Resisting and Dismantling the Neo-Colonial-Carceral Order and Apparatus: Examining Cultural Refusal and Production Among Mexican/Xicano Gang Members through a Decolonial Ethics

• In Event: Latina/o/x Criminology #2: Critical Perspectives on Conducting Ethical Carceral Studies: A Chicano/a/x /Latino/o/x/ Practical Approach

Abstract

Objective: This autoethnographic paper interrogates the authors' positionality and lived experiences as system impacted individuals and how that has shaped varying levels of rapport building among their "research participants" and ethical concerns regarding "data" extraction.

Methods/Data: Working closely with formerly/currently and non-incarcerated Mexican/Chicano gang members as ethnographers in a Central Coast and Southern Californian Mexican/Chicanx community has made the authors reflect on their positionality and employment of a Chicana/o methodology guided by their lived experiences to produce critical knowledge on gangs. Drawing from personal experience(s), decolonial studies, and convict criminology, the authors ask, "what does it mean to use your insider/outsider knowledge when engaging in the production of knowledge of others?" and "how does one make decisions to withhold "valuable data" even if it hinders an academic's career"?

Results: The authors' objective is to decolonize how researchers think about positioning themselves and their experiences with the people they study and engage with. It is crucial to know the delicate balance between meeting the academy's demands while producing new knowledge without compromising the safety of their interlocutors.

Conclusion/Implications: The author calls upon ethnographers to embrace conducting gang studies through a decolonial ethical praxis to always center the humanity and safety of gang-involved individuals over advancing academic careers.

Authors

• Amy Andrea Martinez, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Sebastian Ortega, University of Chicago