On Thursday, June 26th, 2020 a small group of triggered geriatrics (mostly people of a colonial complexion) stood in front of the McLean County History Museum. Led by McLean County GOP Chair Connie Beard, they decried the creation of a boycott list of about 20 businesses in the Central Illinois Area. The boycott list was created in response to racial tensions in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and the surprising (and alleged) cultural shift in support of Black Liberation occurring nation wide. The businesses that made the list have a history of racist policies or the owners have a history of racist statements & behavior.
Connie Beard’s employer, Denbesten Real Estate, is on this list because of her outspoken support of President Trump. And, despite her support of some incredibly racist policies, she is adamant she is not racist. She even brought her black friend to prove it.1
“We are all one race. We are all one family and children of God,” Beard said. “To judge someone just on the color of their skin, to treat them differently, is not only foolish, it’s a sin.”
She blamed the creation & distribution of this list on Ward 6 Bloomington Alderperson Jen Carrillo. However, this is
FAKE NEWS!
Carrillo has stated multiple times she had nothing to do with the list. When asked whether she had any proof, Beard said, “I’m not saying she’s lying about creating the list. I’m saying, elected officials should not encourage or promote such damaging action to businesses in our community.”
Typical triggered conservatives. They don’t care about facts, only feelings.
But, that’s not how America works. Even politicians have free speech rights. Boycotting is a proud American tradition. Colonists routinely boycotted British goods & taxes in colonial America. It led to American Independence. American’s also have a strong tradition of boycotting racism. What does Beard think civil rights leaders were doing during the fifties? Has she never heard of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
(I’d also like to point out most of these people couldn’t be bothered to wear masks, even though COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing. This is the exact same group of covidiots demanding we open up the economy early and saying Americans are responsible enough; yet, they can’t even be responsible enough to wear masks at a press conference.)2
Covidiots
Beard also decried efforts to defund the police. Typical big government conservatives. Just like they want government to control your reproduction, they want to support overbloated police budgets, increased militarization of the police, & our byzantine criminal justice system that disproportionately oppresses people of color. So much for fiscal conservatism, I guess.
Perhaps the most hypocritical facet of this Coronavirus spreading spectacle is these are the same people who fetishize the freedom of the market above all else. Yet, when consumers choose how to spend their dollars in anti-racist ways, these right-wing types start begging for entitlements from society: freedom from criticism. Sorry snowflakes: freedom means the right to free speech & opinion, but not the right to be free of responsibilities. Maybe ya’ll should get some personal responsibility & reflect on why people think you might have racist opinions.
History was made on Saturday, June 6th, 2020 when the first ever Black Lives Matter protest occurred in Pekin, IL at the Tazewell County Courthouse.
Pekin is probably the most well-known of the former sundown towns in Central Illinois. Sundown towns were municipalities which by law or by practice banned African-Americans from being within the city past dark, effectively preventing them from living within city limits. Going back to my great-grandparents, who were born in the early 20th century, the one thing people associate with Pekin is racism.
But, a group of Pekinites want this to change. In the wake of the death of George Floyd, we’re seeing a seismic shift in the American consciousness surrounding the struggle for Black Liberation. Around 150 people gathered outside the Tazewell County Courthouse, to protest for Black Liberation. Brittany Wagner, a Pekin woman of colonial complexion, and Ezra Collum, a black man, organized the event. They read off the stories of Black men & women who have been killed by the police. George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and so many more.
Brittany Wagner
Wagner led the crowd in a boisterous display of solidarity. Protesters marched around the Courthouse on blocked off streets, and laid on the ground for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time Derek Chauven kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Wagner, a deaf woman native to Tazewell County, spoke with such fire & fury because despite not being able to hear, the one thing she could hear was the injustice against black lives & the injustice perpetrated by the police. As so many other people of no color dug there heads in the sands of All Lives Matter, Wagner heard loud and clear the clamoring of systemic inequalities; it was a sound that clearly shook her to the core. At certain points in her speech, she paused to wipe away tears.
“Where were the All Lives Matter crowd when a Chinese-American got stabbed because of COVID?” Wagner asked the crowd. “That wasn’t All Lives Matter. All lives don’t matter when it’s inconvenient to them. These are not an inconvenience. These are people. Everyone deserves a chance!”
Ezra Collum
Ezra Collum, spent his portion speaking about Black Trans Lives, both those people murdered by police & transphobic bigots. “People don’t know their names; they don’t see them on Facebook. I just want to make it known about Black Trans Lives: we matter too.” Ezra said the names of several black trans people murdered in the past two years. Tony McDade, Celine Walker, Anatash’a English, Cathalina James, Nina Bop, Dana Martin, Chynal Lindsey, Bee Love Slater, Bailey Reeves. “The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports a multi-year trend showing that Trans Women of Color have greater risk of death by hate crime than any other group in 2019. There was at least 22 trans- or nonconforming people murdered and it is the 5th consecutive year in a row where at least 20 trans people were murdered.” he said.
Whether it would even be possible to hold a Black Liberation rally in Pekin was always an open question. I talked to many Pekinites present about the kind of backlash they would receive from friends & family in Pekin if they were actively anti-racist. “ YES THEY ARE AFRAID!” said Wagner. “Yes, there are some die hard racist people who are attacking me in my inbox, and posting about who I am, but people in Pekin can be afraid of the backlash and that shouldn’t even exists. The consequences are racists continually harassing those who are trying to do right.”
One Pekinite, Heather York, said she absolutely believes Pekinites are afraid to speak out against racism when they see it. “Just the personal consequences they see from people they know. People they know will put out a witch hunt on them, just for saying Black Lives Matter. Racists will encourage people to ostracize them.”
Wagner was threatened by multiple people online for organizing the protest, and discovered her window had been tampered with, though they cannot say for sure whether the two are related.
“There is an unbelievable amount of racism I’ve experienced in Pekin, unfortunately,” said Wagner, “causal talking casual racism. At a very young age I was exposed, I remember thinking why isn’t this fair but ya know as a kid in a predominantly white neighborhood, I didn’t understand that it was racism against POC until I was older.”
Before the event even occurred there were fears of violence against protesters. One Pekinite, a so-called “concerned citizen”, Matt Armentrout, posted on Facebook, and essentially made a call to arms from the community to be prepared for what he assumed would inevitably turn to looting.
Matt Armentrout
Wagner reached out to Armentrout because she knew many people were concerned with going to a protest surrounded by people with weapons. Wagner told me, “So, the story behind that was he posted a status mentioning guns and protecting his town. It put a lot of fear into people obviously. I got to talk to him and tell him everything I stand for and against in a message, I talked to his childhood friends and they talked to him and he understood where I was coming from. If everyone really is aware of what’s happening in this fight for injustice, they’ll realize exactly what were about and then like Matt, be standing on the frontlines instead of against and protecting us.”
And to Armentrout’s credit, he and his “concerned citizens” did show up unarmed, largely watched from afar, and they spent most of their time discouraging any racist counter-protesters from instigating the BLM protest. However, it was certainly a bizarre experience seeing “concerned citizens” (some with Nazi tattoos) recording every moment and capturing every face.
Already, this group of anti-racist Pekinites is starting to gain traction. Their first action was in many ways just to create a space where anti-racist Pekinites could see each other and form bonds of solidarity. So, that they know they aren’t the only ones disgusted when people drop the N-word or fly a Confederate flag or make a racist joke about people.
There were even actual fascists who attempted to incite event. A truck repeatedly drove by the intersection of the protest with a Trump flag, flipping of protesters. At one point, the vehicle was even stopped by police and told they should leave the protesters alone. However, the vehicle obstinately refused, returning evermore, this time with the traitorous flag of the Confederacy adorned across from the Trump 2020 flag. One brave American patriot protesting for Black Liberation, was so incensed by the foul stench emanating from the Confederate trash, that he took the flag from the truck and properly disposed of it. At this point, the fascists were outraged, with one trying to run BLM protesters over with his mo-ped. “No Lives Matter! No Lives Matter!” He screamed at the peaceful protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter”. The individuals in the traitorous Confederate vehicle were again stopped by police and each one was cited for disorderly conduct. They could face a maximum fine of $750 each.
Confederate traitors lose their participation flag.
Heather York, who is organizing another BLM protest in Pekin Saturday, June 13th, at the Tazewell County Courthouse, says their group has a list of demands they plan on presenting to the Pekin Police Department.
Demands:
1. Defund the Police, a reallocation of funds towards other services. Reduction of militarized police. More specific training on deescalation and subduing someone without lethal force, sensitivity training on basically everyone, training on active anti-racism.
2. Accountability for officers that abuse their power. Let us sue individuals officers for misbehavior.
3. Disband the Police Union entirely. It is superfluous. They are already heavily protected. If they’re brutalizing people, they don’t deserve protection; and if the police aren’t brutalizing people, then they don’t need union protection.
4. Alternative emergency uses – Instead of calling 911 for the police, you’d call for a social worker, therapist, etc.
This group of young Pekinites will continue to organize around anti-racist issues as long as it takes, and encourage more anti-racist Tazewell County residents to take a more active role in addressing systemic racial issues.
When asked if she worries about racist attacks from the community, Wagley said, “If we show people, We are about peace. We are about change. We are about love. People will understand.”
The murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers has ignited a fresh, new wave of protests in support of Black Liberation across the country. In Central Illinois, like elsewhere, those organizing the events are not from older generations like Boomers and Xers, not even from Millenials, but from the Zoomer generation just now coming of age. The combination of no school during the last quarter of the school year, nearly 2 ½ months under quarantine restrictions, the economic depression during COVID-19, and the fact the police can’t stop messing with Black Lives EVEN during a global pandemic has caused an eruption of support for the liberation of Black Lives beyond what many of us expected to see.
Even before May 30th, 2020 Zoomers were already standing on the sidewalk along Veterans Parkway with signs supporting Black Lives. But, Saturday May 30th was a catalyst here in Bloomington-Normal. 24-year old Micah Denniston, posted on Facebook she was organizing a protest at the McLean County Jail in downtown Bloomington. Denniston, a woman of the Caucasian persuasion, was affected by Floyd’s death because “I am the mother of three mixed children. They are mixed with black,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to fear for my son’s life when he grows up. God forbid, he gets pulled over and the next thing you know he’s dead on the ground by a cop because they fear him for the color of his skin or they fear my boyfriend for the color of his skin or my brother next to me for the color of his skin. It’s not right.”
Micah Denniston, 24
She only thought about 15 people would show up. Instead, over a 150 people gathered near the jail next to the US Cellular Coliseum. Micah and her friends wanted to March around the jail. More experienced activists helped facilitate the goals of these Zoomers: blocking off traffic, documenting the scene, and negotiating with law enforcement.
Because the McLean County Jail is in the heart of downtown Bloomington, inmates can be seen from the streets. For many protesters there, it was their first time experiencing their voice reaching out in protest and making a connection of solidarity with another, especially individuals being isolated from society by the state. Even from across the street on a busy day, one can clearly hear inmates banging on their windows. The effect is poignant. Realizing that you can see from the street what the state hides behind architecture and that you can transgress the state’s forced isolation of inmates is a powerful feeling. At the same time, inmates who have been kept on 23-hour a day lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, received some much needed social interaction. These bridges being built through the walls of state authority are an important link activists for Black Liberation must continue to cultivate.
Another novelty found was Bloomington Police Officers, unprompted, offering to block of traffic so that protesters could take over the streets safely. For nearly thirty minutes, Black Liberation activists occupied East Street just outside the McLean County Law & Justice Center. Afterwards, the march of nearly 150 people took over the streets of downtown Bloomington in a spontaneous manner, picking and choosing its direction almost at random for nearly 3 miles as if hunting out the vestiges of white supremacy in the city. Even without a clear direction, police continued to block off traffic for the protesters. There is a clear distinction in the way police in BloNo have been reacting to BLM protests after the death of Floyd. Unlike many cities where the police are actively attacking peaceful protesters, police in McLean county are getting on one knee, saying “Black Lives Matter”, and hugging protesters in an alleged solidarity.
At the jail were many tense moments between protesters and sheriff’s deputies. There is a primal rage in the early protests after George Floyd. An absolute disgust at the injustice inherent in our policing and carceral institutions. There were about 3-4 sheriff’s deputies being confronted by protesters. The anger in the people wouldn’t allow for a satisfactory answer to congeal from the deputies, aside from ripping off their badge and joining the revolution. But, this anger is nevertheless righteous. So many people are sick of the abuse of state power by the police, the sense of helplessness when under the gaze of an officer. The three officers were between Scylla & Charybdis in front of the massive group. No answer was sufficient to calm them down, and any escalation would have put everyone in danger. Yet, those officers needed to feel that powerlessness for the protest to be effective. The entire confrontation only lasted about ten minutes and was finally diffused by a Sargent yelling “Black Lives Matter” with open arms & a smile. It was enough to distract the powder keg and relieve the mounting pressure.
[FULL DISCLOSURE: The author participated in this protest.]
On May Day, May 1st, Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal organized a car caravan action around the McLean County Jail calling for decarceration and to waive the costs of video visits/phone calls during COVID19 for inmates. BLM BloNo also released a contract between McLean County and the telecommunications system, IC Solutions, that shows they are profiting off of these video visits/phone calls, which of course happen more often now that in-person visits are shut down due to COVID19.
ACTION ITEM: Join BLM BloNo and Tell McLean Co: Stop Profiting From Jail Visits During Covid-19!
Check out: Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/BLMBlono/ E-mail — blacklivesmatterblono@gmail.com Contact your County Board representative and tell them they shouldn’t be making money just so people can stay in touch with their loved ones during the Coronavirus.
Stefanie Smith is a political novice running for the 13th District of U.S. Congress against Democratic establishment favored Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. Londrigan won the 2018 Democratic nomination, but lost the general election by a razor thin margin of 1.4%. Londrigan and Smith will face off against each other in the primary election on March 17th. The winner will go on to face incumbent Republican Rodney Davis.
I sat down with Stefanie in Decatur at a local pub where she was holding a campaign event with the public.
Zachary Gittrich: You’re running against Betsy Dirksen Londrigan? What are the reasons you think you’d be a better representative of the 13th district than Betsy Dirksen Londrigan? What are the specific differences you have with her?
Stefanie Smith: I am more representative of the district – as a person. Because of my financial situation: having medical debt, having student loan debt, understanding poverty. Those are issues that are widespread in our district that Betsy doesn’t really have to add or any knowledge of that. Betsy said at the forum when asked how she would deal with poverty, she said, “I support the Middle Class.” So, she’s willing to leave behind the majority of the district in my opinion.
I am also a champion of human rights and civil rights. I’m against war. Betsy is pro-ICE, and I’m against ICE. I’m for single-payer healthcare and Betsy is not. I’m for the Green New Deal, because I really like having a world to live on; Betsy does not. Those are some specific differences.
ZG: Do you have any pets?
SS: I do; I have a Cat, and I have a Rabbit.
ZG: You participated in one forum with Londrigan. You seemed particularly reticent at that event. Can you explain why?
SS: Absolutely. So, we were denied a debate. Betsy would not agree to a debate. The public forum was the only public event with the two of us she was willing to do. The conditions for the forum were I wasn’t allowed to reference or criticize any of her policies. So, they basically silenced me from criticism. I decided because it was the only type of forum and there were a lot of questions, I was going to give very terse very direct answers so we could cycle through as many as possible and get Betsy on the record on these issues. So, that’s why it looked the way it did, out of respect to the questioners.
ZG: Do you want more debates with your opponent?
SS: She’s still refusing as far as I know. We’re not going to get a debate; I’d do a debate and have said so since the beginning. I think debates contribute to a healthy democracy to have these ideas discussed, criticized and expounded on. That is a democratic tactic Betsy is abandoning. And, I find that really disappointing.
ZG: Do you think you could defeat Rodney Davis in a debate and the election?
SS: Oh, yeah I do. I think that people really respond to authenticity, even if you don’t necessarily agree with everything you say, they at least appreciate that you’re not bullshitting them. Rodney has really misled the voters in an enormous sort of way and has not provided any resources for the district; our district has fallen further into poverty. I think that his incompetence alone – its a challenge cause he’s heavily supported by Trump, so he’ll get a lot of support from Trump country. I think it will be a grueling nasty campaign, but I don’t think Rodney has the integrity to keep up.
ZG: You’ve noted in the past friction between you and the local democratic parties. Can you elaborate the details?
SS: We have a lot of people trying to get involved to disrupt, suppress, and get rid of me from the start. They’ve made it a point to show that meetings were very hostile to us. They’re very dishonest. Like, I would go to a meeting and talk, then they’d say I refused to talk to them. That was the Macon County Democrats.
Emily Rodriguiz of Champaign County Democrats has been around our campaign trying to disorganize the campaign. Just really needling things trying to undercut the work we’ve done in the community. They’ve tried to block us from using LGBTQ venues.
Laurie Bell of Mclean County has been spreading lies and disinformation about a protest that wasn’t a campaign action. Just a lot of backstabbing and childish behavior all around. We’re here to work. We said we were going to be transparent about what we want to do.
ZG: You’ve said that we as citizens need to organize a coup against the current administration. Can you elaborate what you mean by that?
SS: No, I’m not saying we need a coup against the administration. I’m saying the administration has already successfully pulled off a coup. We need a network community response. It is very clear that the Federal government has fallen: its fractured. Legislation isn’t getting through. People vote on legislation in the house, they sits in the Senate, or the president doesn’t sign them. So we aren’t going to get our needs met through those avenues. We’re going to have to create the networks to survive. We have to start making mutual aid avenues. How do we get resources to people who are isolated at the margins. No one is coming to save us. We have to organize. That’s what I mean.
ZG: You have stated you support Medicare 4 All single-payer and that anything less is eugenics. If enacted, how would the transition from private to public healthcare work for the 160 million people who currently have private insurers?
SS: Hopefully swiftly because I would actually like to be able to afford my doctors. I have insurance through my husbands employer. If that insurance ended today, and Medicare 4 All was immediately implemented, I’d finally be able to go to the doctor and I think that’s true for a lot of people.
It’s something that has to be implemented quickly. I don’t have tears for the insurance industry. They’ve exploited us for so long. I’m not worried about their profits or opinions on it, I’m worried about getting people healthcare.
I would like to see it as an immediate option for the completely uninsured as its passed. From there I feel like having a window for people to be able to transfer over to government insurance. I see that as an important step. I’d like to see all that completed within a year. But, we should definitely immediately get healthcare to those without.
ZG: What kind of assistance would be available to private insurance company employees who may lose their job?
SS: I do think by switching there will still be a need behind the scenes to make this happen. So, I see merit for including those people in the process. For those jobs that are going to be created by Medicare 4 All, to go firstly to those who were in the for-profit system.
If we get to the point where we’re able to pass Medicare 4 All, we’ll likely be able to pass other bills that are for workers rights and unionization. My hope is that it’ll be less of a blow because other jobs are going to provide living wages. When we’re talking about the Green New Deal, housing, infrastructure. We really need people to get into the trades and health care. We have shortages of nurses and teachers. There are lots of jobs that are very important that people aren’t doing cause they don’t pay enough. We don’t need a ton of administrators working on medical bills for insurance. We need teachers, we need nurses, and they need to be able to live. We make those jobs a living wage; we support training to be a CNA and other union jobs like electricians and plumbers. We’re always going to need those people. So, I feel like there are a lot of ways to offset that issue.
ZG: How would you rate the Democrats efforts to impeach the president? Do you think there were other issues they should have focused on when it came to impeachment?
SS: Yeah. The Democrats are like its a technicality: Trump went after Joe Biden’s son and now were really mad about it. They didn’t go after Trump for any of his crimes against humanity or war crimes. They went after him cause he went after one of their own. So it looked petty cause it was petty, especially in the context of crimes against humanity! It looks terrible; it looks weak; it’s ineffective governing. All it does is disorganize and upset people. It alienates even more people. The Democratic party doesn’t look like the moral champion in this: they just look like petulant children. I honestly think it was misguided. I’ve been asked a lot if I support impeaching the president. And I said if I was in the House and the vote came up I would vote yes to impeach him. But, I don’t think people understood how impeachment works. People were like, “Oh yea, he’s impeached.” But then there’s the senate and all these procedures. I feel like the Democrats exploited the fact that we have low civic education to make a spectacle of the impeachment to try and get votes.
ZG: Government is regularly viewed as criminally inefficient. Conservatives automatically say everything government is bad; and Liberals argue its better than the private sector and it’s the duty of the government to do these things, but even they seem to acquiesce to the seemingly natural fact that government is inefficient. How would you address inefficiency in government services?
SS: We have wild redundancies. Terrible service, terrible filing. But, when it comes to money the fact that the Pentagon pays thousands of dollars for a fucking screw: that’s ridiculous. And, those are my tax dollars. So, I don’t disagree that the government is inefficient and ineffective. But if they’re taking my money anyway I don’t want it to go to a $1500 bolt. I want that money going into services that are going to hurt people. I want that money going into SNAP and into disability. If you take money from the people then that money should be used to support the people not murder other people.
ZG: So, basically allocating funds more towards social services so they aren’t as inefficient?
SS: Exactly, you have to invest in these things if you want them to work. They’re not investing in them, but purposely sabotaging it by under funding them and under staffing them. That’s why its inefficient; that’s why the government sucks.
ZG: You have stated you support the Green New Deal. Do you support a complete ban on all new oil drilling and fracking?
SS: Yes
ZG: How do we continue to manufacture all the things that require oil, especially plastic?
SS: There are… a lot of things we don’t need, right? I’m open to talking about these things but there are a lot of things we would need to prioritize production on, e.g., medical equipment. We’re supposed to be finding alternatives. We have brilliant scientists; there are people working on the stuff. I feel like we should be focusing on the worst offenders first. We should stop fracking immediately because earthquakes and brown water is really terrifying. I definitely understand that some things are higher priority than others. But, we have to move away from that source very soon if we are to survive. Like, if it’s between survival and making more action figures, I’m going to go with survival. I know it sucks, but we don’t live in a way that is sustainable to the planet and our population. We have to figure out other ways. We either figure it out or we die.
ZG: Do you support court-packing to readjust the politics of the Federal judiciary?
SS: I’m really freaked out with the federal judiciary and the way the judges have been stacked. Honestly, I try to be open when I don’t have solutions; I don’t know the best way to address that issue right now. I’m interested in that path and learning more about it. But I don’t have a good handle on how that works. My work has been predominately in human trafficking policy. This is a very new area for me. I’m a working-class person. I don’t know a lot of judges. I need to meet more people who have a robust experience and get a better view of the short term and long term goals of restructuring the judiciary would be. I’m just not qualified to strategize on that right now.
ZG: Are there any current federal judges you would support impeaching and removing?
SS: Brett Kavanaugh is springing to mind for obvious reasons. As somebody that believes in survivor-centered politics, his rise in the judiciary is rather suspect. I would also like to reexamine anyone who didn’t get a bar association recommendation.
ZG: Do you support a constitutional amendment creating term limits for Federal judges? If so, what should be the limit?
SS: Again, I feel like I don’t quite have a grasp on the repercussions of that sort of decision. Given the way we have seen the Trump administration manipulate the judiciary, I see a massive benefit to that. I’m not clear what the criticism of that would be. I don’t see why a term limit would be bad, even for myself.
ZG: Do you support granting statehood to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., Guam, Mariana Islands, and America Somoa?
SS: Yes.
ZG: Do you support a constitutional Amendment creating term limits for members of congress? If so, how long?
SS: Yes. But I don’t think that’s a question for me but for the voters. I think things get stale if you have the same voices in politics all the time. I don’t think anyone should be able to make a career out of being a government representative. The idea of a career politician is horrifying to me because it says to me this is someone who seeks power, who wants to rule not govern. I’m very supportive of term limits but again its important to figure out what the voters want cause they may want a representative multiple times in a row and they should have that chance. Obviously when were talking about the DCCC blacklisting progressive challenges, that’s not healthy democracy. I think there are a lot of areas we could improve and I think it should be driven by the will of the people.
ZG: Housing is increasingly unaffordable, and most people on waiting lists for public housing wait years. What policies would you propose to address this issue?
SS: I endorsed the homes guarantee from Peoples action that covers affordable housing, public housing, it addresses environmental racism infrastructure disaster response reparation. There’s a Green New Deal public housing policy as well that looks very promising. I think we’d have a few policies that would address that issue. But, also the way that crisis intersect with other issues. For example, the homes guarantee updates appliances for energy savings to help with utilities which is a huge housing cost. I really prefer looking at policies that view issues as holistic that work to address everything. I also support lifting bans on rent control. We want rent control. We’ve been canvassing for Lift the Ban.
ZG: Do you support a maximum wage?
SS: I would support something like that, absolutely.
ZG: What type of taxes do you expect to support?
SS: That is a really interesting question because I don’t see any benefit in taxing lower income people. I see a great deal of benefit in taxing companies, billionaires; for me taxes need to be heavily applied to the rich, and the people who are suffering the most need tax relief. So, any sort of tax that I would support would be directed towards the wealthy; it’s time they give back to our society.
ZG: We have been in a state of perpetual warfare since our childhood. We are currently in military conflicts with 7 different nations. Do you support these wars? Would you end any of the wars?
SS: I am staunchly anti-imperialist and anti-war. I don’t believe in violating the human rights of others.
ZG: How do we deal with the Geo-political consequences of this?
SS: I mean, honestly, these sort of things need to be taken on a case-by-case basis. Because the ways that our bases are used in support are different around the world. I don’t think a blanket solution would be appropriate right now.
There are countries that we have been meddling that have wanted us out for a very long time. We should respect those wishes and remove ourselves immediately. In other nations where we have a good strategic working relationship that has proved fruitful and not mortally dangerous for people – that’s a different circumstance.
The way that Trump handled the Kurds was very upsetting. That was an alliance that was really important for their safety. That was an inappropriate removal [of military force]. A lot of these issues have to be taken on a case-by-case basis. It should be the people who live there, their will should affect our policy when we are talking about staying or leaving.
ZG: What do you see as the military’s responsibility on the world-stage?
SS: At this point, our military needs to stop doing war actions. Those costs a ton of money and are an environmental blight. The military should at this point be redirected towards focusing on national crisis such as disaster relief. We have wildfires – we are using prison labor to fight wildfires in California and these people can’t even become firefighters after they are released [from prison]. I think it would be a better use of the military to have them support resiliency of our communities in the face of natural disasters. On the global stage, I think that is where we should be talking about [using the military]: towards support, not war.
ZG: There are some very serious issues happening regarding immigration, especially with regard to ICE & CPB. You have called for abolishing ICE. How would you regulate immigration?
SS: We need to have a robust system that allows for people to get citizenship. One of the things that is really important to me is this notion of immigrants having a right to a civil attorney so we don’t have toddlers representing themselves in immigration court. That is inappropriate. For me, a fundamental component is making sure these people have representation. Having materials for them in their language, which sometimes is not just Spanish but includes indigenous languages. We need to have those components in place so people are able to navigate the system successfully. We need more advocates for people seeking asylum, refugee status, immigrating for work. We need to stop banning people from entering our company on the basis of… Trump has changed so many laws on visas regulation, that it’s really complicated and a lot to figure out, but another component is undoing the things Trump has done.
I think a lot of people don’t realize that ICE and Border Patrol are fairly new; they came about post-9/11. They were built to be authoritarian surveillance nightmares. The way they question citizens and journalists. So many backwards things are happening: ties to corruption and human trafficking. It’s such a corrupt system that I don’t think it can be overhauled. I don’t think you can fix ICE.
ZG: What about situations like what recently happened in Illinois where an undocumented person with a violent criminal record was released from prison? Do you think undocumented people with violent criminal records should be deported?
SS: Again, its not an area to make a blanket statement cause we know how corrupt our criminal justice system is. When we say violent crimes, what do we mean? Whether we’re deporting them or imprisoning people, neither of those solve the problem in my mind. We have restorative justice practices we can use in these scenarios. I think just cause someone is undocumented that they don’t have less of a right to humane systems of justice.
ZG: Do you think serious crimes have been committed regarding immigration and the border by these institutions and this administration?
SS: Crimes against humanity, definitely.
ZG: What kind of border policy do you envision?
SS: A border is kind of a fake idea.
ZG: So, is money, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
SS: Agreed. But the border as a concept doesn’t mean what you think. I do not believe that a wall is a solution at all. Its going to be an environmental blight and waste of money and its not going to be particularly effective. This notion that a border zone should be expected to be a war zone or combat zone, that’s not how the border has worked when I’ve gone into Canada. So whats the difference? How can people move freely in Europe? The way Americans think about borders is really toxic. They view them as impenetrable force fields that we’re supposed to defend. I don’t think that’s how you should go about it. I think you should reasonably be able to cross borders safely and quickly. When I’ve gone through Canada its a fairly easy process.
ZG: I will point out there are a lot more cartels in Mexico than Canada. Maybe that’s why there is some distinction between the two borders.
SS: Right. And, the cartels are moving their products through the border not like people think they are. They’re moving them across check points and in underground tunnels.
ZG: But, it’s still moving product from one country into another.
SS: Yes. But even in terms of the border security we have now is not adequate to deal with the problem. It’s not addressing the actual criminal activity that is occurring.
ZG: But you do think some kind of border security is required to deal with underground tunnels bringing in drugs?
SS: Yes. Absolutely. But I think a wall and these overly militarized check points haven’t actually fixed the problems at all. So we need to find new solutions. I don’t think these things are helpful to international relations. Right now, if you shoot across the Mexican border and murder someone, you’re not responsible cause you’re on American soil. That’s not good for anyone. If we’re talking about widespread cartels & human trafficking those are things that require lots of investigation, resources, and time. But your average border patrol agent isn’t checking a car and saying, “Oh, I found a cartel member.” That’s not happening. I don’t see cartels or human trafficking as even related to the border. Cause when we’re talking about human trafficking were talking about migrant laborers. Companies exploit that they get these people here, get them to work, and when the migrants complain about their working conditions, the corporations get them deported. That’s human trafficking and corporations are doing it and our government is not going after those corporations. That has nothing to do with a border wall or militarized borders. That is capitalist exploitation. So I think if we’re going to talk about human trafficking and drug trade, we need to actually look into those problems instead of acting like it is connected to this disparate thing.
ZG: The country is obviously in a perpetual state of gridlock, political crisis, and general decline. Do you think parts of the constitution need to be changed in order to guarantee more political stability? If so, what constitutional amendments you propose?
SS: I think that nobody really knows what is going to happen. Nobody knows if Donald Trump wins what’s going to happen, if he loses is he going to give up power. These people obviously don’t respect the constitution cause they’ve been violating our constitutional rights. I don’t think amending a document they don’t respect is going to give us any more rights or powers than we do. The Trump administration and all of his buddies don’t care about morals or the constitution. It’s really bleak, but the federal government has fallen. That is a reality. We’re in uncharted territory. How do you recover democracy after fascism? Can you just go in and make a few tweaks?
ZG: What are ways you would address issues of voter suppression?
SS: We need more polling stations. I believe it should be a national holiday. I believe you should be able to leave work and leave school. We should make it easier to vote by mail especially for people with disabilities. I think abolishing the electoral college and moving towards rank-choiced voting to help chip away of this binary party fold so people don’t think if their candidate loses they’ve wasted their votes. There’s people who have already voted and then their candidate dropped out. That’s not fair.
ZG: You’ve stated you support abolishing prisons. Can you further articulate just exactly what that means?
SS: We have a prison industrial complex. The school to prison pipeline. This is just institutionalized slavery for the most part. That’s what it is. We have so many people incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. I would like to move towards restorative justice. There are prison models based in places like Norway that are built around rehabilitation that aren’t abound in imprisoning and dehumanizing them. Its about engaging them and bolstering them to become whole people. Our system is the opposite. We just strip the humanity from people through abuse. That’s just state-sanctioned violence.
ZG: How do you go about articulating prison abolition to the average person who can’t conceive of such a thing?
SS: I think it comes down to showing that there are alternatives that have been really really successful throughout the course of human history. Most people think this is the only option. And that’s just not true, I think its about bringing in a diversity of ideas to the floor. We need to be using the same strategies as Medicare 4 All and referencing its success in other countries.
ZG: Do you think there is any class of crime that necessitates incapacitation in prison? Like, if you’re a serial killer lets just lock you up forever.
SS: I think even if we’re talking about serial killers that doesn’t mean that we should have institutionalized torture chambers for them. That’s not humane. Do I believe that you could have someone who needed life-long incarceration because they didn’t respond to rehabilitative methods, yes that could absolutely happen. But those people could still stay in an environment that is not abusive or dehumanizing. That’s not a requirement for prison. I think that’s the thing most people don’t understand? You don’t have to beat, rape, and abuse people and cage them and starve them and put them in solitary: that is all optional. That’s a choice and a poor one at that.
ZG: What are specific policies you have to address mass incarceration?
SS: I think just decriminalizing drugs and sex work would get a lot of people out of prison and keep them out. We need to direct these people to resources that are actually supportive and actually cause people to be rehabilitative instead of being sucked up in a cycle of fines, fees, incarceration, and poverty.
ZG: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
SS: We’ve covered a lot. The most important thing to me is to remind everyone that nobody is coming to save us. That hoping & praying for federal legislation that wouldn’t even be able to be enacted immediately doesn’t solve the problem that we actually need organizing and networking now. We mutual aid; we need harm reduction; we need crisis intervention. And we can’t rely on government to fund these things because we have to create these networks ourselves if were going to survive. I hate this idea of politicians making all these promises, like “if you elect me ill get you all of this stuff.” That’s not how it works, especially now. Not for the House of Representatives cause we can’t get things through the Senate. So I cant make any promises in that regard, except that ill fight like hell for you.
Honestly, its local politics. People need to get involved in city council and county boards. City politics controls law enforcement. County boards are stuff related to affordable housing, public health, disaster response. We need more people in working in those areas to bolster our safety services.
Stefanie Smith will be running against opponent Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in the Tuesday, March 17th, 2020 Democratic primary.
