Understanding The Questions of Rape, Racism and Police Brutality: A Class Perspective By; Com. YNA Omomeewa

Outside Covid19 Pandemic, the events that have shaped the world social media in the past few days was that of the unjust killing of Floyd in USA, Tina, Uwa and Barakat here in Nigeria due to rape, racism and police brutality as the case maybe. Many youths and human right organizations have since then condemned the killings and demanded an end to rape, racism and police brutality. However, the onus of this writing is to critically espouse the demands for an equal society through a true democratic workers owned and control economy that use state resources to meets people needs; as the ultimate demand that could put an end to rape, racism, police brutality and other social vices.

Rape, Racism, and Police brutality are social vices among many other social vices. Infact, the relationship and activities of the perpetrator of social vices and their victims can be seen as that of a strong person taking advantage of the weak. This kind of relationship exist in different form in the society. Talk of rape, irrespective of the argument canvass as reason for rape, fundamentally a rapist is an individual who overpowered the victim. Police brutality is not anyway different, the feeling of overpowering the victim emboldened the act of police brutality and rape.

Racism is a concious/unconscious act of seeing others as inferior. Racism is more of social perception. For instance, in the case of Floyd. He was alleged of spending fake dollars, if the same allegation was levied on a white American. Would a white or black police have acted differently? To explain this locally, if a rich man kid roam around the neighborhood, it’s called wandering but if a poor man kid do such it’s called trespass. What account for this variation in perception is class. By class, I mean different in economic, social and political status. To any bigot, either racial or religious, they consider themselves the best of human, a feeling of being superior or better than others.

All over the world, some few individuals organized themselves, pretend to take sovereignty from the people through electoral process and constitutes the government and or the most advanced section of the society. They determine what is ideal, when they see no wrong they expect the society to see no wrong. This is why karl Marx and Freidich Engels in their work communist manifesto describes the history of man as the “history of class struggle” Man has always come in conflict with these individuals who at different times in history was constituted as slave master, feudal lords and presently as capitalist government; to right the wrongs in the society.

At the heart of righting the wrong is the question of what programmes and ideas will be able to resolve all social contradictions created by the present unequal social system. Our demands must feature demand for an equal society where the lives of everyone matter irrespective of race, ethnic, class and or social status side by side with demands to end rape, racism and police brutality. It must also include a demand for workers ownership and control of economy. This is a system that will put the need of the people first and put the collective wealth of the people into judicious use for the betterment of the society. For Instance, a well trained and well paid police with a police workers union to defend their rights will not brutalize ordinary citizens, a social system that support adequate provision of basic needs of life, jobs, security and good sex life will contains rape and other social vices and collective ownership of means of production will abolish racial, social and class inequality.

I therefore join my voice with that of many other youths to condemn unjust killings under whatever guise and equally lend my voice to demand and to work towards building a true democratic workers owned and control economy under which an equal society where a son of nobody will become somebody without knowing anybody is possible.

Thank you.

Yusuf Nurudeen Alowonle (OmOmeewa)
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