hardboiled

proposition 6 & 9

breaking through the bars

Chances are you haven’t even heard about Propositions 6 and 9 on this November’s ballot. And if you have, it has more than likely been in terms of its impact on African American and Latino populations.

Proposition 6, labeled as the “safe neighborhoods act” by its supporters, seeks to clean up our streets by pouring billions into the prison industry complex. Furthermore it expands the definition of and imposes harsher sentences for “gang” related offences and drug offenses. Its main target: poor youth of color. The result: more minorities behind bars.

How could the situation get any worse for the blacks and Latinos? Proposition 9, created to reform the California justice system, seeks to save taxpayers money by increasing the maximum time between parole hearings from 5 to 15 years. Under this new legislation, early release is even less likely, meaning more blacks and Latinos in prison for longer periods of time. Compound this with the already skyrocketing and disproportionate rates of incarceration among black and Latino populations and the decrepit state of social services in California, and it’s not too hard to imagine the devastating impact that such a proposition would have on these minority communities.

But where do Asian Americans fit into this picture? As the minority group with the lowest incarceration rates and highest average income why should we, to put it frankly, give a damn? After all, we made it; why didn’t they?

Let us ignore for a moment the obvious moral problem of simply “standing by” as Latino and black populations---who form the backbone of California’s economy by doing all the shit that that is vital to making this state livable--- are racially profiled, criminalized, and incarcerated. Let’s pretend for a moment that we only care about saving our own asses. The question becomes: how will these propositions affect us, as Asian Americans?

Firstly, Propositions 6 and 9 are fiscal disasters. Proposed during a time of epic, economic fuck-ups, they seek to spend billions of dollars a year (from California’s general fund) on programs that would take away limited and precious resources from the social and educational services that we (including you middle-class Asian Americans out there!) take advantage of daily. Yet despite all this spending, Proposition 9 suffers from a lack of oversight and accountability. Similarly, Proposition 6 will create and allocate millions of dollars to numerous boards, committees and councils---useless and costly governmental structures which the independent California Legislative Analyst (the nonpartisan fiscal and policy analysts for the California Legislature) found to have “no definable goals” and “no identifiable results.” On top of that, none of these committees, at the state or local level, will include representatives from organizations who work directly with the “at-risk” youth that these programs seek to help which begs the question: how effectively is our money being used under this proposition? Proposition 9 will similarly impact taxpayers by delaying parole hearings for up to 15 years, thus blocking responsible release programs and overcrowding prisons. Without providing any sources of funding to pay for solutions to our overused prison system, priority must be given to the construction of more prison facilities while our health care system, public safety programs, educational services, and firefighting programs continue to suffer. Not to sound like another vinyl recording of Britney Spears wailing about her comeback on repeat ---in other words, a broken record (OH SNAP!)---but in a time of global financial crisis can we, as taxpayers, tolerate such careless and thoughtless spending?

However, this bill does not just affect Asian Americans as law-abiding taxpayers and students. News flash: Asian Americans also suffer from systematic problems like poverty, mental and physical health inequalities, language barriers, and unemployment---the very issues that cause crime and gangs to flourish. I am specifically talking about Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders, who are incarcerated at higher rates than their white counterparts. According to a study done in 2006 entitled “Profiling Incarcerated Asian and Pacific Islander Youth,” API youths in California are “twice as likely to be incarcerated relative to their share of the age-appropriate population.”

Furthermore there is significant Southeast Asian involvement in gangs. Originally created as a source of community and protection, gangs today include large numbers of Laotian and Vietnamese youth. Proposition 6 particularly affects the Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities by expanding the definition of gang-related activities and imposing harsher sentences for those “gang members” who are convicted---including the provision that states that children as young as 14 can be tried as adults. In an act of lunacy, Proposition 6 calls for the expansion of the legal definition of gang-related activity to include such non-violent offences as graffiti and “wrongfully obtaining DMV documentation”.

Which brings me to my last point: These propositions target not only poor people of color, but immigrants as well. According to David Steinhart, Director of the nonprofit Commonweal Juvenile Justice Program, Proposition 6 has a “disproportionate impact on immigrant populations.” This is mostly due to the expansion of the definition of gang-related activities to include such acts as “the unlawful use of personal identifying information.” Through this proposition, immigrants are not only criminalized (what’s new?), but are also reclassified as gang members as far as the California legal system is concerned. Sound a little harsh? Proposition 6 also mandates background checks for those living in public housing, and when caught, immigrants in our state “illegally” would be denied bail. Under this law it is unclear exactly which legal entity will be responsible for the intricate and complex determination of someone’s legality, but what is certain is that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be notified of the individual’s detainment.

Make no mistake; these bills are not about crime and gang prevention. Almost every criminal justice study of “high crime communities” has determined that a multifaceted approach---that includes community workers, mental health solutions, and substance abuse services---is the best solution to the crime problem facing our communities. Propositions 6 and 9 fail to address the fundamental sources of inequality and crime that affect the Asian American population. They unjustly criminalize Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and are a burden on the Asian American, middle-class taxpayers. On November 4th, vote NO on Props 6 and 9.