31 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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author: 18 Million Rising
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title: We haven’t always been abolitionists
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source: https://www.18millionrising.org/2021/06/whalberg_2021/
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clipped: 2024-06-23
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published: 2021-06-09
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topics:
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tags:
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- clipping
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---
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# We haven’t always been abolitionists – 18MR
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**18 Million Rising hasn’t always been an abolitionist organization.** Last week, we were reminded of that in [a brilliant essay by Tamara K. Nopper,](https://theundefeated.com/features/dont-conflate-racial-violence-with-crime/) who referenced a campaign from [2014 where 18MR demanded actor Mark Wahlberg not be pardoned for attacking two Vietnamese men in 1988.](https://18mr.tumblr.com/post/104858957281/in-1988-mark-wahlberg-attacked-two-asian-american)
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**Nopper explains that equating racial violence with hate crimes, “normaliz\[es\] policing and prisons as socially good.”** However well-intentioned our campaign against Wahlberg was, it did just that.
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**[Moving forward, we refuse to normalize policing in the fight for justice. We invite other Asian American activists and organizations to join us.](https://action.18mr.org/asianabolitionpledge/)**
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Our campaign relied on the state’s punishment system to hold Wahlberg “accountable” for his attacks – the same system which inflicts trauma and harm across our communities. [Since # StopAsianHate has been trending, we’ve seen the passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes bill.](https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/998599775/biden-to-sign-the-covid-19-hate-crimes-bill-as-anti-asian-american-attacks-rise) On the surface, hate crimes laws may appear to protect Asian Americans. **But in reality, a response to anti-Asian violence through “tough on crime” law expands the very system where ‘safety’ means military-grade weapons, surveillance, and locking people in cages.**
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[The U.S. already spends $180 billion every year on policing and incarceration.](https://www.populardemocracy.org/news-and-publications/how-much-do-us-cities-spend-every-year-policing#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20U.S.%20collectively%20spends,spite%20of%20higher%20police%20budgets) Giving more money and collaborating with law enforcement clearly hasn’t kept Asian Americans safe. **More policing in our communities makes us even less safe. What we need is to take that money and spend it on services that actually help our people.** [The FBI’s own data on “hate crimes offenders” reflect that it is disproportionately used to prosecute Black people.](https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2019/topic-pages/offenders) For South Asians, [this hate crime legislation does little to protect our communities from the Islamophobic policing of the state itself.](https://stopasianhate.medium.com/who-counts-as-asian-and-what-counts-as-anti-asian-hate-37e5b455eedd)
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We’re growing a movement of Asian Americans saying no to the prison industrial complex. Join us as we embrace our transformation and create safety, beyond the state.
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In solidarity,
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sumi, Turner, Laura, Bianca, Charlene, and Irma – the 18MR Team
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**[P.S. – # StopAsianHate means stopping the deportations of our community members. Our friend Lam Hong Le is in danger of being deported on Monday. Here’s what you can do to help.](https://action.18mr.org/pardon_lam/)**
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