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Daniel Holtzclaw Case & Black Womens Fight to be Victims
Atlanta Black Star article that touches on historical treatment of black women and standard stereotypes of black women in America and why Daniel Holtzclaw is probably going to get away with it.
*trigger warning - I didn't pull details of the assaults into this snippet but some of the description at the article could be hurtful - click link with care*
https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/11/19/the-daniel-holtzclaw-case-and-black-womens-fight-to-be-victims/
The spectators who fail to intervene also categorize Black women as insignificant, unworthy, and of lesser value than white women. Now Black women are dehumanized and in this dehumanized state, spectators find it easy to watch them suffer. Until we value the health and well-being of those who are oppressed, victimized and exploited, we cannot profess to be warriors of humanity — indeed a society must be judged by the way it treats its vulnerable.
The women in this case are vulnerable — all 13 of them — and the repeated and systematic manipulation of that vulnerability, which in turn caused these women to be exposed to grotesque sexual violence in the first place, means that these women are victims and they should be understood to be victims irrespective of mistakes they’ve made in the past. Indeed, these women have been subject to violence that is synonymous with the ugliness seen in nightmares. To then face degradation and humiliation in a court room only adds to the unbearable trauma and pain that they’ve already endured, and continue to deal with.
Understanding that Black women are victims also means challenging stereotypes about their strength and resilience. It means accepting that they are inherently human and fragile. It means understanding that sexual violence leaves one traumatized, paralyzed and in need of long-term therapy and care. We cannot assume that Black women are immune to the tragic consequences of sexual violence. In making this assumption we undermine their humanity and dignity.
Black women are always fighting— fighting for better pay, better housing, access to education, and employment. Black women are also fighting to keep their husbands out of jail and their children out of the school-to-prison pipeline
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The women in this case are vulnerable — all 13 of them — and the repeated and systematic manipulation of that vulnerability, which in turn caused these women to be exposed to grotesque sexual violence in the first place, means that these women are victims and they should be understood to be victims irrespective of mistakes they’ve made in the past. Indeed, these women have been subject to violence that is synonymous with the ugliness seen in nightmares. To then face degradation and humiliation in a court room only adds to the unbearable trauma and pain that they’ve already endured, and continue to deal with.
Understanding that Black women are victims also means challenging stereotypes about their strength and resilience. It means accepting that they are inherently human and fragile. It means understanding that sexual violence leaves one traumatized, paralyzed and in need of long-term therapy and care. We cannot assume that Black women are immune to the tragic consequences of sexual violence. In making this assumption we undermine their humanity and dignity.
Black women are always fighting— fighting for better pay, better housing, access to education, and employment. Black women are also fighting to keep their husbands out of jail and their children out of the school-to-prison pipeline
Earlier thread on this case by La Lioness Priyanka
The Rape Trial Everyone in America Should Be Watching (Cross posted in GD)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/118731966
10 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Like the author of this piece, I didn't expect any justice for the women who suffered at the hands of this piece of "human" filth.
So glad that I was wrong. 
