The Ugly Appear Upwards Of Austerity: Pepper Spraying The Other
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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The ikon of a UC law officeholder using a weapon amongst indifference on prone students may larn the iconic ikon of the Age of Austerity. This scene, which went viral on the Internet, tells us much close our electrical flow political too economical moment: immature people protesting the decreased back upward from the province are treated amongst brutality too indifference.
In reading the lately released report on the UC pepper spraying "incident," I was struck past times ii reoccurring themes: the academy administrators too law wanted to meet the pupil protesters every bit exterior elements, too they sought to protect their imagined daughters from sex. This underlying paranoid fantasy is brought to the surface inwards several moments inwards the report. For instance, "The direction did non consider the Occupy displace encampment to live on a conventional campus protest. The Leadership Team appeared to perceive it every bit a vehicle through which non-affiliates mightiness come inwards the campus too endanger students." We tin read the term "non-affiliates" every bit shorthand for dangerous, unspecified Others, too every bit the study relates, the key irrational fright of the direction appeared to live on that these unsafe Others would violate “young girls”: "“We were worried at the fourth dimension close that [nonaffiliates] because the issues from Oakland were inwards the word too the purpose of drugs too sexual practice too other things, too yous know hither nosotros bring really immature students . . . nosotros were worried particularly close having really immature girls too other students amongst older people who come upward from the exterior without whatever cognition of their tape . . . if anything happens to whatever pupil spell we’re inwards violation of policy, it’s a really tough affair to overcome.” Representing college students every bit "young girls" too protesters every bit unsafe sexualized Others serves to justify a vehement reaction past times a protective, paternalistic institution.
Of course, this cultural fantasy of the unknown Other violating “young girls” was oftentimes used inwards the American South to justify the lynching of African Americans because of their threat to white woman soul purity. In fact the sexualization of Others has historically helped Christian invaders to justify brutalizing too dehumanizing native people; however, if yous mean value I am reading besides much into the passage from the study cited above, allow us ponder the next statement: "Vice Chancellor Meyer expressed like concerns inwards an interview conducted on Dec. 7. He explained, “our context at the fourth dimension was seeing what’s happening inwards the City of Oakland, seeing what’s happening inwards other municipalities across the country, too not
being able to meet a scenario where [a UC Davis Occupation] ends good . . . Do nosotros lose command too bring non-affiliates larn portion of an encampment? So my fright is a longterm business amongst a number of tents where nosotros bring an undergraduate pupil too a non-affiliate too there’s an incident. And too hence I’m reporting to a rear that a nonaffiliate has done this unthinkable deed amongst your daughter, too how could nosotros allow that happen?”" Once again, inwards this cultural fantasy, the direction sees itself every bit protecting the purity of its daughters past times eliminating the threat posed past times a violating Other.
Why it is of import to empathise this underlying fantasy is that it helps us to empathise how the direction could meet its ain students every bit threatening outsiders intent on corrupting their ain precious purity. From this perspective, Lt. Pike was non precisely protecting populace safety; rather, he was next the administration's Pb past times trying to eliminate the Other from the infinite of the same. I purpose these abstract damage to indicate to the underlying psychology behind austerity politics inwards California: Just every bit the Other (brown too dark students) started to come inwards into our higher didactics system, a revenue enhancement revolt resulted inwards the defunding of populace universities. Moreover, every bit our populace schools larn increasingly self-segregated, austerity becomes color-coded. Older too Whiter Californians precisely produce non desire to part their wealth inwards guild to back upward the didactics of immature people of color.
While nosotros bring been socialized non to beak close race too to proceed our prejudices indirect too coded, it is clear that fifty-fifty though the law at UC Davis knew they were looking at UC Davis students, what they saw were wild outsiders threatening to violate their daughters. Only serious too committed didactics tin assistance us to overcome these collective cultural fantasies that at in 1 lawsuit dehumanize or hence students too purify others.
In reading the lately released report on the UC pepper spraying "incident," I was struck past times ii reoccurring themes: the academy administrators too law wanted to meet the pupil protesters every bit exterior elements, too they sought to protect their imagined daughters from sex. This underlying paranoid fantasy is brought to the surface inwards several moments inwards the report. For instance, "The direction did non consider the Occupy displace encampment to live on a conventional campus protest. The Leadership Team appeared to perceive it every bit a vehicle through which non-affiliates mightiness come inwards the campus too endanger students." We tin read the term "non-affiliates" every bit shorthand for dangerous, unspecified Others, too every bit the study relates, the key irrational fright of the direction appeared to live on that these unsafe Others would violate “young girls”: "“We were worried at the fourth dimension close that [nonaffiliates] because the issues from Oakland were inwards the word too the purpose of drugs too sexual practice too other things, too yous know hither nosotros bring really immature students . . . nosotros were worried particularly close having really immature girls too other students amongst older people who come upward from the exterior without whatever cognition of their tape . . . if anything happens to whatever pupil spell we’re inwards violation of policy, it’s a really tough affair to overcome.” Representing college students every bit "young girls" too protesters every bit unsafe sexualized Others serves to justify a vehement reaction past times a protective, paternalistic institution.
Of course, this cultural fantasy of the unknown Other violating “young girls” was oftentimes used inwards the American South to justify the lynching of African Americans because of their threat to white woman soul purity. In fact the sexualization of Others has historically helped Christian invaders to justify brutalizing too dehumanizing native people; however, if yous mean value I am reading besides much into the passage from the study cited above, allow us ponder the next statement: "Vice Chancellor Meyer expressed like concerns inwards an interview conducted on Dec. 7. He explained, “our context at the fourth dimension was seeing what’s happening inwards the City of Oakland, seeing what’s happening inwards other municipalities across the country, too not
being able to meet a scenario where [a UC Davis Occupation] ends good . . . Do nosotros lose command too bring non-affiliates larn portion of an encampment? So my fright is a longterm business amongst a number of tents where nosotros bring an undergraduate pupil too a non-affiliate too there’s an incident. And too hence I’m reporting to a rear that a nonaffiliate has done this unthinkable deed amongst your daughter, too how could nosotros allow that happen?”" Once again, inwards this cultural fantasy, the direction sees itself every bit protecting the purity of its daughters past times eliminating the threat posed past times a violating Other.
Why it is of import to empathise this underlying fantasy is that it helps us to empathise how the direction could meet its ain students every bit threatening outsiders intent on corrupting their ain precious purity. From this perspective, Lt. Pike was non precisely protecting populace safety; rather, he was next the administration's Pb past times trying to eliminate the Other from the infinite of the same. I purpose these abstract damage to indicate to the underlying psychology behind austerity politics inwards California: Just every bit the Other (brown too dark students) started to come inwards into our higher didactics system, a revenue enhancement revolt resulted inwards the defunding of populace universities. Moreover, every bit our populace schools larn increasingly self-segregated, austerity becomes color-coded. Older too Whiter Californians precisely produce non desire to part their wealth inwards guild to back upward the didactics of immature people of color.
While nosotros bring been socialized non to beak close race too to proceed our prejudices indirect too coded, it is clear that fifty-fifty though the law at UC Davis knew they were looking at UC Davis students, what they saw were wild outsiders threatening to violate their daughters. Only serious too committed didactics tin assistance us to overcome these collective cultural fantasies that at in 1 lawsuit dehumanize or hence students too purify others.