Ep. 37: Black Lives Matter, Dreamers, and the Problem of 'The Perfect Victim'
Added 2018-05-16 14:36:17 +0000 UTCA pillar of the community. A straight-A student who dreamed of becoming a doctor. A loving father. Here through no fault of their own. She was hysterical and out of control. He was no angel.
The press, both local and national, humanizes some victims of state or corporate violence, while demonizing others. Despite good intentions and seemingly without noticing, the media all too often create tiered systems of moral worth by trying to find “the perfect victim.”
The media’s search for the perfect victim, and its corollary desire to smear those with less than perfect pasts, makes humanity conditional, further entrenching negative stereotypes and destructive narratives about entire communities.
In this episode, we dissect the real time auditing of those who die or are deported and how we can expand our moral vocabulary to protect all vulnerable people and populations.
We are joined by both Joel Sati and Charlene Carruthers.
Guests
Joel Sati is a PhD student in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at Berkeley Law and an immigrant rights activist.
Charlene Carruthers is founding national director of the Black Youth Project 100. She has appeared on CNN, Democracy Now!, BBC and MSNBC and has written for theRoot.com, Colorlines and the Boston Review. Charlene’s forthcoming book Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements will be published in the Fall of 2018.
Show Notes
How DACA pits ‘good immigrants’ against millions of others
Joel Sati | September 7, 2017 | The Washington Post
In Defense of Korryn Gaines, Black Women and Children
Charlene Carruthers | August 5, 2016 | Colorlines
6 Elements of Police Spin: An Object Lesson in Copspeak
Adam Johnson | January 30, 2018 | FAIR
How the media smears black victims
Adam Johnson | March 30, 2017 | Los Angeles Times
Black Man Stabbed to Death by White Supremacist–Then Smeared by Media
Adam Johnson | March 22, 2017 | FAIR
Copspeak: 7 Ways Journalists Use Police Jargon to Obscure the Truth
Adam Johnson | July 11, 2016 | FAIR
5 Times the Media Has Smeared Black Victims of Police Killings Since Michael Brown
Adam Johnson | August 6, 2015 | Alternet
The Girl Who Acted Before Rosa Parks
Elissa Blattman | February 17, 2017 | National Women's History Museum
Undocumented Youth Are Here Through No Fault of Their Own. But It’s Not Their Parents’ Fault, Either
David Bacon | November 5, 2015 | In These Times
The right-wing effort to paint DREAMers as a nightmare
Dara Lind | March 1, 2018 | Vox
Our parents, the original Dreamers, deserve protections too
Staff | January 25, 2018 | El Tecolote
References
How the language of division could spell disaster for immigrants in the Trump era
Leighton Woodhouse | December 21, 2016 | Capital & Main
He’s a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported.
Monica Davey | February 27, 2017 | The New York Times
'Pillar of the community' deported from US after 39 years to a land he barely knows
Jomana Karadsheh and Kareem Khadder | February 9, 2018 | CNN
His American Dream died. His town got over it.
Robert Samuels | March 11, 2018 | The Washington Post
Mendota woman living in the US since 1989 at risk of deportation back to Mexico
Brianna Ruffalo | May 10, 217 | KSFN-TV
Kona Coffee Farmer and Community Pillar Is Latest Victim of Immigration Crackdown
David Boddiger | July 9, 2017 | Splinter News
‘If John Cunningham is not safe, no one is safe’
Kevin Cullen | June 20, 2017 | Boston Globe
#SayHerName: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women
Kimberlé Crenshaw & Andrea Ritchie | 2015 | African American Policy Forum
'Undocumented' Immigrants Pay Billions in Taxes
Andrew Soergel | March 1, 2016 | U.S. News & World Report
The Truth About Undocumented Immigrants and Taxes
Alexia Fernández Campbell | September 12, 2016 | The Atlantic
Organizations:
No Perfect Victims Network Gathering
BreakOUT! Fighting the criminalization of LGBTQ youth in New Orleans, LA.
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, go here.
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