State Violence, Asian Immigrants, and the "Underclass" (From States of Confinement: Policing, Detention, and Prisons, P 230-244, 2000, Joy James, ed. -- See NCJ-183621)

• NCJ Number: 183633
• Author(s): Eric Tang
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: St. Martin's Press
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Racist assumptions about Asian immigrant communities in the United States are challenged, and Asian community activists are encouraged to take the question of state violence seriously.

Abstract

Contemporary capitalism has tended to disguise state violence against Asian immigrant communities. The recent wave of Asian immigrant laborers to the United States is fueled by the same global economic interests that drive the prison industry, the need for highly exploitable or "informal" labor that keeps U.S. manufacturing competitive with the Third World. Much like organized crime, state forces such as the police conceal their violent activity by relying on physical coercion, partnerships with corrupt business owners, and extortion. In addition, several vague city ordinances and zoning laws are arbitrarily enforced in places such as Chinatown. Part of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) mission is to expose state violence against the Asian immigrant working class. Established in 1988, the CAAAV organizes communities to fight the escalation of police brutality against Chinese immigrants and provides advocacy services. The CAAAV has specifically focused on the intersection of economic regulation and racist police violence, inner-city poverty, and youth gang violence. 5 notes