O7.29.2022
You've probably heard of Texas’ SB8, a law that empowered regular citizens to sue anyone involved in helping a woman get an abortion, and made it all the more tantalizing for them to do so by promising a minimum of $10,000 in damages, plus attorney fees.
Motherfuckers.
In this week's big feature, Pema is here to tell you that SB8 is just the beginning. Her incisive piece walks us through the terrifying rise of vigilante laws as a tool to enact the GOP’s agenda on everything from abortion to LGTBQ rights and clasroom discussion about racism. And it widens the lens to show us the extent to which this legal trend is a growing threat to our democracy.
She opens with the moment when a woman who runs an abortion fund opens her door on a weekend to find that she’s being served legal papers at her home: an intimidation tactic from an anti-abortion advocate empowered by Texas’ vigilante abortion law.
That early morning knock on the door, the ominous legal papers, and the knowledge that someone out there is looking for a chance to sue you are the features of a dystopian new trend: The rise of vigilante enforcement to reverse progress and entrench physical and psychological control over women, LGBTQ people, and people of color.
These laws do not stop at targeting society’s most vulnerable. They also attack the legal and social norms that underpin our system of government. They turn citizens into spies in a surveillance scheme more reminiscent of a totalitarian state, and shred the vital principle that the laws are applied equally to all people.
OTHER HEROES
So you know how our comic book heroes that come to film are recast at times? Think Superman, Batman, and also their villains. Being a fan of escapism is a lifelong part of me. Wanting good to triumph over evil, the selfless giving, doing the right things. Well, like in real life, we're here again.
The passing of the wonderfully talented Chadwick Boseman created another need for facilitating a recast of the Black Panther. I'm really stoked to see the next chapter of T'Challa in the upcoming release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But after reading that he'll not be recast in the second movie, I too was heartbroken. But mainly for the kids that looked up to this strong Black man.
An almost entirely Black cast in the first movie was monumental for me, too. I had Sidney Poitier and Louis Armstrong. That's about all I can recall from my youngest years. Then, in The Mod Squad, I had Clarence Williams III. By the 70s I started seeing more African Americans in sitcoms. But I never thought about what others may have thought.
In the case of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, I'm old & savvy enough to know that this issue has little to do for me. But kids being the brightest light of my life, it hurts me for them. Just another instance of a little forethought going a really long way.
So will I, too, boycott the movie? Probably not. Too many other characters, actresses and actors, that I love. I'm sure the film and most of the writing will be on point. But am I pissed? You bet. And hopefully the boycott will draw great attention to how we have NOT honored Chadwick.
#ReCastTChalla #seetheforestforthetrees
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