at coalitions - prison spec

7/24/2019 At Coalitions - Prison Spec

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1) AT: COALITIONS Even radical coalitions are anti-black reproduce te policin! "unction

#) $ust end te %orld &lackness is in a position o" absolutedereliction cannot survive in civil societ'(

ilderson #**+[Frank B., The Prison Slave as Hegemonys Silent Scandal inWarfare in the American Homelanded. Joy James, . !"#$%

Tere is so,etin! or!anic to black positionalit' tat ,akes it essential tote destruction o" civil societ'(There is nothing &ill'(l or sec(lative in thisstate ment, 'or one co(ld )(st as &ell state the claim the other &ay aro(nd* There issomething organic to civil society that makes it essential to the destr(ction o' the+lack +ody. &lackness is a positionalit' o" absolute derelictionFrant-Fanon, a+andonment, in te "ace o" civil societ' and tere"ore cannotestablis itsel", or +e esta+lished, trou! e!e,onic interventions(

&lackness cannot be co,e one o" civil societ'.s ,an' /unior partners:black citi0ensip and black civic obli!ation are o',orons(/ 0n light o' this,coalitions and social ,ove,ents-even radical social ,ove ,ents suc aste prison abolition ,ove,ent2 bound up in te solicitation o" e!e,on'so as to "orti"' and etend te interlocutor' li"e o" civil societ' ulti,atel'acco,,odate onl' te satiable de,ands and 3nite anta!onis,s o" civilsociet'.s /unior partners 4i(e(2 i,,i!rants2 %ite %o,en2 and te %orkin!class)2 but "oreclose on te insatiable de,ands and endless anta!onis,so" te prison slave and te prison slave-in-%aitin!(0n short, %ereas succoalitionsand social movements cannot be called te outri!t and,aidenso" %ite su pre,ac'2 teir retorical structuresand olitical desire areunder%ritten b' a supple,ental antiblackness(Assata Sakur.s co,,ents

in er autobio!rap'vacillate +et&een +eing interesting and insight'(l andain'(lly rogrammatic and 1resonsi+le.1 The e2ository method o' conveyanceacco(nts 'or this air o' resonsi+ility. Ho& ever, to&ard the end o' the +ook, sheaccounts"or coalition %ork+y &ay o' e2 tended narrative as oosed toe2osition. 3e accomany her one o' 4ayd Shak(r5s many Panther ro)ects &itho(tside gro(s, &ork 1dealing &ith &hite s(ort gro(s &ho &ere involved inraising +ail 'or the Panther !6 mem+ers in )ail.1! 3ith no more than three &ords,her recollection +ecomes matter o' 'act and (n7ltered. Se %rites2 I ated it(8tthe time, i 'elt that anything +elo& Hoth street &as another co(ntry. 8ll my activities&ere centered in Harlem and i almost never le't it. 9oing de 'ense committee &ork&as de7nitely not ( my alley.... i hated standing aro(nd &hile all these &hiteeole asked me to e2lain mysel', my e2is tence. i +ecame a master o' the one#

liner." Assata.s atred o" tis %ork is bound up in er anticipation2 "ull'reali0ed2 o" all te 0onal violations to co,e %en a %ite %o,an asks er%eter 5a'd is er panter... yo( kno&, is he yo(r +lack cat:1 and tenruns er 3n!ers trou! er airto co a kinky 'eel. 6er narrativeanticipates tese violations to-co,eat the level o' the street, as &ell as at thelevel o' the +ody. Here is the moment in her li'e as a prison slave-in-%aitin!,&hich is to say, a moment as an ordinar' black person2&hen se 3nds ersel"a,on! "riends abolitionists, at least artners in (rose, and 'et se "eelsit necessar' to adopt te sa,e ,uscular constriction2the same coiled


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anticiation, the same com +ative 1one#liners1 tat se %ill need to adopt /ustone 'ear later to steel ersel" a!ainst te encroac,ent o" prison !uards( Te verisi,ilitude bet%een Assata.s %ell-kno%n police encounters and ereperiences incivil society5s most n(rt(ring nook, te radical coalition2 raisesdisturbin! 7uestions about political desire2 black positionalit'2 ande!e,on'as a modality o' str(ggle.

AT: Coalitions &lack bodies ,a!eniti0e bullets and ites donot( Tere can be no coalition because %ite peoplee,bod'8are deputi0ed to be te police(

ilderson #**+[Frank B., The Prison Slave as Hegemonys Silent Scandal inWarfare in the American Homelanded. Joy James, . !;#anichean -ones &itho(t the romise o' higher (nity, evenin the 'ace o' 8merican integration 'acticity. Fanon5s se?i7c colo nial conte2t does

not share >artinot5s and Se2ton5s historical or national con te2t. ?ommon to +othte2ts, ho&ever, is the settler#native dynamic, the di@er ential -oning, and thegrat(ity as oosed to the contingency o'violence that accr(es to the +lackenedosition* Te dicoto,' bet%een %ite eticsthe disco(rse o" civil societ'%and its irrelevance to te violence o" police pro3lin! is not dialectical9 tet%o are inco,,ensurable&henever one attemts to seak a+o(t the aradigmo' olicing, one is 'orced +ack into a disc(ssion o' artic(lar events high#ro7lehomicides and their related co(rtroom +attles, 'or instance.< 0t makes no di@erencethat in the Anited States the 1cas+ah1 and the 1(ro ean1 -one are laid one on too' the other. 3hat is +eing asserted here is an isomorhic schematic relation#theschematic interchangea+ility#+et&een Fanon5s settler society and >artinot5s andSe2ton5s olicing aradigm. For Fanon, it is the oliceman and soldier not the

disc(rsive, or hegemonic, agents o' co lonialism that make one to&n &hite and theother +lack. For >artinot and Se2 ton, this >anichean deliri(m mani'ests itsel' +y&ay o' te u(s( paradi!, o" policin! tat 4re)produces2 repetitivel'2 teinside-outside2 te civil societ'-black %orld2 b' virtue o" te dierencebet%een tose bodies tat do not ,a!neti0e bullets and tose tat do(1Police im(nity serves to disting(ish +et&een the racial itsel' and the else&herethat mandates it ... the distinction +et&een those &hose h(man +eing is (t

ermanently in C(estion and those 'or &hom it goes &itho(t saying.1D In suc a

paradi!,2 %ite people are2 ipso "acto2 deputi0ed in te "ace o" black

people , &hether they kno& it conscio(sly or not. iteness, then#and, +y

e2tension, civil societ'cannot +e solely 1reresented1 as some mon(mentali-ed

coherence o' hallic signi7ers +(t ,ust 3rst be understood as a social

"or,ation o" conte,poraries %o do not ,a!neti0e bullets( This is the

essence o' their constr(ction thro(gh an asigni'ying a+senceE their signi'yingresence is mani'ested +y the 'act that they are, i' only +y de'a(lt, de(ti-ed

against those &ho do magneti-e +(llets. 0n short, %ite people are not si,pl'

protected b' te police( Te' are-in teir ver' corporealit'-te police(

This iso 'acto de(ti-ation o' &hite eole in the 'ace o' +lack eole acco(nts 'or


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Fanon5s materiality and >artinot5s and Se2ton5s >anichean deliri(m in 8merica.at re,ains to be addressed, ho&ever, is te %a' in %icthe oliticalcontestation +et&een civil societ'.s /unior partnerse., &orkers, &hite &omen,and immigrants, on the one hand, and &hite#s(remacist instit(tionality, on theother hand, is produced b'2 and reproductive o", a s(lementalantiblackness(P(t another &ay* Ho& is te production and accu,ulation o"

/unior partners. social capital ;is< dependent on an antiblack retoricalstructureand a decomosed +lack +ody: An' serious ,usin! on te 7uestiono" anta!onistic identit' "or,ation#a 'ormation, the mass mo+ili-ation o' &hichcan reciitate a crisis in the instit(tions and ass(mtive logic that (ndergird theAnited States o' 8merica#,ust co,e to !rips %it te contradictions bet%eente political de,ands o" radical social ,ove,ents2 suc as te lar!eprison abolition ,ove,ent, &hich seeks to a+olish the rison#ind(strial comle2,and te ideolo!ical structure tat under %rites its political desire(0 contendthat the ositionality o' black sub/ectivit' is at te eart o" tosecontradictionsand that this (nsoken desire is +o(nd ( &ith the oliticallimitations o' nat(rali-ed and (ncritically acceted categories that have theirgenesis mainly in the &orks o' 8ntonio =ramsci namely, &ork or la+or, the &age,

e2loitation, hegemony, and civil society. I %is to teori0e te s',pto,s o"ra!e and resi!nation0 hear in the &ords o' =eorge Jackson &hen he +oils re'ormdo&n to a single &ord, 1'ascism,1 or in 8ssata5s +rie' declaration, 1i hated it,1 as &ellas in the >anichean deliri(m o' Fanon, >artinot, and Se2ton. Today, te "ailure o"radical social ,ove,ents to e, brace s',pto,s o" all tree !estures istanta,ount to te reproduction o" an antiblack politics tat nonetelessrepresents itsel" as bein! in te service o" te e,ancipation o" te blackprison slave(

&lackness is o te ,ap( Absolute disorder and incoerenceo" civil societ'( e ,ust do te dance %it deat and ne!atete %orld(

ilderson #**+[Frank B., The Prison Slave as Hegemonys Silent Scandal inWarfare in the American Homelanded. Joy James, . "6#!%

Slavery is the great leveler o' the +lack s(+)ect5s ositionality. Te black A,ericansub/ect does not !enerate istorical cate!ories o" entitle,ent2soverei!nt'2 and i,,i!ration "or te record( e are o te ,ap&ithresect to the cartograhy that charts civil society5s semioticsE &e have a ast +(tnot a heritage. To the data#generating demands o' the Historical 82is, &e resent a

virt(al +lank, m(ch like that &hich the Ghoisan resented to the 8nthroological82is. Tis places us in a structurall' i,possible position2 one tat isoutside te articulations o" e!e,on'(6o%ever2 it also places e!e,on'in a structurall' i,possible position because#and this is key#our presence%orks backonthe grammar o' e!e,on' and treatens it %it incoerence(0' every s(+)ect even the most massacred among them, 0ndians#is reC(ired to haveanalogs &ithin the nation5s str(ct(ring narrative, and the e2erience o' one s(+)ecton &hom the nation5s order o' &ealth &as +(ilt is &itho(t analog, then that s(+)ect5sresence desta+ili-es all other analogs. Fanon &rites, 19ecoloni-ation, &hich sets


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o(t to change the order o' the &orld, is, o+vio(sly, a rogram o' comletedisorder.n0l 0' &e take him at his &ord, then &e m(st accet that no other +ody'(nctions in the 0maginary, the Sym+olic, or the eal so comletely as a reositoryo' comlete disorder as the +lack +ody. Blackness is the site o' a+sol(te derelictionat the level o' the eal, 'or in its magneti-ing o' +(llets the +lack +ody '(nctions asthe ma o' grat(ito(s violence thro(gh &hich civil society is ossi+le#namely, those

+odies 'or &hich violence is, or can +e, contingent. Blackness is the site o' a+sol(tedereliction at the level o' the Sym+olic, 'or +lackness in 8merica generates nocategories 'or the chromosome o' history and no data 'or the categories o'immigration or sovereignty. 0t is an e2erience &itho(t analog#a ast &itho(t aheritage. Blackness is the site o' a+sol(te dereliction at the level o' the 0magi nary,'or %oever sa's .rape. sa's &lackFanon, %oever sa's prison sa'sblackSe2ton, and &hoever says 1809S1 says +lack#the Ne!ro is a pobo!enicob/ect(6" 0ndeed, it means all those things* a ho+ogenic o+)ect, a past %itouta erita!e2 te ,ap o" !ratuitous violence2 and a pro!ra, o" co,pletedisorder(3hereas this reali-ation is, and sho(ld +e, ca(se 'or alarm, it sho(ld not+e ca(se 'or lament or, &orse, disavo&al#not at least, 'or a tr(e revol(tionary or 'ora tr(ly revol(tionary movement s(ch as rison a+olition. I" a social ,ove ,ent is

to be neiter social-de,ocratic nor $arist in ter,s o" structure o"political desire2 ten it sould !rasp te invitation to assu,e tepositionalit' o" sub/ects o" social deat(0' &e are to +e honest &ith o(rselves,%e ,ust ad,it tat te Ne!ro as been invitin! %ites, as &ell as civilsociety5s )(nior artners, to te dance o" social deat "or undreds o" 'ears2but "e% ave %anted to learn te steps( Te' ave been, and remain today#even in the most antiracist movements, s(ch as the rison a+olition movement#invested else%ere(This is notto say that all oppositional political desiretoda' is pro-%ite2 but it is usuall' antiblack2 ,eanin! tat it %ill notdance %it deat(&lack liberation, as a rosect, ,akes radicalis, ,oredan!erous to te =nited States. This is not because it raises te specter o"an alternative polit's(ch as socialism or comm(nity control o' e2isting

reso(rces, but because its condition o" possibilit' and !esture o"

resistance "unction as a ne!ative dialec tic: a politics o" re"usal and a

re"usal to a>r,2 a pro!ra, o"co,plete disorder( One ,ust e,brace its

disorder2 its incoerence2 and allo% onesel" to be elabo rated b' it i"2

indeed2 one.s politics are to be under%ritten a desire to take do%n tis

countr'( I" tis is not te desire tat under%rites one.s politics2 ten

trou! %at strate!' o" le!iti,ation is te %ord prison bein! linked tote %ord abolition?3hat are this movement5s lines o' olitical acco(nta+ility:

There is nothing 'oreign, 'rightening, or even (nracticed a+o(t the em+race o'disorder and incoherence. The desire to +e em+raced, and ela+orated, +y disorderand incoherence is not anathema in and o' itsel'. Io one, 'or e2amle, has ever+een kno&n to say, 1=ee#&hi-, i' only my orgasms &o(ld end a little sooner, ormay+e not come at all.1 et 'e& so#called radicals desire to +e em+raced, andela+orated, +y the disorder and incoherence o' +lackness#and the state o' oliticalmovements in the Anited States today is marked +y this very Iegroho+ogenisis*1=ee#&hi-, i' only +lack rage co(ld +e more coherent, or may+e not come at all.1@eraps tere is so,etin! ,ore terri"'in! about te /o' o" black tantere is in te /o' o" se(nless one is talking se2 &ith a Iegro. Perhas


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coalitions toda' pre"er to re,ain inor!as,ic in te "ace o" civil societ' #&ithhegemony as a handy rohylactic, )(st in case. I" trou! tis stasis orparal'sis te' tr' to do te %ork o" prison abolition2 te %ork %ill "ail2 "orit is al%a's %ork "ro, a position o" coerencee., the &orker on beal" o"a position o" incoerence o" te black sub/ect2 or prison slave( In tis %a'2social "or,ations on te le"tremain +lind to the contradictions o' coalitions

+et&een &orkers and slaves. They re,ain coalitions operatin! %itin te lo!ico" civil societ' and "unction less as revolutionar' pro,ises tan ascro%din! out scenarios o" black anta!onis,s, simly 'eeding o(r 'r(stration.3hereas the ositionality o' the &orker &hether a 'actory &orker demand ing amonetary &age, an immigrant, or a &hite &oman demanding a social &agegest(res to&ard the recon7g(ration o' civil society, te positionalit' o" te blacksub/ect&hether a rison slave or a rison slave#in#&aiting !estures to%ard tediscon3!uration o" civil societ'(From the coherence o' civil so ciety, te blacksub/ect beckons %it te incoerence o" civil %ar2 a %ar tat re clai,sblackness not as a positive value but as a politicall' enablin! site , to C(oteFanon, o" absolute dereliction(0t is a 1scandal1 that rends civil society as(n der.Civil %ar, then, beco,es te untou!t, +(t never 'orgotten, (nderst(dy o'

hegemony. It is a black specter %aitin! in te %in!s2 an endless anta!onis,tat cannot be satis3ed 4via re"or, or reparation) but tat ,ust2noneteless2 be pursued to te deat(

at coalitions - prison spec

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