Friday CJ Funnies: NSFW Edition!

I've been feeling surly lately. Maybe it's the crappy weather we've been having that foiled our plans to go up north this weekend. Or maybe it's the shamelessly racist and sexist coverage of Michelle Obama (a.k.a. Barack's "Baby Mama" a.k.a. the "Angry Black Woman") over on Fox News that's got me so grumpy. Or maybe it's pent-up angst over the decision to move the upcoming season of Project Runway from NY to LA. Who knows? Whatever the cause, no fluffy piece of CJ humor was going to tickle my funny bone today. Not even the wicked wit of my beloved Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert could satisfy me. Instead, I craved comedy that's as surly as I feel, and only one person can provide it: Chris Rock.*

Below is a link to one of my favorite bits from the Chris Rock Show: "How not to get your ass kicked by the police". Be warned: it is entirely NSFW, which is why I linked to the video instead of embedding it. It contains strong language (multiple f-bombs!), simulated beatings, and drug references...but it's also viciously funny in typical Rock fashion.

Watch the clip on YouTube here.

*Of course, Dave Chappelle offers equally surly comedy. Perhaps next week's Friday CJ Funny post will be courtesy of Mr. Chappelle...

A Story of Rape, Race, and Healing

Yesterday I joked about blog-writing as therapy. Today, though, I want to share a very serious -- and moving -- essay about one rape survivor's journey toward healing and understanding by writing publicly about an assault she had kept secret for decades.

Joanna Connors, a writer for the Cleveland-based Plain Dealer newspaper, was raped in the summer of 1984. Though she told her family and friends about the attack and immediately reported it to the authorities, in the years that followed she discussed her ordeal less and less until it became a secret she harbored from everyone who knew her. Recently, though, she came to realize that true healing only could be achieved by writing about and sharing her experiences with others.

The six-part story that ran in a special section of last Sunday's Plain Dealer offers an emotional, honest, and extremely powerful analysis of many of the issues we deal with as criminologists: violent crime, sexual assault, victimization, and career criminality. It also offers a sociological analysis as well. Connors is a white woman who was raped by a Black man; accordingly, her essay addresses issues of race, class and gender; of privilege and power, poverty and disadvantage. Perhaps most movingly, it chronicles the restorative power of the relationships Connors forged with her attacker's relatives all these years later, and of the understanding that resulted from learning about his life and deciphering how and why their lives collided in such a brutal way more than two decades ago.

I hope that folks will take time to read this essay and share their comments about it here. It is extremely well-written and could be useful for facilitating in-class discussions, especially surrounding issues of race, class, power, and privilege as they relate to violent crime. One important warning, though: the description of the attack is graphic and could potentially serve as a trigger for sexual assault survivors.

• Introduction & Editor's Note
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six: Epilogue
  

"Not The Enemy"

The current (April 14th) issue of Newsweek features a really fascinating "My Turn" essay. For those who aren't regular readers, each issue of Newsweek contains a first-person essay intended to share one person's experiences with a particular topic, ranging from the universal (aging, caring for an ill or dying loved one, parenthood, etc.) to the unusual (being a passionate penny collector, for example). The "My Turn" essays are one of my favorite parts of the magazine because you never know what subject the author will address. (Yes, I am a huge dork.)

Anyway, this week's essay is called, "I Am Not the Enemy" by Felicia J. Nu'Man, who is a Black woman and a prosecutor in Louisville, KY and who writes in the teaser to her essay that she "put[s] people in jail because they break the law, not because I'm a puppet of a racist judicial system."

This essay caught my attention for obvious reasons, and I thought it was worth sharing. I especially like what she had to say about the duty she feels to stand up for the rights of Black crime victims, even when that means prosecuting Black offenders:

My question to these black people who believe me to be a traitor is, when will you connect the dots?...There is a disconnect in the minds of many black people. My great-grandfather was murdered in Kentucky back in the 1940s. There was no investigation. There was no prosecution of the people involved. There was only a funeral, a widow and fatherless children. This would never happen today...We have the most perfect imperfect system on earth."

GBOC Lightning Round

Between the Easter holiday weekend, a recent out-of-town trip, and pre-school spring break, I have had little time to post lately. This is especially unfortunate because there are several items I've been meaning to post about. Rather than write separate blog entires for each of these items as I had originally planned, I decided to offer a brief blurb about each one here. Without further ado...the very first GBOC Lightning Round!


Item 1: Detroit Mayor Indicted
This past Monday Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that she was bringing charges against Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty for perjury, obstruction of justice, and a variety of other felonies, giving Kilpatrick the dubious honor of being the first sitting Detroit mayor to be indicted. (Full coverage of the whole sordid tale can be found here.) There is not a great deal to say about this situation, other than that the mayor's tastelessness, arrogance, and seeming lack of remorse or dignity truly boggles the mind. It is a low point for a city that has had its fair share of low points; the fact that the (alleged) crimes were committed using taxpayer dollars makes the mayor's actions even more reprehensible. You know things are bad when folks are citing Eliot Spitzer as someone whose lead the mayor should follow. At least Spitzer had the decency to resign when he saw that the jig was up....

Item 2: Professors Who Blog
The New York Times ran this interesting story last week about the increasing number of faculty members who write blogs, maintain social networking pages, or otherwise use the Internet to make their lives an "open book". While some professors believe that making (benign) personal information available online humanizes faculty members and facilitates communication with students, others fret that these professors are trying too hard to get students to like them at the expense of maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. I had a few thoughts about this piece when I first read it, but they've long since flown from my brain. What say all of my fellow PWBs (Professors Who Blog)?

Item 3: Barack Obama's "Race Speech"
By now everyone surely has watched the video or read the transcript of Barack Obama's speech about U.S. race relations. If you haven't yet seen or read the senator's remarks, you need to. In fact, I think this address should be mandatory viewing for every single solitary person in the United States.

I knew that a wide variety of commentators had heaped praise on the senator's remarks. It was not until I watched it for myself, however, that I appreciated just how remarkably reasoned and candid an analysis of race relations Senator Obama offered. Never in my lifetime have I heard a politician so plainly and intelligently address complex issues of race and inequality that too often avoid discussion in college classrooms, let alone in presidential campaigns.

In particular, some of his remarks were especially relevant to criminologists. Some excerpts:

So when [whites] are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time...

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments [among whites] aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism...

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings...

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper...

That's it for now. Stay tuned for another Lightning Round in the future!

Race and Juvenile Justice Processing

I'm not sure why, but lately I have been inundated with papers to review on this topic. I understand why I'm getting them (they all cite me. Yay!), but it just seems like there's increased interest all of a sudden in examining how race conditions the effects of other variables on processing. Any thoughts on why that is?

Also, if you're interested in this topic, check out Nancy Rodriquez's latest piece in JQ.

Where's the Beef?

From NPR -

The USDA recalls 143 million pounds of meat from a California slaughterhouse where some of the cows were crippled. Much of the beef went to schools, and a good bit of it has likely already been eaten.

Hearing this story reminded me of a post by Chris Uggen - see video below.


This video and NPR story raise a few issues -
1) Inmates get better food then our school children. I think this is another example of how mass imprisonment continues to leech from other institutions (like schools).

2) Class and nutrition - public schools offer food services for children of lesser means. For our school, this means that many of the children who are bussed in from Big City are getting food services for breakfast and lunch. I think these programs are fantastic and provide an important service to young children; however, the inadequacy of the food provided to these children is troubling. For a nice discussion of urbanism, class, race, and food - see this book.

3) On a personal note, I really like having the ease of having the big boy eat at school once and awhile. For example, last week I left the brown bag lunch on the counter while getting the kids ready for school. Guess what, big boy - the dogs ate your lunch so you can buy today. He was thrilled. It is hard to be perfect mommy all the time, and watching these videos and reports really makes me concerned. Any brown bag suggestions, friends?

Feminism & Politics

I am always pleasantly surprised when scholars (particularly those I admire) are interviewed by, provide analysis for, or otherwise find exposure outside of academia in the mainstream news media. Such is the case with this recent editorial written by Kimberle Crenshaw and Eve Ensler for the Huffington Post. (OK, OK. So the HuffPo isn't exactly mainstream media -- NPR it ain't -- but you get my point.)

I have mentioned before how influential Kimberle Crenshaw's work has been in shaping both my feminism and my research on violence against women. (I've read her 1991 Stanford Law Review article, "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color," probably a dozen times.) Thus, I was pleased to read the essay she wrote with Eve Ensler (whose work with V-Day I've also blogged about) criticizing the stance taken by some contemporary feminists that support for Hillary Clinton is the only authentically feminist political position:

Drawing their feminist boundaries in the sand, they interrogate, chastise, second-guess and even denounce those who escape their encampment and find themselves on Obama terrain. In their hands feminism, like patriotism, is the all-encompassing prism that eliminates discussion, doubt and difference about whom to vote for and why. Armed with indignant exasperation, this "either/or" camp converts the undeniable misogyny of the media into an imperative to vote for Clinton. The balanced reflections and gentle warnings that were voiced months ago have been jettisoned for a one-sided brief about why voting for Clinton is the only sensible thing for women to do.

I was especially excited to see that themes expressed in Crenshaw's academic work -- about the intersections of race- and gender-based oppression, for example -- are echoed in the editorial:

For many of us, feminism is not separate from the struggle against violence, war, racism and economic injustice. Gender hierarchy and race hierarchy are not separate and parallel dynamics.

Indeed, the relentless pitting of RACE (Obama) vs. GENDER (Clinton) in mainstream political coverage has made me wish many times over that I was teaching a course on feminism or race, class, and gender this semester. Though feminists of color have been writing for decades about the fundamental unfairness of being asked to declare allegiance to either their race or their gender (e.g., "Do you identify more as an African American or as a woman?" "Are you a woman or an Asian American first?" "Which is more important to you, your gender or your race?"), rarely has this discourse occurred beyond academic circles. Suddenly, though, with the Democratic presidential race serving as a literal manifestation of the "race-vs.-gender" dichotomy, this discourse has been thrust center stage in a national (and international) forum. As a feminist scholar, I view this as an exciting development as it offers a rare opportunity to discuss feminism using everyday examples with which most people are readily familiar.

P.S. Mary Poppins has been playing quite regularly at our house since the girls received it as a Christmas gift, which made me wonder: perhaps it was inevitable that I would become a feminist, given how many times I watched that movie as a child and that I was especially fond of the "Sister Suffragette" scene. (Choice lyric: Though we adore men individually/we agree that as a group they're rather stupid. Ha ha!)

Martin Luther King Day

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. ... Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

~Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

The tough mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false. The tough-minded individual is astute and discerning. He has a strong austere quality that makes for firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment.Who doubts that this toughness is one of man's greatest needs? Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

~Strength to Love (1963)

One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

~Letters From a Birmingham Jail (1963)

Jamie Lynn Spears and Statutory Rape

In the comments to another post, Velma, Dr. HnK and I were discussing the Jamie Lynn case. As we all probably know by now, she is 16 years old. You might not know that her boyfriend is 19 years old, and in some states the action that produced this child is a big ol' felony.

There's an interesting story on CNN this morning about the differences by state in statutory rape laws. They've also managed (yay, CNN!) to point out the HUGE amount of discretion in applying these laws, and discussed the Genarlow Wilson case.

So here's a statistical problem for you to solve:

What is the probability that, given a 17 year-old young black man in Georgia is sent to prison for 10 years for having oral sex with a 15 year-old, a 19 year-old upper class white male having sex with a 16 year-old television star (and future train-wreck) will be incarcerated?

Sure, it depends on the state and where they were when they had sex, blah, blah, blah... But does anyone honestly think he would receive the same punishment Genarlow Wilson did IF he's guilty of statutory rape?

(Note to Scooby: this is why we're always so angry.)

Alleviating Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System

Today came news of two efforts -- one at the federal level and one at the state level -- aimed at alleviating racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system.

First, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously yesterday to retroactively apply a recently-passed amendment to the federal sentencing guidelines reducing sentences for crack cocaine offenses. The goal of this amendment is to help bring some measure of parity to the federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses.

The Commission’s actions today, as well as promulgation of the original amendment for crack cocaine offenses, are only a partial step in mitigating the unwarranted sentencing disparity that exists between Federal powder and crack cocaine defendants. The Commission has continued to call on Congress to address the issue of the 100-to-1 statutory ratio that drives Federal cocaine sentencing policy. Only Congress can provide a comprehensive solution to a fundamental unfairness in Federal sentencing policy. The Commission has consistently expressed its readiness and willingness to work with Congress and others in the criminal justice community to address this very important issue.

While not addressed specifically in the Sentencing Commission's statement, a key element of the fundamental unfairness of federal cocaine laws -- aside from the 100-to-1 ratio -- is racial disparities, with Blacks receiving a disproportionate number of the harsher crack sentences.

Talk of the Nation had a terrific discussion of this decision today. It's somewhat lengthy (30 minutes), but if you have time it's worth a listen. I was disappointed that race was not discussed more explicitly (the commissioner of the Sentencing Commission skirted the issue, in my opinion), but at the very least it was included in the broader conversation.

Second, the Michigan House of Representatives reviewed a proposal today to broaden the pool from which potential jurors are drawn, in an effort to increase the representation of racial/ethnic minorities (as well as people living in poor communities) on juries:

The bills could potentially add the names of taxpayers, registered voters and the recipients of government assistance to the pool of potential jurors; currently, jury pools are formed from lists of driver's license and state identification card holders.

One measure also calls for jury pools to be required to maintain proportional representation by ZIP code, to address what backers said was low participation by the poor concentrated in urban areas...

Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas told the committee a 2006 study of the county’s jury selection system found the names of more than one million residents had been removed from consideration for jury duty because they had failed to respond to a jury questionnaire. Thomas also urged the committee to consider restoring the rights of convicted felons to serve on juries after they have finished their sentences and parole or probation.

In addition to jury composition, this proposal also addresses felony disenfranchisement, another criminal justice policy that disproportionately disadvantages people of color, particularly Black men. (According to the Sentencing Project, Black men are disenfranchised at a rate seven times the national average.)

I was pleased to read about both of these efforts, and curious to see what (if any) real-life changes occur because of them.

Jena 6

I really can't stop thinking about this case. This is just such a poignant example about our heightened concern over school violence and the disporportionate punishment penalties paid by blacks in this country (particularly in the South).

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/jena.six/index.html

Kids have been beating each other up at the bike racks for decades. It is wrong and should be punished but not in an adult court. These are kids. The research is pretty clear that these kids will do much worse if waived to the adult system, but who care about that. Right.

Clemency in Colorado

An interesting piece - check it out. I will write more commentary later, but I think this is an important issue. I am concerned about the role of race and gender in clemency decisions, but I am happy that the state read and reflected on recent scholarship.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6754209