Michigan Specter Is the Official Publication of the Young Democratic So- Specter Cialists of America (YDSA) at the University of Michigan
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Contents Issue No. 4 Michigan Jan. 28, 2021 Michigan Specter is the official publication of the Young Democratic So- Specter cialists of America (YDSA) at the University of Michigan. If you are inter- ested in contributing to future issues, contact [email protected]. For a life worth living 1We Need More Justin Yuan 3 Challenging Neoliberal Complacency: The Future of Leftist Organizing Mahnoor Imran 5 The False Narratives Around Rent Control Ashvin Pai 9 Gig Companies Buy Immunity From Labor Protections Bri Jackson 10 Interview with BYP100 Contributors Writing Justin Yuan Mahnoor Imran Ashvin Pai Bri Jackson Editing Elias Khoury Art and Layout Amy Lucas Cal Abbo 1 2 For example, in July 2016, police like 8 Can’t Wait appear well-meaning in cial welfare programs. officers brutally attacked and arrested their focus on police killings and how to While there is no single, con- Shase Howse, who was looking for his reduce them, the oppression of poor and crete path to abolition, there are clear keys in front of his home, after he replied marginalized communities does not be- next-steps that abolitionists have em- “Yes, what the fuck?” when asked if he gin or end with a single statistic. 8 Can’t phasized for years — ones that would lived in the building. Ludicrously charged Wait is hampered by statistics that lack actually challenge the power of police, We need more with multiple felony counts, Howse law- geographic, political, and historical nu- shrink the carceral system, and put an yered up and the charges were dropped. ance and, instead, tries to simplify the end to state-sanctioned violence, incar- By Justin Yuan If, like me, you wondered how systemic issue of policing down to specif- ceration, and suffering. In fact, as a result Howse’s attackers got away with physical- ic, personal, lethal encounters. of the infuriatingly shallow demands of “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the ly assaulting an innocent man then lying Any successful attempt at beat- 8 Can’t Wait, abolitionists from across about what happened, it’ll probably make ing back the tide of police killings must the country have come together to form world. And you have to do it all the time.” — Angela Davis you as angry as I was to learn that police reckon with the whole of the issue, which 8 to Abolition, a campaign focused on lying not only in their post-incident pa- means recognizing and challenging po- prison and police abolition that eschews At this point, I’m sure everyone early June in response to the killing of Campaign Zero confirmed both Tucson perwork but in court and in affidavits is lice militarization, the prison-industrial the nitpicking incrementalism of 8 Can’t reading this is well aware of the uprisings George Floyd and quickly gained steam and San Francisco have all eight policies so common that cops themselves have a complex, and our cruel, predatory crim- Wait, calling the project “dangerous and that took place across the country and on social media and in the news. Fawning in place. While claiming to reduce police word for it — “testilying.” In fact, it’s so inal (in)justice system. In other words, irresponsible” for “offering a slate of re- around the world following the deaths think pieces and op-eds everywhere from killings by 72% certainly grabs attention, ridiculously bad that even the quintes- abolition is the only sustainable, truly ef- forms that have already been tried and of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I’m Vox to Rolling Stone to GQ to Variety ac- in reality, many cities would only see a sential conservative (and fucking creepy- fective way forward. Applied to the realm failed, that mislead a public newly invig- sure you’ve all seen your social media companied glowing endorsements from fraction of that reduction, and that’s as- ass weirdo) himself, Alan Dershowitz, of police killing, the abolitionist theory of orated to the possibilities of police and feeds filled with a slew of heartfelt procla- high-profile political and cultural figures suming that 8 Can’t Wait’s analysis of the has said that “Almost all police lie about change demonstrates that the only way prison abolition, and that do not reflect mations that Black Lives Matter, personal such as Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, data is reliable. Chicago, a hotbed of po- whether they violated the Constitution in to permanently end the violence at the the needs of criminalized communities.” stories of discrimination and loss, as well Ariana Grande, and others, lauding the lice brutality, witnessed 76 police killings order to convict guilty defendants” and hands of police is to dismantle the entire Their demands are: as ways to move forward from these trag- project’s “succinct and clear message” and over the past 7 years, 56 of them black. that “All prosecutors, defense lawyers, rotten system such that police officers edies, enact change, and achieve some potential to save lives. At the core of the The city also already has seven of the and judges are aware of [that].” As bad as and departments don’t have the tools or - Defund police measure of justice for those murdered by effort are eight “data-driven” reforms that eight reforms listed by 8 Can’t Wait, so all that sounds, don’t worry. It gets worse. ability to deal out death and suffering. - Demilitarize communities police. Chief among the many campaigns Campaign Zero claims would decrease the people of Chicago will have to look Justifiably upset at what hap- The tepid reforms Campaign Zero puts - Remove police from schools that have been circulating is 8 Can’t Wait, police killings by an almost unimaginable elsewhere for jaw-dropping reductions of pened to him, Howse tried to sue the of- forth with 8 Can’t Wait do nothing to - Free people from jails and prisons a project by Campaign Zero. 72%. At first glance, the reforms look police killings. ficers in federal court for excessive force. shift power away from police, and their - Repeal laws that criminalize survival Since COVID-19 threw a wrench promising: Unfortunately, Campaign Zero’s He lost. As it turned out, those officers are failure to address the near-complete lack - Invest in community self-governance in my summer plans, I spent break com- supposedly “data-driven” policies aren’t protected by qualified immunity, a legal of accountability and oversight that po- - Provide safe housing for everyone miserating with friends and comrades, - Ban Chokeholds and Strangleholds exactly as clear-cut as they claim. In their doctrine affirmed by the Supreme Court lice departments across the country en- - Invest in care, not cops watching police beat and arrest protest- - Require De-escalation own study, they allege that the average that protects government officials from joy seriously compromises the potential ers, and endlessly doomscrolling through - Require Warning before Shooting police department, out of the 91 that they civil liability unless they violate a “clear- effectiveness of the already-limited poli- A commitment to abolition in Twitter. But in the weeks and months - Exhaust all other means before Shoot- analyzed, already had three of their eight ly established” right. In essence, Howse, cies that 8 Can’t Wait is pushing. line with the demands set forth by the ac- after the grisly video of cops slowly kill- ing recommended reforms. Right off the bat, along with every other individual in the The frustrating thing about in- tivists behind 8 to Abolition is absolutely ing George Floyd was released, I noticed - Duty to Intervene that finding throws their fantastical 72% country, has no clearly established right crementalist reform projects like 8 Can’t imperative. The ultimate, guiding vision more and more posts across social media - Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles reduction of police killings out the win- to not be assaulted on his porch. Quali- Wait is that there’s no need to wave of the resurgent socialist Left must be one from friends, family, and strangers alike - Require Use of Force Continuum dow for the majority of cities, and those fied immunity is just the tip of the iceberg around in the darkness searching desper- of abolition. The moral gravity of having a all repeating the same phrase: “8 Can’t - Require Comprehensive Reporting with only one or two policies aren’t guar- when it comes to the astronomical num- ately for any way forward. The abolitionist system of unaccountable arbiters of death Wait.” Tentatively hopeful, I dug in. anteed anything close to a three-quarter ber of “get out of jail free” cards that cops movement has been around for decades, and violence, enforcing a racist legal code Was an abolitionist project finally break- Think of all the deadly encoun- reduction in police killings. The afore- have. So you can rest easy knowing that created and led by black scholars and ac- of class oppression, throwing people in ing through to the wider public? Was ters that could be avoided if police were mentioned 2016 study that Campaign cops can do basically whatever they want, tivists, such as the black queer women of pens to be the slave labor of the modern Angela Davis involved? These were my required to de-escalate. Or the lives that Zero conducted and based 8 Can’t Wait especially if you’re poor and a minority, the Combahee River Collective. From the capitalist economy makes the cause of ab- initial thoughts, but as I dug further and could be saved if chokeholds and stran- on contains methodological issues that and get off either scot-free or with a slap modern carceral state to American polic- olition a necessary one.