Social Death 1+2

Lisa Marie Cachos book Social death is a response to the the system of racialized rightlessness. She expands on issues related to vulnerability and criminality, but from different disciplines, like sociology, criminology, race, media. She crosses all these disciplines already in her foreword, when she describes the medial representation of the similar actions affected victims took after the hurricane Katrina. The dichotomy „how human value is made intelligible through racialized, sexualized, spatialized, and state- sanctioned violences (4).
The first chapter discusses the incident of six white Californian teenagers, attacking four Mexican migrant workers. Interesting is the connection of legality and illegality dichotomy with race. The migrants are observed isolated from personhood, their status is perceived as an offense itself, and the crime is therefore deserved. She also analyses the gang dynamic. It is interesting because the double standard of the law is subject here. One can remain subject to it, but be excluded from protection.
It made me think about the hate crime law, which for example was invented to protect marginalized groups in particular, which nevertheless, at the same, still time measures crimes in relation to the affected body.
In Chapter two, Cacho presents the case of Kim Ho Ma. The Cambodian refugee was subject to deportation, after being pronounced guilty of murder. The meaning of freedom is especially challenged in this chapter. As a refugee Ma became stateless status, and could not be deported. His refugee status made him automatically a noncitizen. This means that there is actually no freedom for refugees like Ma, if misconduct is immediately punished with deportation. It seems like these groups are just in the States for a permanent tryout.
Chapter three and four were especially interesting to me, after the recent attacks in Paris, as well as the episode of the Dreamers we watched in class. Cacho describes American media representations of Muslims after the 9/11 attacks. Again citizenship and personhood are facing one another. Personhood is not something naturally given. It seems like it is exclusive to certain groups of people, for everybody else it rather has to be earned.
In chapter four Cacho describes the case of an illegal migrant worker, Elvira Arellano. She is illegally in the US, whereas her child is an American citizen. The chapter does again present also media, which chooses a certain way to represent. In this case African American and undocumented migrants are standing across from each, which in the end leaves the white majority undisturbed exploitation.
The last chapter deals with the death of the authors cousin, in a drunk-driving accident.
Cacho discusses the racialization in the US. The legal system treats based on race, dependent on their status as well.
moreover, her case studies are just examples that could be found in any other ‘western’- country in the world. The refugees arriving in Europe just now will just go through this process and will probably face similar devaluations. And especially after the attacks in Paris some political fights, will be fought on the refugees back. Already now, refugees become the scapegoats for the terror, the already difficult process of entering Europe is subject to be debated. At the same time, the burning of one of the refugee camps in France, was barely covered by media. Although nobody got hurt, this event would have emphasized the victim position of the refugees. Furthermore, the worldwide reactions to this attack show one more time how bodies value is differentiated. Cacho encourages with her contribution on racialization for the reader to move beyond the systems, she “centers the responsibility to reckon with those deemed dangerous, undeserving, and unintelligible“ (168).