,
9 tweets,
4 min read
Read on Twitter
I did my dissertation on #ConcentrationCamps, so I have a few thoughts about @AOC's use of the term to describe the build up of camps on the US southern border. For those in a hurry, here's the take-home message: By any reasonable definition, these are concentration camps
Why are they called concentration camps? well, to state the obvious, it's because large numbers of people are "concentrated" in camps. A better question is, why don't we just call them prisons? We don't say "prisons" because prisons are a part of the formal legal system.
Follow me on this: The immigrants detained in concentration camps are intended to be OUTSIDE the formal legal system. Once removed from the #CriminalJusticeSystem the state is largely free to do whatever it wants. As Hannah Arendt might say, "everything is possible."
And this is what makes #ConcentrationCamps so terrifying. Detainees have no Privilege of habeas corpus (i.e., to be charged or let go). They can be held indefinitely, unable to see their family & denied the psychological comfort of knowing when & if they will ever see them again
It gets worse though. Because detainees of #ConcentrationCamps are outside the formal legal system, they are vulnerable to a whole host of other abuses. The history of #ConcentrationCamps is a history of people experiencing abuse, from torture to experimentation to sterilization
When people hear about #ConcentrationCamps they think about the Nazis, but here's a bit of U.S. history (I'm looking at you @Liz_Cheney), many of the ghastly practices that found their way into Nazi concentration camps, were inspired by the US books.google.com/books?id=1lvbU…
It may be uncomfortable for Americans to think about, but the fact is that not only do the camps on the US southern border fit the definition of #ConcentrationCamps, the U.S. has a well documented history of creating such spaces outside law.
The German American internment camps of the early 20th century, the Japanese American camps of the mid-20th century, and the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base at the turn of the new century--these are all examples of #ConcentrationCamps.
But the detainees in these camps are all guilty, right? Well, no, but I would also submit that people can't be guilty if they've never been charged with a crime and have never stood trial. @AOC is right. We should all be deathly afraid of the proliferation of these camps.
