Wisc. 'Queer Theory' Prof: Police Are an 'Occupying Force;' 'No Police Interaction' Reasonable Request

anthony.christopher | August 6, 2015
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"Queer Theory" professor Karma Chàvez and fellow taxpayer-gouging studies professor Sara McKinnon recently co-authored a letter to the Capital Times (progressive Wisconsin news outlet) titled "Sara L. McKinnon and Karma Chàvez: Request for no police interaction is reasonable."

In the letter, they start off with this: 

"Dear Editor: We write this as a white lesbian woman and a light-skinned queer Chicana in solidarity with the Young Gifted and Black Coalition. We’ve lived in Madison now for nearly five years and we have had NO interaction with the police. We haven’t done anything to make that happen. We simply live in a nice east side neighborhood, have good university jobs, are gender conforming, and have light skin. There are many neighborhoods in Madison where the police are a nonpresence. In those parts of town, the police are only reactive — they show up when called, and are never proactive — they don’t patrol the streets presuming the presence of suspicious or criminal behavior. In the neighborhood we live in, we are never surveilled, there are no patrols, and no checkpoints. It is as if there are no police."

The letter continues with outrage over how Police Chief Mike Koval handled the open letter request from the Young Gifted and Black Coalition: 

"Because we have the privilege of no interaction with the police, we were surprised at Police Chief Mike Koval’s response to the Young Gifted and Black Coalition’s open letter, which, among other things, named its desire to have no interaction with the police. Koval framed this request as outlandish, unreasonable and downright impossible. But we have to wonder why, if we can live a police-free life, Koval imagines it as an impossibility for black people to have the same. And furthermore, if we were a part of a minority group in town that was eight times more likely to be arrested than the majority, we would certainly experience those doing the arresting as an occupying force too"

The letter ends with stating that her request is not unreasonable:

"It is not an unreasonable request because for many of us in this city, it is already the reality. We also call on other nonblack people in Madison to think about the privilege of living without an occupying force in your neighborhood. If you, like us, recognize that this is a privilege that all should enjoy, voice your solidarity with the Young Gifted and Black Coalition in their pursuit of self-determination."

Police are now seen in the world of leftism as "occupiers" 

Do Karma Chàvez and Sara McKinnon know what happens if police officers aren't out patrolling and instead sitting inside all day until called? Emergency response times are delayed and lives are put in jeopardy. 

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