A Lao American for Police Abolition
Today I asked my mother,
But, just because this sense of community is not widely present in the US right now, does not mean that it is not possible. This is something that we all have to work on and push back against. In a village, we are all committed to each other's survival. A village lives, breathes, works, builds, and learns collectively. I love, respect, and applaud the communities in the US that have worked to build their own practices of village justice and accountability.
This means making biggest changes that you can in your life.
This is not just a personal commitment to act and to speak up to defend others. It also means building trust in our communities so that we can trust others to do the same for us. It also means taking accountability and being open to being held accountable when you yourself have caused harm.
If this sounds impossible... let's think about the reasons why we feel this way. You might not be thinking big enough. You might think that change is impossible because you don't see the ways people use village justice and accountability everyday, in groups of friends, organizers, and families. You might think that change is impossible because you are not committed to doing anything difficult or uncomfortable. Learning is uncomfortable... change is uncomfortable. To be comfortable and blissfully unaware is a privilege that we need to let go of now.
You may be leaving the work of change to others... letting it fall on the shoulders of Black organizers and other community organizers, when you could be supporting and uplifting them to the best of your capabilities.
Friends, find your village. The people you are committed to keeping safe and who are committed to keeping you safe. Remember that village justice and accountability are real and functioning, and that we have it in us. Our parents, elders, and ancestors can teach us. Justice is not sought in anger, hatred, or revenge. Justice is sought out of love.
#AbolitionNow
#BlackLivesMatter
*From what I know and experienced during my times in Laos - the police in Laos are generally not called to resolve issues like they are in the US, such as domestic violence, car accidents, or robberies. The police do things like man federal tollbooths and checkpoints, direct traffic, act as security guards in government buildings or places of high capitalistic value such as malls. In instances where they try to "enforce justice", they are usually looking for a bribe or will accept one. Police in Laos do not usually carry guns.
"Mommy, back in the day when you were little and you lived in Lao, if you had a problem in your village, did you call the police?"
She said, "No," in a tone similar to when you say "Of course not".
Me: "What did you do to fix the problem then?"
Mommy: "We would call our elders together to talk about it. Or call our Village Leader to mediate."
Me: "At the end of the day, after talking it out, did people walk away feeling like the issue was resolved?"
Mommy: "Yeah," she said in a tone that meant, "Of course".
We talked about how the police in Laos do not resolve issues. They only lie and steal resources from people. We talked about how the police in the US only inflict violence. In the US we can even call the police to inflict violence on others on our behalf.
My mother lived in Laos a short 31 years ago. Not that long ago, she was experiencing community justice and village accountability. And the same is true for many other Southeast Asian American immigrants and refugees. This practice of justice has existed in our community for years, for centuries. And even today, people living in Laos, and some Lao Americans living in the US resolve issues between families this way.
So why do we need the police? We don't. Looking back at history, we never did. Police Abolition means abolishing the system of policing. This idea is impossible and shocking to many people. And that's real, given that we who live in the US have it ingrained in us, that Police = Justice. There are people who have known that, that is not true for many years and generations. There are people who are unlearning that this year, this week. Today and always, the police system in the US disproportionately has violent and harmful effects on Black people (#BLACKLIVESMATTER #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor). And to a lesser extent is also disproportionately violent to other people of color.
The police in the US were invented to catch run away slaves. We don't believe in slavery. So why would we believe in slave catchers? The police in Laos were invented to protect the state's interest*.
Southeast Asian Americans, I have a question for us. Why do we feel the need to conform to the system of policing here in the US, when for many of us, this was a foreign notion just 45 years ago? Just one generation ago, our parents were participating in their own villages' practices of accountability and justice, that was effective.
If you feel taken aback right now, question that. Question yourself.
My mother lived in Laos a short 31 years ago. Not that long ago, she was experiencing community justice and village accountability. And the same is true for many other Southeast Asian American immigrants and refugees. This practice of justice has existed in our community for years, for centuries. And even today, people living in Laos, and some Lao Americans living in the US resolve issues between families this way.
So why do we need the police? We don't. Looking back at history, we never did. Police Abolition means abolishing the system of policing. This idea is impossible and shocking to many people. And that's real, given that we who live in the US have it ingrained in us, that Police = Justice. There are people who have known that, that is not true for many years and generations. There are people who are unlearning that this year, this week. Today and always, the police system in the US disproportionately has violent and harmful effects on Black people (#BLACKLIVESMATTER #GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor). And to a lesser extent is also disproportionately violent to other people of color.
The police in the US were invented to catch run away slaves. We don't believe in slavery. So why would we believe in slave catchers? The police in Laos were invented to protect the state's interest*.
Southeast Asian Americans, I have a question for us. Why do we feel the need to conform to the system of policing here in the US, when for many of us, this was a foreign notion just 45 years ago? Just one generation ago, our parents were participating in their own villages' practices of accountability and justice, that was effective.
If you feel taken aback right now, question that. Question yourself.
- When you want to call the police, what feeling are you acting on? Anger? Annoyance? Violence? Hatred?
- When you want to call the police, what feeling are you seeking? "Justice"? Revenge? Validation?
- WHO are you calling the police on and WHY?
- Are they Black? Are they Brown?
Me and Mommy talked about why village accountability and justice would or would not work in America today. Mommy said, "Americans don't have villages. They don't have a sense of community,". And Mommy is right. While individual communities in the US have worked to build collective community, the US as a whole does not function in this way. We need not look any further than a few months ago, at the beginning of COVID lockdown, when people with more resources stocked up and emptied grocery stores of necessities.
But, just because this sense of community is not widely present in the US right now, does not mean that it is not possible. This is something that we all have to work on and push back against. In a village, we are all committed to each other's survival. A village lives, breathes, works, builds, and learns collectively. I love, respect, and applaud the communities in the US that have worked to build their own practices of village justice and accountability.
This means making biggest changes that you can in your life.
That change looks like not calling the police. Then it looks like:
- Being committed to speaking up and calling out injustice and harm yourself.
- Caring for your community members, even the ones you don't know, the ones who don't look like you, or the ones who never did shit for you.
- Protecting others' bodies from harm, maybe even with your own body.
Imagine the love you have for a member of your family. Or the love that you have for a friend you consider to be a family member. Out of love, you would risk your life to protect them right? That's the goal of village and community. That we love and look out for our community members, in the same way we would for our own family. Our community becomes our family.
This is not just a personal commitment to act and to speak up to defend others. It also means building trust in our communities so that we can trust others to do the same for us. It also means taking accountability and being open to being held accountable when you yourself have caused harm.
If this sounds impossible... let's think about the reasons why we feel this way. You might not be thinking big enough. You might think that change is impossible because you don't see the ways people use village justice and accountability everyday, in groups of friends, organizers, and families. You might think that change is impossible because you are not committed to doing anything difficult or uncomfortable. Learning is uncomfortable... change is uncomfortable. To be comfortable and blissfully unaware is a privilege that we need to let go of now.
You may be leaving the work of change to others... letting it fall on the shoulders of Black organizers and other community organizers, when you could be supporting and uplifting them to the best of your capabilities.
Friends, find your village. The people you are committed to keeping safe and who are committed to keeping you safe. Remember that village justice and accountability are real and functioning, and that we have it in us. Our parents, elders, and ancestors can teach us. Justice is not sought in anger, hatred, or revenge. Justice is sought out of love.
#AbolitionNow
#BlackLivesMatter
*From what I know and experienced during my times in Laos - the police in Laos are generally not called to resolve issues like they are in the US, such as domestic violence, car accidents, or robberies. The police do things like man federal tollbooths and checkpoints, direct traffic, act as security guards in government buildings or places of high capitalistic value such as malls. In instances where they try to "enforce justice", they are usually looking for a bribe or will accept one. Police in Laos do not usually carry guns.
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