{"id":300,"date":"2017-04-28T14:29:29","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T21:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/?p=300"},"modified":"2017-05-01T22:43:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T05:43:12","slug":"i-will-not-ask-the-system-politely-to-dismantle-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/2017\/04\/28\/i-will-not-ask-the-system-politely-to-dismantle-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI will not ask the system politely to dismantle itself.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-307\" src=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3-272x182.jpg 272w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-3.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/h4>\n<h4>It\u2019s the last Monday of his final semester of law school and Troy Osaki is at work in the Seattle University student center. He\u2019s not cramming for finals \u2014 he\u2019s rolling out letters and gluing together a sign to take to a King County Council meeting later that afternoon.<\/h4>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-300-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-Final.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-Final.mp3\">http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-Final.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The sign reads, \u201cSUPPORT YOUTH NOT DETENTION\u201d in black and red. He\u2019s advocating for an ordinance that would ensure access to legal counsel for detained youth. Even on the eve of his transition from student to law school graduate, the 24-year-old Osaki is intent on making change within his community.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-312\" style=\"width: 439px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Sign.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-312 \" src=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Sign.gif\" alt=\"Troy Osaki rolls out letters for a sign he\u2019s taking to a King County Council meeting in support of detained youth. Seattle University, April 24, 2017. (Quincy Surasmith\/NextGenRadio)\" width=\"439\" height=\"293\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Troy Osaki rolls out letters for a sign he\u2019s taking to a King County Council meeting in support of detained youth. Seattle University, April 24, 2017. (Quincy Surasmith\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Osaki is a Seattle native. He still lives in his childhood neighborhood of Montlake, a few miles north of his university, and has only ever gone to school in the city. He has always had a sense of service which pushed him toward law.<\/p>\n<p>But a poetry unit in Osaki\u2019s sophomore year of high school introduced him to Seattle\u2019s poetry scene, including Cafe Allegro\u2019s open mic nights and the literary arts organization Youth Speaks Seattle. Poetry became his way to process the death of his Garfield High classmate, who was shot just outside of school. The 15-year-old was one of six teenagers shot and killed in Seattle in\u00a02008. They weren\u2019t close friends, but Osaki had known him since middle school.<\/p>\n<p>Someone Osaki knew personally had been murdered and it left him with a lot of questions. Poetry was how he looked for answers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got to learn that poetry can be used as a tool to learn and process things. From there it\u2019s just developed into something that I need to do and think about all the time,\u201d says Osaki.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>In the present day,<br \/>\nI am taught how non-violence<br \/>\nis the appropriate response<br \/>\nto oppression.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Osaki glues the final letters onto his signboard before realizing he has just 10 minutes until the meeting begins. He decides to catch a Lyft with his law clinic partner, scrapping his plan to drive to Seattle\u2019s Chinatown-International District and walk from there.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Osaki\u2019s poetry reflects the influence of his Asian American identity and his family\u2019s histories. He was particularly affected by stories his Japanese American grandmother shared from her experience in camps around the US during World War II. She was just 11 when her family was separated and imprisoned. Osaki refers to the US government\u2019s actions as incarceration, rather than the oft-used term \u201cinternment,\u201d and the camps as concentration camps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey said it was for Japanese American safety,\u201d he says, \u201cbut then the barbed wire was keeping people in and not out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The injustices endured by his family gave him an understanding that the legal system was just a tool, one that would be ineffective without his poetry and activism.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>How collaborating with the elite<br \/>\nwill guarantee my freedom<br \/>\nas if requesting to not be invaded<br \/>\ngranted my ancestors safe passage from being displaced.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_314\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-314\" style=\"width: 1001px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-314\" src=\"http:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Troy Osaki lays out his sign, which reads \u201cSUPPORT YOUTH NOT DETENTION\u201d in support of a King County ordinance ensuring legal counsel for detained youth. Seattle University, April 24, 2017. (Quincy Surasmith\/NextGenRadio)\" width=\"1001\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2-272x182.jpg 272w, https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2017\/04\/Troy-Osaki-2.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1001px) 100vw, 1001px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-314\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Troy Osaki lays out his sign, which reads \u201cSUPPORT YOUTH NOT DETENTION\u201d in support of a King County ordinance ensuring legal counsel for detained youth. Seattle University, April 24, 2017. (Quincy Surasmith\/NextGenRadio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Osaki keeps the sign folded as he passes through the county building\u2019s security checkpoint. In the council chambers, he silently greets the group of youth justice advocates who organized the day\u2019s action. One by one, they each testify in favor of providing legal counsel to interrogated youth. No one speaks in opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Osaki works with young people in Seattle\u2019s juvenile court and detention system in legal clinics and to teach storytelling. He is also among those opposing the expansion of King County\u2019s new juvenile justice center, slated to be built just south of Seattle University at a cost of $210 million. This expansion is being planned despite the county\u2019s reports of a 16 percent drop in juvenile incarcerations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of youth detained here are disproportionately people of color,\u201d says Osaki. \u201cThe folks I\u2019ve worked with have also been from poorer communities, or communities lacking in a lot of resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kingcounty.gov\/~\/media\/exec\/PSB\/documents\/RLSJC\/2012\/Materials\/032912Materials\/Juvenile_Justice_and_Racial_Disproportionality_Report.ashx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2012 King County report on juvenile justice<\/a>, black, Asian and Latino youth are overrepresented at each stage of the the juvenile justice system. Though the proportion of African Americans youth in jail declined to 49.9 percent, King County on the whole is just 6.8 percent African American.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCriminalizing more young folks and increasing the police state \u2014 why is that our solution to violence?\u201d Osaki asks. \u201cResources such as mentorship, youth programs or youth employment can be a better solution than making a nicer detention center for young folks.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>My blood is the surviving offspring of diaspora.<br \/>\nI will not plastic wrap myself in peaceful protest<br \/>\nfor you to co-opt as progress.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Once the county council moves on to the next agenda item, Osaki hurriedly leaves the room. He still has assignments to complete and final exams to study for. He hops on another Lyft back to law school.<\/p>\n<p>After the bar exam, he\u2019s planning a trip with his girlfriend to the Philippines and Japan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019ll be our first times in the homeland. I\u2019m really appreciative of that and don\u2019t know what to expect\u2026 That\u2019ll be really life changing.\u201d He pauses and smiles. \u201cI\u2019m going home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The King County Council went on to give its unanimous approval to the juvenile justice legislation. Though the expansion of the youth jail is likely to proceed, detained youth have been afforded at least one more legal protection. A tiny legislative victory as Osaki moves on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still carving out whatever path I\u2019m about to take. I feel like both poetry and law will be in there some way,\u201d Osaki says. \u201cIf I love something, it will be a part of me no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>I will not ask the system politely to dismantle itself.<br \/>\nThe ocean has always been armed resistance.<br \/>\nI will submerge the state beneath our tides<br \/>\nuntil it breaks under pressure,<br \/>\nbefore I ever bow in obedience.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This story features parts of Troy Osaki&#8217;s poem, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/troyosaki.tumblr.com\/post\/142273569917\/fish-hooks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fish Hooks<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seattle native Troy Osaki is on the verge of graduating law school. But the law, he says, is not enough. What about poetry?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314,"featured_media":307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seattle2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}