For some, the curbing of civil liberties started with September 11th. For others, the struggle had been going on long before. There are many complex details to understanding the US government’s record on human rights. Along with the complex details, there are many layers – from the legislation that exists, to the welfare system and the masculine “macho” police culture – everything has to be taken into account. Policing the National Body does exactly that. It takes the reader through the inside scenes of what really happens in the INS and other prison facilities. From the psychological point of view to the physical treatment and the human rights abuses – depending on whether it is a person of color, a woman, a working poor or simply undocumented – there is a system for everyone. And that system profits from all. Policing the National Body, edited by Jael Silliman and Anannya Bhattacharjee, is a must-have reference text and mind-opener for every student of women’s studies, law and human rights.
The book, published by South End Press last year also points out that all kinds of activists from all movements need to unite and start a dialogue with each other. Police brutality is connected to human rights abuses to welfare to poverty and so on. Issues inside the prison are linked directly to the issues outside. And they make up the whole Prison Industrial Complex, an industry that from on the various concepts and culture on the outside. The paperback is available at www.southendpress.org.
