Trump has done everything wrong , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delta is monstrous .
Trump and his administration should be treated like mass murderers .
Vanity Fair reports that Jared Kushner may have decided to scuttle a national testing plan because the deaths were , at the time , heavily skewed towards “ blue ” states with Democratic governors .
If true , that behavior should be viewed as a crime against humanity .
No , it is not the killing fields ; it is not the Armenian genocide ; it ’ s not the gulag or any number of recent horrors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it could meet all three elements required to go before the International Criminal Court : It ’ s persecution against an identifiable group , as well as an inhumane act “ intentionally causing great suffering , or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health ” ; it ’ s a systemic “ attack ” against a civilian population ; and it ’ s done with knowledge of the attack .
But nobody is going to haul Kushner off to The Hague and the International Criminal Court when this is all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usually punishes inaction .
The law doesn ’ t punish sins of omission .
It doesn ’ t punish the guy who fiddles while the city burns ; it only punishes the guy who started the fire .
Then again , even in those cases when the Trump administration has started the fires , it won ’ t be held accountable .
Businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain died last week from Covid-19 .
He was stricken with the disease soon after he attended Trump ’ s maskless rally in Tulsa .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump made attendees sign , but while that waiver is morally telling , it ’ s most likely legally unnecessary .
Cain , like so many others at that rally , acted like Covid-19 was a liberal hoax .
He put himself at risk before and after the rally .
There ’ s literally no way to tell if he got the virus at the rally .
Cain is dead because of Trump—if not that specific rally , then his policies—but no court would hold Trump legally responsible for killing a 74-year-old cancer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or without a death waiver .
One can imagine a situation where somebody would be liable , if not criminally , then in civil court , for infecting others with the coronavirus .
I expect those lawsuits to come as people are forced to go back to school and work .
Unfortunately , Mitch McConnell expects them , too .
That ’ s why McConnell and the Republican Party are holding unemployment benefits hostage as they try to write Covid-19 liability protection into the next relief package .
McConnell doesn ’ t care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing nothing to protect their health and safety from the virus .
All he cares about is preventing people from suing their employers , should those employers mandate that workers go to work—and then get sick and die .
The stakes couldn ’ t be higher : Right now , the only thing preventing wide-scale “ reopening ” is the fact that employers don ’ t want to be sued for creating infection hot spots in their offices and factories .
If McConnell gets his way , Wall Street will be as casual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been .
And mass deaths will follow .
School districts don ’ t even need McConnell ’ s liability protections .
While there have been various reports of teachers , staff , and even college students being asked to sign death waivers , these waivers are unlikely to stand up in court .
But that doesn ’ t mean teachers and staff , or their survivors after they die , will have a cause of action against the school districts .
Instead , just like the people who refuse to wear a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to say that they were following the “ reasonable ” guidelines laid out by their state governments .
If a school opens and does everything the governor tells it to do , nobody will be able to sue the school when teachers and students die .
In this case , the “ I was just following orders ” defense works , even if those orders come from known bad-faith actors like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or Georgia Governor Brian Kemp .
Everybody involved in allowing people to die from Covid-19 will get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad person is not illegal .
Magical thinking is not illegal .
Being a callous , know-nothing , anti-science , willfully ignorant Trump sycophant is not illegal .
Allowing people to die in the hope of suppressing voter turnout to win an election is not illegal .
Over 150,000 people are dead .
Many , many more will die .
And nobody will be held accountable for causing this mass die-off of Americans .
There will never be justice for those who have died from the neglect of the Trump administration .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The least we can do is start treating them as such .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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Last week, the number of Americans dead from Covid-19 surpassed 150,000. Despite a death toll that now exceeds the total loss of life seen in some of America’s greatest wars, we still have no national plan for testing. No plan for contact tracing. Our rules for mask use and social distancing are haphazard at best, and a selfish minority of Americans actively ignore what rules are in place.
More people will die. We have over 4 million cases, and that number is growing rapidly. Some of those who are now sick will soon die. Some of those who are now sick but don’t know it yet will soon die. Some who are now perfectly healthy will become infected and die. Consider: The last person to die of Covid-19 this year hasn’t even been infected yet. Somebody who has done all of the right things thus far—worn a mask, washed their hands, and, if lucky, spent the better part of five months socially distant and lonely—will nonetheless come into contact with someone who hasn’t been as careful, contract the virus, and die before the holidays. People will continue to die needlessly because other people couldn’t be bothered to take the threat seriously.
Nobody will pay for these senseless deaths. Nobody will go to jail because they didn’t wear a mask and infected somebody who had a preexisting condition. No prosecutor is going to be able to make a “reckless homicide” charge stick, because all a would-be defendant has to do is say, “I was just listening to the president of the United States.”
That president, Donald Trump, will never pay for what he’s done. Oh, he might lose an election. He might even be compelled to leave office once he loses (though that is still kind of up in the air). But Trump will never be held criminally accountable for the deaths he has caused. We cannot calculate how many Americans would have died even if we did everything right versus how many Americans have died and will die because Trump has done everything wrong, but that number is large. The delta is monstrous. Current Issue View our current issue
Trump and his administration should be treated like mass murderers. Vanity Fair reports that Jared Kushner may have decided to scuttle a national testing plan because the deaths were, at the time, heavily skewed towards “blue” states with Democratic governors. If true, that behavior should be viewed as a crime against humanity. No, it is not the killing fields; it is not the Armenian genocide; it’s not the gulag or any number of recent horrors of history. But I would argue that it could meet all three elements required to go before the International Criminal Court: It’s persecution against an identifiable group, as well as an inhumane act “intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health”; it’s a systemic “attack” against a civilian population; and it’s done with knowledge of the attack. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
But nobody is going to haul Kushner off to The Hague and the International Criminal Court when this is all over. Neither domestic nor international law usually punishes inaction. The law doesn’t punish sins of omission. It doesn’t punish the guy who fiddles while the city burns; it only punishes the guy who started the fire.
Then again, even in those cases when the Trump administration has started the fires, it won’t be held accountable. Businessman and former presidential candidate Herman Cain died last week from Covid-19. He was stricken with the disease soon after he attended Trump’s maskless rally in Tulsa. Many people talked about the death waiver Trump made attendees sign, but while that waiver is morally telling, it’s most likely legally unnecessary. Cain, like so many others at that rally, acted like Covid-19 was a liberal hoax. He put himself at risk before and after the rally. There’s literally no way to tell if he got the virus at the rally. Cain is dead because of Trump—if not that specific rally, then his policies—but no court would hold Trump legally responsible for killing a 74-year-old cancer survivor with a communicable disease, with or without a death waiver.
One can imagine a situation where somebody would be liable, if not criminally, then in civil court, for infecting others with the coronavirus. I expect those lawsuits to come as people are forced to go back to school and work. Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell expects them, too. That’s why McConnell and the Republican Party are holding unemployment benefits hostage as they try to write Covid-19 liability protection into the next relief package.
McConnell doesn’t care if workers get sick. He is doing nothing to protect their health and safety from the virus. All he cares about is preventing people from suing their employers, should those employers mandate that workers go to work—and then get sick and die. The stakes couldn’t be higher: Right now, the only thing preventing wide-scale “reopening” is the fact that employers don’t want to be sued for creating infection hot spots in their offices and factories. If McConnell gets his way, Wall Street will be as casual with American lives as the White House has been. And mass deaths will follow.
School districts don’t even need McConnell’s liability protections. While there have been various reports of teachers, staff, and even college students being asked to sign death waivers, these waivers are unlikely to stand up in court. But that doesn’t mean teachers and staff, or their survivors after they die, will have a cause of action against the school districts. Instead, just like the people who refuse to wear a mask, the school districts will be able to say that they were following the “reasonable” guidelines laid out by their state governments. If a school opens and does everything the governor tells it to do, nobody will be able to sue the school when teachers and students die. In this case, the “I was just following orders” defense works, even if those orders come from known bad-faith actors like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. More from Mystal America Doesn’t Deserve to Have Baseball Back Elie Mystal
Everybody involved in allowing people to die from Covid-19 will get away with it, because being a bad person is not illegal. Magical thinking is not illegal. Being a callous, know-nothing, anti-science, willfully ignorant Trump sycophant is not illegal. Allowing people to die in the hope of suppressing voter turnout to win an election is not illegal.
Over 150,000 people are dead. Many, many more will die. And nobody will be held accountable for causing this mass die-off of Americans. There will never be justice for those who have died from the neglect of the Trump administration.
The people responsible for these deaths are monsters. The least we can do is start treating them as such.


thenation--2020-08-03--Bipartisan Support for Wall Street, Crumbs for Main Street

On Friday , the enhanced unemployment program , which has been a lifeline for millions of Americans during the current economic crisis , expired .
There is no consensus in Washington to replace it .
The Democrats are eager for a renewal , but Republicans have promised only a temporary , one-week extension .
The ultimate Republican goal is to cut enhanced unemployment from $ 600 to $ 200 a week , on the grounds that generous relief creates a disincentive to work .
This argument is false both on factual grounds ( the consensus of economists is that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offered jobs ) and in terms of policy goals .
With Covid-19 still raging , making it easier for people to stay at home is desirable .
Further , without the stimulus that extra unemployment money gives , the economy will suffer a demand shock due to lower consumer spending , leading to a much longer recession .
Trump is even more feckless than the congressional Republicans .
He keeps bringing up the idea of a payroll tax cut , a nonstarter since his own party has given up on the idea .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for more spending on health care as well as a $ 1 trillion aid package to states and municipalities .
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin adamantly opposes this aid project , saying , “ That ’ s something we ’ re not going to do.
” The irresponsibility of Republicans in a time of crisis has mystified many observers .
Even from a short-term political point of view , they should want to get stimulus money out there in order to ease the worries of voters and ensure their own electoral success .
Adopting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in decades seems like political suicide .
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When Will the Media Stop Grading Trump on a Curve ?
But this apparent disdain for policy makes sense if we realize that for Trump and congressional Republicans , the main goal of economic relief has already been achieved .
Thanks to the greater power assumed on March 23 by the Federal Reserve , which can for the first time lend money directly to nonfinancial corporations , the party of big business is now triumphant .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ silent partner to American capitalism , guaranteeing an economic lifeline to not just big banks but all larger corporations .
If the 2008 economic crisis led to a new Washington consensus that large banks were too big to fail , then 2020 has radically extended that idea : Now Wall Street as a whole is too big to fail .
The revolutionary new policy of the Federal Reserve received a bipartisan seal of approval with the passage of the Coronavirus Aid , Relief and Economic Security ( or CARES ) Act on March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support in the Senate and only five votes against it in the House of Representatives , with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez distinguishing herself as the only Democratic vote of opposition .
As the economic historian Robert Brenner noted in an article in the New Left Review , the most crucial aspect of the CARES Act was the $ 454 billion allocated to spend on corporate bailouts , with no strings attached .
The Federal Reserve was able to leverage this money as a backstop for a more extensive loan program .
In addition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealthiest companies , the Fed has purchased trillions in Treasury notes and mortgage-backed securities .
Moreover , the knowledge that the federal government was acting as a safety net for Wall Street served to comfort private lenders , who had previously been scared by the pandemic .
This led to a resumption of private lending that has revitalized the stock market , even as the coronovirus spreads unabated in the United States .
The Federal Reserve loan program has truly broken new ground : government loans at near-zero interest to some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or political demands .
While Main Street worries over whether it can keep up with the mortgage , pay the rent , or afford health insurance , Wall Street is now getting money for nothing , or almost nothing .
In this new environment , Amazon was able to take out a loan of $ 10 billion at 0.4 percent—only a smidgen above the rate that the American government itself pays .
As Brenner notes , “ Even in the midst of one of the worst economic crises in US history , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the population profoundly threatened , top managers and stockholders would be free to line their own pockets via share buybacks , dividends and executive salary increases , while reducing employment and investment—very much as they had routinely been doing with their companies ’ earnings and borrowings throughout the previous decade.
” The upshot is that big business has “ been enabled to achieve this incredible enlargement of wealth unconditionally , without having to commit to doing anything with their money or to adopt any particular economic policy.
” The power of corporate capitalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CARES Act .
This is a replication of the 2008 bailout—but on a far grander scale .
In the earlier bailout , big banks were bailed out , but individual homeowners were left to sink .
That allowed private investors to buy up distressed properties at bargain prices .
The same dynamic is likely to replay itself now , with big business having a much stronger hand against economic competitors .
Big business is uniquely situated to ride out the current crisis .
As David Dayen notes in The American Prospect , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt markets because it allegedly has to , but not intervening in smaller lending markets .
Similarly , the Fed isn ’ t doing much lending in the Municipal Liquidity Facility ( MLF ) , despite dire needs in state and local governments .
So the biggest corporations are benefiting from a subsidy while everyone else is subject to the whims of the market.
” The CARES Act was an enormous win for the party of big business .
As Dayen pointed out on Twitter , this explains why the Republicans had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in March but aren ’ t willing to make a deal now .
There is nothing more the Republicans want so badly that they ’ ll make compromises to allow the continued generous enhancement of unemployment insurance .
Given the unprecedented looting of the public treasury that now has bipartisan support , Republicans can be satisfied that they ’ ve achieved a lasting victory , one that even an election loss in November will do little to diminish .
This article has been updated .

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On Friday, the enhanced unemployment program, which has been a lifeline for millions of Americans during the current economic crisis, expired. There is no consensus in Washington to replace it. The Democrats are eager for a renewal, but Republicans have promised only a temporary, one-week extension.
The ultimate Republican goal is to cut enhanced unemployment from $600 to $200 a week, on the grounds that generous relief creates a disincentive to work. This argument is false both on factual grounds (the consensus of economists is that the unemployed would still return to work if offered jobs) and in terms of policy goals. With Covid-19 still raging, making it easier for people to stay at home is desirable. Further, without the stimulus that extra unemployment money gives, the economy will suffer a demand shock due to lower consumer spending, leading to a much longer recession. Trump is even more feckless than the congressional Republicans. He keeps bringing up the idea of a payroll tax cut, a nonstarter since his own party has given up on the idea.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also pushed for more spending on health care as well as a $1 trillion aid package to states and municipalities. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin adamantly opposes this aid project, saying, “That’s something we’re not going to do.”
The irresponsibility of Republicans in a time of crisis has mystified many observers. Even from a short-term political point of view, they should want to get stimulus money out there in order to ease the worries of voters and ensure their own electoral success. Adopting austerity measures amid the worst economic crisis in decades seems like political suicide. More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
But this apparent disdain for policy makes sense if we realize that for Trump and congressional Republicans, the main goal of economic relief has already been achieved. Thanks to the greater power assumed on March 23 by the Federal Reserve, which can for the first time lend money directly to nonfinancial corporations, the party of big business is now triumphant. The federal government has effectively become a silent partner to American capitalism, guaranteeing an economic lifeline to not just big banks but all larger corporations.
If the 2008 economic crisis led to a new Washington consensus that large banks were too big to fail, then 2020 has radically extended that idea: Now Wall Street as a whole is too big to fail. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
The revolutionary new policy of the Federal Reserve received a bipartisan seal of approval with the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (or CARES) Act on March 27. The CARES Act had unanimous support in the Senate and only five votes against it in the House of Representatives, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez distinguishing herself as the only Democratic vote of opposition. Current Issue View our current issue
As the economic historian Robert Brenner noted in an article in the New Left Review, the most crucial aspect of the CARES Act was the $454 billion allocated to spend on corporate bailouts, with no strings attached. The Federal Reserve was able to leverage this money as a backstop for a more extensive loan program. In addition to loans to some of America’s wealthiest companies, the Fed has purchased trillions in Treasury notes and mortgage-backed securities. Moreover, the knowledge that the federal government was acting as a safety net for Wall Street served to comfort private lenders, who had previously been scared by the pandemic. This led to a resumption of private lending that has revitalized the stock market, even as the coronovirus spreads unabated in the United States.
The Federal Reserve loan program has truly broken new ground: government loans at near-zero interest to some of the biggest companies in the world—with no oversight or political demands. While Main Street worries over whether it can keep up with the mortgage, pay the rent, or afford health insurance, Wall Street is now getting money for nothing, or almost nothing. In this new environment, Amazon was able to take out a loan of $10 billion at 0.4 percent—only a smidgen above the rate that the American government itself pays.
As Brenner notes, “Even in the midst of one of the worst economic crises in US history, with the living standards of large swathes of the population profoundly threatened, top managers and stockholders would be free to line their own pockets via share buybacks, dividends and executive salary increases, while reducing employment and investment—very much as they had routinely been doing with their companies’ earnings and borrowings throughout the previous decade.”
The upshot is that big business has “been enabled to achieve this incredible enlargement of wealth unconditionally, without having to commit to doing anything with their money or to adopt any particular economic policy.”
The power of corporate capitalism has been enormously enhanced thanks to the CARES Act. This is a replication of the 2008 bailout—but on a far grander scale. In the earlier bailout, big banks were bailed out, but individual homeowners were left to sink. That allowed private investors to buy up distressed properties at bargain prices. The same dynamic is likely to replay itself now, with big business having a much stronger hand against economic competitors.
Big business is uniquely situated to ride out the current crisis. As David Dayen notes in The American Prospect, “The Fed is intervening in large corporate debt markets because it allegedly has to, but not intervening in smaller lending markets. Similarly, the Fed isn’t doing much lending in the Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF), despite dire needs in state and local governments. So the biggest corporations are benefiting from a subsidy while everyone else is subject to the whims of the market.”
The CARES Act was an enormous win for the party of big business. As Dayen pointed out on Twitter, this explains why the Republicans had been willing to make compromises to pass it in March but aren’t willing to make a deal now. There is nothing more the Republicans want so badly that they’ll make compromises to allow the continued generous enhancement of unemployment insurance. Given the unprecedented looting of the public treasury that now has bipartisan support, Republicans can be satisfied that they’ve achieved a lasting victory, one that even an election loss in November will do little to diminish.
This article has been updated.


thenation--2020-08-03--Hong Kong’s Protesters Are Writing Their ‘Last Letters’

The Nation and Magnum Foundation are partnering on a visual chronicle of untold stories of the coronavirus crisis and the struggle for racial justice—read more from The Invisible Front Line .
—The Editors Since Hong Kong was officially handed over to Chinese rule in 1997 , the city has enjoyed a special status within China , a place where dissident books could be published , where protests and free speech were protected .
But these freedoms have been eroded , at first slowly and now all at once .
In 2019 , the Hong Kong government introduced an extradition bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecute Hong Kongers in mainland courts , a move that kicked off months of protests that at first targeted the withdrawal of the bill but ultimately led to a movement fighting for wider democratic rights .
And in June 2020 , Beijing introduced a special national security law that effectively outlawed public dissent .
This sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing grants the authorities free rein to crack down on opposition at home and abroad .
The authorities are already using this law to enforce limits on free speech .
Dissidents ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the legislation , which bars secession , terrorism , subversion of state power , and collusion with foreign forces—which means that bloggers who write against the government , or activists associated with a foreign NGO could all be targeted .
Just last week , the government arrested four activists who had posted pro-democracy sentiments online , and barred a dozen pro-democracy candidates from running in the upcoming legislative elections , before postponing the elections entirely .
I was in Hong Kong when the national security law was announced—I shoot photos for a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here covering the protests that have continued despite fierce police crackdowns and the threat of Covid-19 .
I was born in Hong Kong , so I take it as a duty to bear witness to the rapid shifts in political power that have wracked the territory these past few months , as activists shut down whole sections of the city and as security forces brutally arrested protesters off the streets .
One of the most striking things I have witnessed has been the letters that young protesters have been writing in case they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These “ last letters , ” to be read in the event that they don ’ t return from the protests , explain to their families why they are protesting , and also serve as a “ no-suicide declaration.
” Nine thousand , two hundred , and sixteen people have been arrested during the 12 months of protests , a figure much larger than the total prison population of 7,023 .
This discrepancy , combined with a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances that have been explained as suicides or accidents , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety .
So the letters serve to say , “ I will not be another suicide statistic.
” As one young person wrote in their letter , “ I have no regrets , not for a moment ; even though missing or dead , I will never stay silent in the face of injustice ” I ’ ve seen these kinds of letters before .
In Taiwan , I had previously documented the “ last letters ” that protesters and dissidents wrote before their execution during the “ White Terror , ” a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1949 , during which victims numbered over 140,000 and as many as 4,000 people were executed .
The White Terror silenced dissent and traumatized generations of Taiwanese—martial law was lifted only in 1987 .
In sifting through the “ last letters ” written during the Terror , I understood the fear and insecurity people faced during this time , not knowing whether they would become the next victim .
So to see the activists in Hong Kong reviving this old practice by writing their own “ last letters ” is heartbreaking .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 crisis have made it difficult for me to return to Taiwan—and I ’ m still documenting the struggle against China ’ s crackdown .
Despite all the risks , people are still protesting .
And they ’ re still writing their letters .

Billy H.C. Kwok, The Nation, Magnum Foundation

The Nation and Magnum Foundation are partnering on a visual chronicle of untold stories of the coronavirus crisis and the struggle for racial justice—read more from The Invisible Front Line. —The Editors
Since Hong Kong was officially handed over to Chinese rule in 1997, the city has enjoyed a special status within China, a place where dissident books could be published, where protests and free speech were protected. But these freedoms have been eroded, at first slowly and now all at once. In 2019, the Hong Kong government introduced an extradition bill that would have made it easier to prosecute Hong Kongers in mainland courts, a move that kicked off months of protests that at first targeted the withdrawal of the bill but ultimately led to a movement fighting for wider democratic rights. And in June 2020, Beijing introduced a special national security law that effectively outlawed public dissent.
This sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing grants the authorities free rein to crack down on opposition at home and abroad. The authorities are already using this law to enforce limits on free speech. Dissidents’ ideas and speech have become illegal under the legislation, which bars secession, terrorism, subversion of state power, and collusion with foreign forces—which means that bloggers who write against the government, or activists associated with a foreign NGO could all be targeted. Just last week, the government arrested four activists who had posted pro-democracy sentiments online, and barred a dozen pro-democracy candidates from running in the upcoming legislative elections, before postponing the elections entirely.
I was in Hong Kong when the national security law was announced—I shoot photos for a number of wire services, and I was here covering the protests that have continued despite fierce police crackdowns and the threat of Covid-19. I was born in Hong Kong, so I take it as a duty to bear witness to the rapid shifts in political power that have wracked the territory these past few months, as activists shut down whole sections of the city and as security forces brutally arrested protesters off the streets.
One of the most striking things I have witnessed has been the letters that young protesters have been writing in case they are arrested or disappeared by security services. These “last letters,” to be read in the event that they don’t return from the protests, explain to their families why they are protesting, and also serve as a “no-suicide declaration.” Nine thousand, two hundred, and sixteen people have been arrested during the 12 months of protests, a figure much larger than the total prison population of 7,023. This discrepancy, combined with a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances that have been explained as suicides or accidents, has made protesters wary of their own safety. So the letters serve to say, “I will not be another suicide statistic.” As one young person wrote in their letter, “I have no regrets, not for a moment; even though missing or dead, I will never stay silent in the face of injustice”
I’ve seen these kinds of letters before. In Taiwan, I had previously documented the “last letters” that protesters and dissidents wrote before their execution during the “White Terror,” a period of martial law that began in 1949, during which victims numbered over 140,000 and as many as 4,000 people were executed. The White Terror silenced dissent and traumatized generations of Taiwanese—martial law was lifted only in 1987. In sifting through the “last letters” written during the Terror, I understood the fear and insecurity people faced during this time, not knowing whether they would become the next victim. So to see the activists in Hong Kong reviving this old practice by writing their own “last letters” is heartbreaking.
I’m still here in Hong Kong—the restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 crisis have made it difficult for me to return to Taiwan—and I’m still documenting the struggle against China’s crackdown. Despite all the risks, people are still protesting. And they’re still writing their letters.