False Promises of Protection Embedded in U.S. Militarism and Carcerality

"Protection" is a lie—a pretext for state violence, militarism, and control, targeting the marginalized while masking harm as care. True safety comes not from oppressive systems, but from resistance and collective liberation.

The language of “protection” saturates political rhetoric, from policing and incarceration to war and surveillance. But what and who is being protected? For communities long targeted by State violence, it is clear that protection propaganda often cloaks the machinery of harm. When State institutions claim to protect, they often mean to exploit, punish, and control. A