Thread by @PantheaLee

2 months ago, #ChristinaYunaLee's death rocked me. my group chats filled with tips on buying mace & coupons for personal alarms. but i knew my sisters deserved more. so i set out to explore the military, cultural, psychosocial history of this violence—& what justice might mean 🧵

https://twitter.com/thenation/status/1516064100824010758

i learned from historian Paul Kramer on the origins & legacy of military-sexual imperialism (American, British, more) & how state-sanctioned violence against women in Asia was justified as a matter of military necessity. the impacts are alive & well today.
apjjf.org/2011/9/30/Paul…

i reflected with filmmaker & cultural scholar @CelineShimizu on how tropes of Asian women—servile, submissive, suffering, and thus uniquely “sexy"—have been recycled for over a century. this very specific type of violence now permeates our cultural waters.
dukeupress.edu/the-hypersexua…

with forensic psychiatrist Elizabeth Ford, i deconstructed officials arguments blaming these murders on mental illness. treating perpetrators as aberrations is a convenient way to shirk culpability, where in fact our state & media are responsible for conditioning & goading them.

i explored where we go from here with public defender @CriticalRace, on learning from history in pursuit of true justice: "Justice is more than just prosecution & jails. Justice is transforming our systems & conditions so we can stop violence altogether." thenation.com/article/societ…

deeply grateful to @Mlsif for believing in this story; @ddguttenplan for championing it ✨; @alonglastname for a cover image showing us defiant & resilient despite it all; Zoya Qureshi & Najwa Jamal who graciously & meticulously fact-checked it, incl watching v difficult videos.

so much love @MeihongLum & @RedCanarySong for creating spaces to mourn; @takeshiwan for making the connection; @triciawang @krmaher (from Thailand) @troelsheiredal @georgiafrancesk for caring for me—this was so hard to research & write; i was lucky to be held & supported thru it.

if like me, you've been heartbroken by convos post #AtlantaSpaShooting; devastated by recent attacks; and yearning for more for our people—more understanding, more space, more safety, more care, more justice, more love—i hope this can offer you something:
thenation.com/article/societ…