Self-Defense and the Criminalization of Survival
It was just announced that CeCe McDonald, who was being charged with two counts of second-degree murder in an incident of self-defense, has just taken a plea-deal—second degree manslaughter with a recommended 41 month sentence. CeCe McDonald’s sentencing hearing will be in a month.
But Ms. McDonald isn’t the first young Black trans woman to be thrown in jail and aggressively prosecuted for surviving a violent attack on her life. Unfortunately, without real systematic change, she isn’t likely to be the last either.
It should be no secret that young trans women of color (TWOC) are being murdered at alarming rates. This is a social problem largely ignored by most people, including the media, the service/nonprofit sector and government. But this is something people in the affected communities can’t afford to ignore.
But attacks on the lives of TWOC don’t go without resistance, and when TWOC resist sometimes their attackers end up dead. This was the case with Ms. McDonald, but it was also the case last year with Akira Jackson, a Black trans woman currently serving a four-year sentence for “manslaughter” for stabbing her boyfriend in self-defense when he beat her with a baseball bat.
Jackson, a Detroit native, moved to the California Bay Area where she became an advocate for young TWOC. She was a Program Specialist from TLISH (Transgender Ladies Initiating Sisterhood), a transgender youth program where she spent her time counseling young women about housing, government assistance, and employment.
If Ms. McDonald and Ms. Jackson weren’t Black trans women it is likely that their cases might not have ended up differently. By being criminalized for their survival, these two women share something in common with many other women of color, including the New Jersey 4, a group of Black lesbian women who were attacked in the New York City’s West Village and later aggressively prosecuted for defending themselves. The attacker fully recovered, but the women were forced to serve time.
It’s a sad irony that we promote self-defense classes as a way of combating violence against women, yet many of the women of color, trans and cis alike, are currently imprisoned precisely because they fought back against violence in their homes and in the streets.
Too often trans and queer women of color survive violence in their homes and on the streets only to have the police, courts and prison-industrial complex come after them for having the audacity to survive in a world where, as Audre Lorde said in her poem “A Litany For Survival,” they “were never meant to survive.”
(via squintyoureyes)
Please everyone sign this petition that will allow trans* people in Canada to not be discriminated upon based on their gender identity
(Source: fuckyeahftms, via oldcharethcutestory)
quebradiza | roxanneritchi | nextian
Guys, ACTA does not go into effect tomorrow, nor is a vote happening tomorrow. While the petition on AccessNow is, I’m sure, an extremely impressive benchmark (100,000, guys, we did it!) we don’t need 100,000 signatures or 150,000 or whatever number they’ll adjust it to when they hit 150,000 (as they should, because they’re trying to drum up support, and numbers breed urgency.)
On Thursday, January 26th, 2012, the Polish government is planning to ratify ACTA. There were, as you might expect, protests—intense ones—and you should definitely contact your government if you are Polish. According to a member of the European Parliament, discussions on ACTA in the EU will start on the first of March, and while the EU did initially promise to ratify ACTA, severe doubts have been raised by EU committees. Continuing to quote Marietje Schaake, member of the European Parliament:
TL;DR: Important dates for ACTA in the European Parliament:
- 29 February/1 March: Discussion in international trade committee,
- April or May: Vote in international trade committee,
- 12, 13 or 14 June: Final vote in plenary (most important vote).Okay, that’s it! Please do consider signing the petition as this is still super important!
THANK YOU, WEEPING, YOU ARE SO KIND (legit irl overwhelmed with gratefulness because i have been anxiety-bombing about this for a half hour)
guys, please remember to explain things to me in small words because i am easily frightened, thank you
(via oldcharethcutestory)
CANADA + ACTA (LINKS)
First off, how about a Canadian blog explains ACTA to you: HERE is a great starting page, which will help familiarize you with ACTA. It lists tons of resources for you to further educate yourself on this issue.
Canada signed this in 2011, (here is a slightly outdated canadian resource from when we actually signed it) but if the EU does not sign then we still have hope. So we DO NOT want the EU to sign this. HERE is an easy to read timeline of ACTA, from when it was created (in the fires of hell if you ask me) to now.
Official Canadian Government Links On ACTA
Now that you’ve looked at both the viewpoints of the people, and then the government rhetoric I bet you are asking yourself: what can I do to stop this shit?
There are things you can do to help prevent this, here are a few options:
- Tweet, Facebook, etc, about #ACTA . Spread the word. Tell your friends.
- Join a facebook group about it (related to above)
- Badger your MP about it. Badger any elected official you might possibly know.
- Visit stop acta for posters you can print out, as well as links to online petitions.
- Most of this is just spreading awareness! Because our lovely government signed this shit just in time to prepare us for a 2012 apocalypse. Or something. I must have been in my igloo or wrestling a polar bear at the time.
Anyway, here are some links I compiled, mostly a Canadian perspective on the matter and by no means the greatest or best collection of sources. Hopefully they are useful, and if you come across more please send them my way or reblog this and add it on.
BECAUSE I FOR ONE WANT THIS GLORIOUS BEAVER TO ROAM FREE WITHOUT GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE ON HIS INTERWEBZ. Or something.
(via amnell)
just a twinge of cosmic angst
k, 20s, canadian. here you'll find a lot of emotional instability towards doctor who, tones of awesome ladies (fictional or otherwise) with other fandoms popping up here and there. idk what text posts are.
sometimes i make graphics and gifs
