July 2
GUESTS: Emily Yamasaki and Nga Bul, members of Radical Women, the National Comrades of Color Caucus, and the Freedom Socialist Party, talk about the psychology of oppression and the NYC Campaign for an Elected Civilian Review Board.Radical Women - U.S. on Facebook
We had a nuts and bolts review of what reforms can be made in our criminal justice system. At times, we explored the "bourgeois" women's organizations that are mostly white and mostly focused on electing more Democrats to office. Newer movements have a different color as well as a different socioeconomic makeup. These groups fault both parties as favoring the rich, white capitalists over the majority of the American people.
Both Emily and Nga stressed that The Freedom Socialist Party looked at capitalism as the underlying issue, and not a symptom of a country with the wrong party in control. That's fine to believe if you are white and middle class. The police won't shoot you in the streets. You will get a good education and a good job without worrying about having a criminal record. Neoliberal fixes don't really fix anything. The racism will persist below the surface, and whites will remain unaware of the injustices of their own society.
A system that puts greed ahead of what is best for the majority of people is bound to turn out this way. We have a moment, according to Emily and Nga, when almost everyone in our society can figure out the theft of the very few and the suffering of the very many.
Elected civilian review boards for the police are necessary to correct some egregious wrongs. But a system built on exploitation will always be racist and unjust. And the people hired to do policing will always serve the richest property owners, before turning attention to the rest of us.
I really enjoyed doing this interview. Both Emily and Nga are radical women of color, and their analysis of our system goes far beyond anything that the New York Times is capable of providing. It is time for the rest of us to stop reading the corporate press and listen to those who know.
