{"id":3293,"date":"2020-12-21T19:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=141982"},"modified":"2020-12-21T19:06:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:06:00","slug":"2020-exposed-the-myth-of-american-security-the-security-state-not-only-failed-to-keep-us-safe-but-worsened-the-coronavirus-pandemic-and-unleashed-violenc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/21\/2020-exposed-the-myth-of-american-security-the-security-state-not-only-failed-to-keep-us-safe-but-worsened-the-coronavirus-pandemic-and-unleashed-violenc\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 Exposed the Myth of American \u201cSecurity\u201d \u2013 The \u201csecurity state\u201d not only failed to keep us safe, but worsened the coronavirus pandemic and unleashed violence on the people hardest hit."},"content":{"rendered":"
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If there\u2019s one cen\u00adtral les\u00adson to take from 2020<\/span>, it\u2019s that the coun\u00adtry with the most well-fund\u00aded \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty state\u201d in the world is also one of the least secure places on Earth. Fac\u00ading a dead\u00adly pan\u00addem\u00adic that rav\u00adaged the globe, the Unit\u00aded States leads the world in over\u00adall deaths, and is fourth<\/a> in deaths per 100<\/span>,000<\/span> peo\u00adple. Our cut\u00adting-edge, top-of-the-line, tril\u00adlion-dol\u00adlar \u200b\u201c<\/span>nation\u00adal secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d appa\u00adra\u00adtus was not only help\u00adless in the face of an actu\u00adal dan\u00adger, but repeat\u00aded\u00adly made that dan\u00adger far worse by fore\u00adclos\u00ading on a more humane social response\u2009\u2014\u2009and unleash\u00ading vio\u00adlence on the very peo\u00adple hard\u00adest hit.<\/p>\n

This hor\u00adrif\u00adic fact should be a wake up call that chal\u00adlenges the very premis\u00ades of how we per\u00adceive \u200b\u201c<\/span>threats\u201d and dan\u00adger as we enter the 2020<\/span>s.<\/p>\n

The con\u00adcept of \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d is an orga\u00adniz\u00ading prin\u00adci\u00adple behind how the U.S. gov\u00adern\u00adment allo\u00adcates pub\u00adlic resources. The U.S. mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adget is, by a long shot, the most heav\u00adi\u00adly fund\u00aded in the world\u2009\u2014\u2009larg\u00ader than the mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adgets of the next 10<\/span> coun\u00adtries com\u00adbined. Accord\u00ading to<\/a> the Nation\u00adal Pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adties Project, in 2019<\/span>, the mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adget account\u00aded for 53<\/span>% of the entire fed\u00ader\u00adal dis\u00adcre\u00adtionary bud\u00adget, which Con\u00adgress deter\u00admines through the appro\u00adpri\u00ada\u00adtions process every year. This per\u00adcent\u00adage jumps con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adably when you con\u00adsid\u00ader the \u200b\u201c<\/span>mil\u00adi\u00adta\u00adrized\u201d bud\u00adget that encom\u00adpass\u00ades spend\u00ading on U.S. wars, impris\u00adon\u00adment, the war on drugs and immi\u00adgra\u00adtion crack\u00addown (the Nation\u00adal Pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adties Project put<\/a> the \u200b\u201c<\/span>mil\u00adi\u00adta\u00adrized bud\u00adget\u201d at 64<\/span>.5<\/span>% of dis\u00adcre\u00adtionary fed\u00ader\u00adal spend\u00ading in 2019<\/span>). Ear\u00adli\u00ader this month, as unem\u00adploy\u00adment soared and Amer\u00adi\u00adcans wait\u00aded in miles-long bread\u00adlines for food, Con\u00adgress over\u00adwhelm\u00ading\u00adly passed a $740<\/span> bil\u00adlion Nation\u00adal Defense Autho\u00adriza\u00adtion Act for 2021<\/span>. House Speak\u00ader Nan\u00adcy Pelosi (D\u2011Calif.) praised<\/a> the mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adget from the House floor, say\u00ading it \u200b\u201c<\/span>strength\u00adens our secu\u00adri\u00adty.\u201d (Pres\u00adi\u00addent Trump has threat\u00adened to veto the NDAA over key griev\u00adances<\/a>, includ\u00ading his insis\u00adtence on the inclu\u00adsion of a pro\u00advi\u00adsion pro\u00adhibit\u00ading the renam\u00ading of mil\u00adi\u00adtary bases that give trib\u00adute to Con\u00adfed\u00ader\u00adate figures.)<\/p>\n

Mil\u00adi\u00adta\u00adriza\u00adtion trick\u00adles to the state and local lev\u00adels, and is used to fund mas\u00adsive prison and law enforce\u00adment infra\u00adstruc\u00adture. Rough\u00adly 0<\/span>.7<\/span>% of peo\u00adple in the Unit\u00aded States are in local jail, or fed\u00ader\u00adal or state prison. As the Prison Pol\u00adi\u00adcy Ini\u00adtia\u00adtive notes<\/a>, \u200b\u201c<\/span>If this num\u00adber seems unwor\u00adthy of the term \u200b\u2018<\/span>mass incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion,\u2019 con\u00adsid\u00ader that 0<\/span>.7<\/span>% is just shy of 1<\/span>%, or one out of a hun\u00addred.\u201d Like the U.S. mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adget, this impris\u00adon\u00adment appa\u00adra\u00adtus is unri\u00advaled glob\u00adal\u00adly: The Unit\u00aded States accounts for less than 5<\/span>% of the world\u2019s pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion, but 20<\/span>% of the world\u2019s incar\u00adcer\u00adat\u00aded pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. Mean\u00adwhile, polic\u00ading con\u00adtin\u00adues to account for a mas\u00adsive chunk of munic\u00adi\u00adpal bud\u00adgets. Accord\u00ading to Sludge\u2019<\/em>s June 2020<\/span> analy\u00adsis<\/a> of 473<\/span> U.S. cities, \u200b\u201c<\/span>spend\u00ading on police takes up almost one-third of munic\u00adi\u00adpal bud\u00adgets,\u201d a num\u00adber that climbs even high\u00ader in poor cities.<\/p>\n

This spend\u00ading, we are told over and over again, is nec\u00ades\u00adsary to pro\u00adtect Amer\u00adi\u00adcans from dan\u00adger. The pri\u00adma\u00adry role of the state, accord\u00ading to this frame\u00adwork, is to pro\u00advide \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009from a \u200b\u201c<\/span>for\u00adeign ene\u00admy,\u201d \u200b\u201c<\/span>crim\u00adi\u00adnals,\u201d or some \u200b\u201c<\/span>oth\u00ader\u201d who alleged\u00adly pos\u00ades an exis\u00adten\u00adtial threat to the safe\u00adty and well\u00adbe\u00ading of Amer\u00adi\u00adcans. Each of these insti\u00adtu\u00adtions\u2009\u2014\u2009prison sys\u00adtems, police depart\u00adments, the U.S. mil\u00adi\u00adtary, the Depart\u00adment of Home\u00adland Secu\u00adri\u00adty\u2009\u2014\u2009comes with its own well-fund\u00aded press depart\u00adment that tells the pub\u00adlic the dan\u00adger is great, and their ser\u00advices are need\u00aded now more than ever. This mes\u00adsage echoes from the high\u00adest ech\u00ade\u00adlons of U.S. polit\u00adi\u00adcal pow\u00ader, as demon\u00adstrat\u00aded when Trump declared<\/a> in March that Covid-19<\/span> is \u200b\u201c<\/span>our big war. It\u2019s a med\u00adical war. We have to win this war. It\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It\u2019s impor\u00adtant to make clear that the coro\u00adn\u00adavirus pan\u00addem\u00adic wasn\u2019t a \u200b\u201c<\/span>black swan<\/a>\u201d event\u2009\u2014\u2009some act of god out of the blue that we couldn\u2019t have pos\u00adsi\u00adbly pre\u00adpared for. Rather, it was pre\u00addict\u00aded by health offi\u00adcials<\/a> and sci\u00aden\u00adtists<\/a> for years<\/a>. Bill Gates even made a video about U.S. vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty to the pan\u00addem\u00adic for Vox<\/em> in 2015<\/span><\/a>. This wasn\u2019t a ran\u00addom event, it was both pre\u00addictable and banal in its inevitably. But there\u2019s not a lot of mon\u00adey to be made by weapons con\u00adtrac\u00adtors in bor\u00ading pan\u00addem\u00adic prepa\u00adra\u00adtions, nor is there a lot of new sur\u00adveil\u00adlance pow\u00aders to be seized, so lit\u00adtle fund\u00ading went into pan\u00addem\u00adic pre\u00adven\u00adtion. Instead, emo\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly charged fear mon\u00adger\u00ading that fuels U.S. expan\u00adsion and pow\u00ader\u2009\u2014\u2009over the threat of \u200b\u201c<\/span>ter\u00adror\u00adism,\u201d or the specter of Russ\u00adian or Chi\u00adnese glob\u00adal dom\u00adi\u00adnance\u2009\u2014\u2009won the day and monop\u00ado\u00adlized our \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adties. This is despite the fact that \u200b\u201c<\/span>ter\u00adror\u00adists\u201d kill few\u00ader peo\u00adple in the U.S. per year than fur\u00adni\u00adture<\/a>, and the mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading of Rus\u00adsia and Chi\u00adna are still triv\u00adial com\u00adpared to that of the Unit\u00aded States.<\/p>\n

When it became clear the Covid-19<\/span> pan\u00addem\u00adic posed an exis\u00adten\u00adtial threat to actu\u00adal human beings, not only was this bloat\u00aded secu\u00adri\u00adty appa\u00adra\u00adtus use\u00adless in pro\u00adtect\u00ading peo\u00adple, it became a vec\u00adtor of harm, mea\u00adsur\u00adably wors\u00aden\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic. The U.S.-Saudi mil\u00adi\u00adtary coali\u00adtion con\u00adtin\u00adued bomb\u00ading Yemen<\/a> even as the out\u00adbreak raged, with Yemen\u2019s med\u00adical sys\u00adtem already dev\u00adas\u00adtat\u00aded<\/a> by more than five years of relent\u00adless war. Accord\u00ading to<\/a> the groups Physi\u00adcians for Human Rights and Mwatana for Human Rights, there have been at least 120<\/span> attacks on med\u00adical facil\u00adi\u00adties between March 2015<\/span> and the end of 2018<\/span>, leav\u00ading the coun\u00adtry espe\u00adcial\u00adly ill-pre\u00adpared to deal with the pan\u00addem\u00adic. The impe\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal U.S. appa\u00adra\u00adtus, strength\u00adened by its bloat\u00aded mil\u00adi\u00adtary, imposed dev\u00adas\u00adtat\u00ading sanc\u00adtions in the midst of a pan\u00addem\u00adic, ratch\u00adet\u00ading them up<\/a> in Iran as doc\u00adtors begged for relief, because they were unable<\/a> to get basic med\u00adical sup\u00adplies to treat an explod\u00ading out\u00adbreak in the coun\u00adtry. Now that there\u2019s a Covid-19<\/span> vac\u00adcine, Iran\u00adian offi\u00adcials say<\/a> max\u00adi\u00admum pres\u00adsure sanc\u00adtions are pre\u00advent\u00ading them from pur\u00adchas\u00ading the Covid-19<\/span> vac\u00adcine. The usu\u00adal vio\u00adlence of U.S. mil\u00adi\u00adtarism is now being unleashed on a world that is going through a dev\u00adas\u00adtat\u00ading and glob\u00adal\u00adly inter\u00adcon\u00adnect\u00aded cri\u00adsis, where an out\u00adbreak any\u00adwhere affects peo\u00adple every\u00adwhere. The con\u00adcept of \u200b\u201c<\/span>nation\u00adal secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d begins to break down in the face of a cri\u00adsis that\u2019s fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly international.<\/p>\n

With\u00adin the Unit\u00aded States, the carcer\u00adal sys\u00adtem has proven to be one of the most harm\u00adful vec\u00adtors of Covid-19<\/span> trans\u00admis\u00adsion. The Mar\u00adshall Project<\/em> and Asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded Press<\/em> joint\u00adly report\u00aded<\/a> on Decem\u00adber 18<\/span> that one in five peo\u00adple incar\u00adcer\u00adat\u00aded in fed\u00ader\u00adal pris\u00adons has test\u00aded pos\u00adi\u00adtive for Covid-19<\/span>\u2009\u2014\u2009a rate four times greater than the gen\u00ader\u00adal pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. \u200b\u201c<\/span>In some states, more than half of pris\u00adon\u00aders have been infect\u00aded,\u201d the report notes, adding, \u200b\u201c<\/span>Near\u00adly every prison sys\u00adtem in the coun\u00adtry has seen infec\u00adtion rates sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly high\u00ader than the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties around them.\u201d Peo\u00adple impris\u00adoned in Kansas and Arkansas, for exam\u00adple, are eight times as like\u00adly to con\u00adtract Covid-19<\/span> than their sur\u00adround\u00ading com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adties. The same holds true for peo\u00adple detained by Immi\u00adgra\u00adtion and Cus\u00adtoms Enforce\u00adment (ICE): A study<\/a> pub\u00adlished in JAMA<\/em> found that, from April to August 2020<\/span>, the Covid-19<\/span> rate among peo\u00adple detained by ICE was 13<\/span> times greater than the gen\u00ader\u00adal pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. These out\u00adbreaks are not only dan\u00adger\u00adous and dead\u00adly for peo\u00adple who are locked up, but they spread the virus through broad\u00ader soci\u00adety. In just one exam\u00adple, Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Chica\u00adgo researchers found<\/a> in June that Cook Coun\u00adty Jail in Chica\u00adgo is respon\u00adsi\u00adble for 15<\/span>.7<\/span>% of all doc\u00adu\u00adment\u00aded Covid-19<\/span> cas\u00ades in Illi\u00adnois. Despite the mea\u00adsur\u00adable infec\u00adtions and deaths that spread through the U.S. incar\u00adcer\u00ada\u00adtion sys\u00adtem, local, state and fed\u00ader\u00adal offi\u00adcials have over\u00adwhelm\u00ading\u00adly resist\u00aded calls to free peo\u00adple from prison.<\/p>\n

And then, of course, there are the police beat\u00adings and killings that have con\u00adtin\u00adued through\u00adout the pan\u00addem\u00adic, dis\u00adpro\u00adpor\u00adtion\u00adate\u00adly tar\u00adget\u00ading Black peo\u00adple\u2009\u2014\u2009the very pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion hit dis\u00adpro\u00adpor\u00adtion\u00adate\u00adly hard\u00adest by Covid-19<\/span> deaths<\/a> and eco\u00adnom\u00adic dev\u00adas\u00adta\u00adtion<\/a>. Peo\u00adple who took to the streets over the sum\u00admer cry\u00ading out for dig\u00adni\u00adty, racial jus\u00adtice and the right to live were ruth\u00adless\u00adly beat\u00aden<\/a> by the same police depart\u00adments equipped with our military\u2019s \u200b\u201c<\/span>sur\u00adplus\u201d sup\u00adplies, then thrown in Covid-19<\/span> infest\u00aded jails. Yet Black Lives Mat\u00adter pro\u00adtest\u00aders turned out again and again, forced to endan\u00adger their own safe\u00adty in the mid\u00addle of a pan\u00addem\u00adic to address the scourge of police violence.<\/p>\n

The very insti\u00adtu\u00adtions that we are told exist to keep Amer\u00adi\u00adcans \u200b\u201c<\/span>safe\u201d have, in fact, wors\u00adened the most dan\u00adger\u00adous and fright\u00aden\u00ading pan\u00addem\u00adic of our life\u00adtimes. And a gov\u00adern\u00adment that pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adtizes allo\u00adcat\u00ading funds to this \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d state has stran\u00adgled the actu\u00adal social pro\u00adgrams that would have allowed us to mit\u00adi\u00adgate and con\u00adtain the harms of this cri\u00adsis much more effec\u00adtive\u00adly. The best way to get the cri\u00adsis under con\u00adtrol would be to sim\u00adply pay peo\u00adple to stay home\u2009\u2014\u2009i.e. give them a way to pay rent, eat and avoid eco\u00adnom\u00adic des\u00adti\u00adtu\u00adtion while sur\u00adviv\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic. But, from the begin\u00adning, the idea of robust month\u00adly pay\u00adments was ruled out by both Demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic<\/a> and Repub\u00adli\u00adcan lead\u00aders alike. Mean\u00adwhile, Medicare for All\u2009\u2014\u2009a uni\u00adver\u00adsal, sin\u00adgle-pay\u00ader health\u00adcare sys\u00adtem\u2009\u2014\u2009has been declared out of bounds by an incom\u00ading Biden admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion over \u200b\u201c<\/span>deficit\u201d con\u00adcerns<\/a>, even as tens of mil\u00adlions<\/a> of Amer\u00adi\u00adcans are forced to go through the pan\u00addem\u00adic with no health insur\u00adance. Stim\u00adu\u00adlus spend\u00ading has brought some relief, includ\u00ading expand\u00aded unem\u00adploy\u00adment insur\u00adance and one-off checks. But this relief spend\u00ading has been a small pit\u00adtance com\u00adpared to what\u2019s need\u00aded. A fed\u00ader\u00adal gov\u00adern\u00adment that has no prob\u00adlem churn\u00ading out mas\u00adsive mil\u00adi\u00adtary bud\u00adgets year after year has not been able to come togeth\u00ader to fund a gen\u00aduine human\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan response to the Covid-19<\/span> cri\u00adsis that has left more than 300<\/span>,000<\/span> peo\u00adple in the Unit\u00aded States dead.<\/p>\n

The same holds true for local gov\u00adern\u00adments that are hell-bent on keep\u00ading police bud\u00adgets high, even dur\u00ading the pan\u00addem\u00adic. As Indi\u00adgo Olivi\u00ader report\u00aded<\/a> for In These Times<\/em> in July, \u200b\u201c<\/span>Faced with mass teacher lay\u00adoffs, deep cuts to edu\u00adca\u00adtion and social ser\u00advices, and a loom\u00ading evic\u00adtion cri\u00adsis, police bud\u00adgets across the nation remain absurd\u00adly high and have been large\u00adly insu\u00adlat\u00aded from Covid-induced belt-tight\u00aden\u00ading.\u201d From Phoenix to San Diego to Louisville, Ky., numer\u00adous munic\u00adi\u00adpal\u00adi\u00adties have even increased their annu\u00adal police bud\u00adgets in the mid\u00addle of the pan\u00addem\u00adic, defy\u00ading pro\u00adtest\u00aders\u2019 demands to defund the police.<\/p>\n

We are told repeat\u00aded\u00adly that the U.S. secu\u00adri\u00adty state is the best insti\u00adtu\u00adtion for respond\u00ading to social crises, whether it\u2019s the pan\u00addem\u00adic, nat\u00adur\u00adal dis\u00adas\u00adters, the social tur\u00admoil of pover\u00adty or the com\u00ading cli\u00admate cat\u00ada\u00adstro\u00adphe. And with each new cri\u00adsis, the secu\u00adri\u00adty state is fur\u00adther for\u00adti\u00adfied and bol\u00adstered, no mat\u00adter how great its fail\u00adures. This dev\u00adas\u00adtat\u00ading year demands that we stop for a moment and ask why the pre\u00adem\u00adi\u00adnent secu\u00adri\u00adty state in the world failed to pro\u00adtect its peo\u00adple from a great and press\u00ading dan\u00adger. And the only answer is that true \u200b\u201c<\/span>secu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d can\u00adnot be found in aer\u00adi\u00adal bom\u00adbard\u00adments or prison cells or police deploy\u00adments: It must emanate from the exact oppo\u00adsite\u2009\u2014\u2009a civil\u00adian, sol\u00adi\u00addaris\u00adtic response to social crises, premised on the prin\u00adci\u00adple that all our fates are bound togeth\u00ader, and no one is dispensable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s one cen\u00adtral les\u00adson to take from 2020, it\u2019s that the coun\u00adtry with the most well-fund\u00aded \u200b\u201csecu\u00adri\u00adty state\u201d in the world is also one of the least\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3294,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3293\/revisions\/3294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}