Chapter XVIII from The Little Teal Book
Matters of the law ought to be discussed in the material contexts of those involved and in accordance with the dualistic — constantly positive and negative — nature of all things. That is not to say that the law should be wildly ambiguous, but that in its interpretation and enforcement should the well-being of the people involved, the revolution, and the general structure of society be considered. The traditionally liberal ideals that "all men are created equal" (U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776) are not completely inaccurate so much as outdated in a time where we consider class and ethnic struggles. All people are not — in the eyes of the law — viewed as equal. As we are concerned with the reality of a situation, rather than the ideal that they are "created equal," we must redefine legal personhood and our view of "justice."
Under the current system of competitive and capitalist social organization, a person is — in effect — viewed as their relationship to the machinery of power and the potential threat that they pose to it. In the present systems of common, civil, or hybrid law, only the view of the framers of the codes and procedures and that of the judge are considered. Given that in any system, codes and procedures are designed with the intention of protecting social order, and given that the current social order is founded upon capitalist principles, it follows that law fundamentally exists to preserve the institutions of capital. The law favors those close to capital and depresses those distanced from it.
Now in terms of the dualistic nature of the person — positive and negative — all natures and conditions must be considered in the adjudication of the law. Under revolutionary and positive-dominant conditions, many crimes simply cease to be common or considerable. The theft of bread is not a concern in a society where everybody eats. Of course crime is more complex than simple foraging for food; however, the conditions that lead to any crime ought to be thoroughly considered.
Justice (n.) — The conditions under which crimes are disciplined in accordance with what was lost; criminals are rehabilitated; the socialist order of society is upheld, and victims are granted peace.
Under a system of true justice, one must have, (a), compassion and reconciliation for the victims, (b), mercy for the accused, and (c), understanding of the greater good of our society. If a man kills another for the crime of infringing upon his business or property, this can only be a crime under a competitive organization of society. Under a socialist, cooperative organization of society, these men would have no need for killing. In another instance, if a child commits a theft, it would be the business of the court to determine the liability of the child, their parents, and the state itself. The responsibility of the state is then to provide for the unmet needs of the child.
Recall that the American Nation is the creolized synthesis of all marginalized societies and classes within the United States. As the American Nation is the union of several societies, it become natural that each society or community should have its own system of justice and policing for the benefit of the revolutionary character of said society. To prevent the police and/or military from becoming an occupying force in a community and acting undemocratically, the agents of law enforcement must reside and be actively engaged in those communities that they are constitutionally bound to serve and protect. The service of the community comes above all else.
Justice is not brought forth simply through the adjudication of the law. It is truly demonstrated through the social welfare of society. In a true mass party for freedom and democracy, the feeding of the masses — as was done by the Black Panther Party (BPP) in the 1960s and 1970s (NMAAHC, n.d.) — must be the primary objective. This objective should be executed through the utilization of all political, economic, social, and all other extraordinary means necessary. What is known is that the current reactionary character of policing must be wildly reorganized into a structure for the defense and social welfare of the American Nation. The authority of any reactionary institution of so-called "justice" should be deemed completely null and void. These institutions must be obliterated with their ashes reconstituted into the facilities of popular justice and social welfare. In revolutionary action, resistance to law enforcement is almost unambiguously just. Resistance to the reaction is one of few things that are ontologically, unambiguously revolutionary and positive in nature. As Dr. Huey Newton, BPP Minister of Defense put it:
"The racist dog policemen must withdraw immediately from our communities [...] or face the wrath of the armed people"
— Huey P. Newton, Ph.D.,
Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party
Lastly in this section is the idea of those unique, subversive, extraordinary, and ideological crimes against the American Nation. The systematic destruction of Black and Brown communities, the facilitation of private slavery and incarceration, the perpetuation and facilitation of mass theft via capitalist, and the imperialist crimes against the people and sovereignty of other states are fundamentally reactionary and irreconcilable with a cooperative society. In terms of policy, the crimes of capitalism are so great that they cannot be properly tried by a single court. The crimes that have been committed against the American Nation and other imperialized nations must be personally handled by a united party that serves in defense of freedom and democracy. These crimes along with gross violations of the rights of the people, gross sexual violations, and repeated violent crime deemed non-rehabilitatable and irreconcilable with society are deemed capital crimes. In the unfortunate instance of capital punishment, the convicted ought to be afforded the right of a dignified end.
Fundamentally, our theory of justice is surrounded upon the ideas of cooperative society and preventing the roots of crime. All persons, including the reactionary elements, should be granted the opportunity for rehabilitation. Only then should extraordinary means be considered.
