Violence and Subjectivity

I have been considering the word “violence” and how it is used in different contexts. Particularly, I have contemplating Sherene Razack’s suggestion around space and positionality and its relationship to violence. Razack argues that “violence establishes the boundary between who he is and who he is not. It is the surest indicator that he is a subject in control” (107). I interpret this as the notion of “violence" as being responsible for dictating who is permitted and belongs to which spaces and positions. It is intriguing that violence can act as a barrier between spaces and this is something I would like to explore. I would also like to break down what I mean by “violence” and briefly discuss how this term constructs subjectivity.

I understand violence in two parts. Part one: as a set of actions and attitudes towards someone who is more advantaged than them. Part two: as a way to reinforce existing systemic oppressions. Both parts of violence explains why Steven Kummerfield and Alex Turnowetsky were essentially let off for the murder of Pamela George. When considering the ‘part one’ of violence, Kummerfield and Turnowetsky were not read as doing violence because, I argue, they were exercising their racial advantage and privilege over George. Furthermore, the two men were acting under colonial structures that inhibit these actions and attitudes towards George, and the existing system designed to deal with violence and injustice was also operating under the some colonial structures.

When considering ‘part two’ of violence, assaulting and killing George reinforces the racial and classed privilege Kummerfield and Turnowetsky held. To further demonstrate this, Razack claims “[George’s] murder was characterized as a natural by-product of the space and thus of the social context in which it occurred, an event that is routine when the bodies in question are Aboriginal” (117). These men were only exercising their privilege. Reading George’s murder as a “natural by-product” further strengthens the marginalized position of indigenous women in space and positionality. This argument of naturalizing violence and oppression is also applicable to any other dynamic.

In these ways violence creates lines between spaces and by doing this, it also creates subjectivity. Subjectivity is created by people in positions of power and authority and projected onto others. People of different demographics will either avoid or exist in spaces defined by how safe they feel or how much violence they perceive can happen to them in those spaces. Those who are able to effortlessly move between spaces create subjectivity and in turn, defines spaces and positionality for others.