I can’t feel happy that yet another Latino human being is being thrown in jail forever–but as somebody else said THANK GOD that for just fucking ONCE the necessity of the life of a beautiful woman is affirmed.

Yes. That. And the hope that beneath the arguments and defences and verdicts, there is actual change, however stone-like.

I don’t want that kind of justice–I want living breathing human beings type of justice.

And also that.

It’s hard, though. I believe in deeper justice, in justice-from-love, in a justice that works not because trans woman are raped killed but their communities are strong and supported but because trans woman are not raped and killed, in a justice that does not then itself beat, rape, and mutilate trans women. I do not believe I will see this world in my life.

Which leaves me in-between. I don’t think the criminal justice system is a machine that produces justice. But I also don’t think the leviathan is going to drown any time soon, so I have to be slightly relieved that it seems to be capable of something slightly less horrific than I’ve seen before. It’s a twisted hope, but there you go.

i don’t invest my ideas about justice into “criminal justice” but i do think that this may be a turning point of sorts on the trans deceiver defense, which CAN make a difference in our lives.

i was recently assaulted and people asked if i would go to the police– why? what would that do? would it end rape culture? would it have taught “friends” that blaming the victim stuff isn’t ok? would it heal me? would it heal the man of color who assaulted me? nope.

the kind of justice i want can’t be found in the same state that oppresses folks in my community.

i had an immediate yay type reaction when i read the verdict on the twitter feed, but of course it is not enough, and it is not a happy ending or a yay moment at all. although i hope it can bring some kind of relief and ‘closure’ (as far as that is possible) for her family and friends.

it is a real shame that the word ‘justice’ is too often only talked about when preceded by the word ‘criminal’.