Lexual Says #15 (Patreon)

When it comes to anything I choose to discuss, I like to look at things realistically, critically, and primarily from my perspective as a black woman (though I always try to empathize and take other people's perspectives into consideration). You're probably wondering what this little disclaimer is for. I can't be saying anything any more inflammatory, abrasive, or polarizing than the countless statements I've made over the years, right? 

In this video, I voice my interpretations and opinions of police and prison abolition. I'm not 100% sold on either concept, and I believe police unions are a more tactful and pressing target of legislation and protest, something that does not alienate most people. Before some of you attempt to reach through your screen and seize me by the throat and voice your disappointment in me, I do believe police and prison abolitionists serve a vital role in shifting discourse and making actual reform happen. If this was an alternate reality where my soul hadn't been crushed into a Wendys-hamburger-patty-sized lump and stripped of it's idealism, I would perhaps be able to wrap my mind around abolition. But as I point out in this episode, I do not expect abolition to be possible, or even wanted by the mainstream. For numerous reasons that tap into topics I rant about regularly or have brought up recently: classism, Christian dominionism, misogyny, QAnon conspiracy theorists, etc. Police and prison abolition seems impossible, and I find it hard to imagine (atleast in my lifetime). The irony? Those of you who are prison/police abolitionists are thinking, "reform is impossible, and hard to imagine." And I fully understand how you've arrived at that point. But humor me and understand how I've arrived to mine? 

This dichotomy has been haunting me for the past few months. 

"Any attempts to reform will fail."

"Any attempts to revolt will fail." 

The historical anecdotes, statistics, and persuasive voices on both sides paint a convincing illustration for the respective prophecies of failure. The sense of dreadful hopefulness mingles with the daily revelations that many people screaming black lives matter have no concern for class politics, maintaining the status quo that ensures a strong revolution will never brew to completion. There's a lot of basic shit to tackle first. The same week that protests really heated up, numerous men were exposed for rape or sexual assault, many of them with progressive to radical beliefs. Women continue to voice their concern for feeling unsafe in leftist spaces, and this has to be addressed. For me personally, it has to be solved. On top of that, I need a realistic and solid consensus on how thousands of years of misogynistic violence (reinforced by religion, social customs, and ego) and hundreds of years of racism (also reinforced by religion, social customs, and ego), will be handled in this country without law enforcement and prison? As I mention in the video, Police/Prison abolition are theories of radical change, not just calls to kick both things to the trash. There are other moving parts (a CTRL-ALT-DELETE of misogyny, capitalism, classism, borders, war, ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc). You know, all the things that we nationally and internationally, interracially and intraracially, still have not reached a complete commitment to eradicating.  We have more community learning and changing to do, and that is the part of prison abolition that I embrace. 

Do I believe prisons, the way they exist in this country, should be abolished? Yes. Do I want sadistic rapists like Aaron Glee, (the man who murdered Oluwatoyin Salau and another woman) locked away from myself, my family and friends, and the general public? Yes. Do I want police defunded? Yes. Do I also want remaining police resources to be directed towards testing rape kits and sending away men like the rapist of my friend, who bumped into him at a BLM rally? Yes. Do I know that police are responsible for tons of sexual assault and domestic violence, and that they often don't pursue justice for rape and domestic violence victims? Yes. Do I also know personally people who are locked away because of, for example, femicide (a guy from HS), domestic homicide (a guy who murdered a middle school friend's mother and brother), rape of a 17-year-old stepdaughter (a cousin) and the rape of a high school girl (another guy from a different HS)... and they are only where they are because of evidence collected by law enforcement? Yes. All of these things are true at the same time. Like I said, I'm finding it hard to imagine another world, one without such glaring contradictions. I envy those of you who can. 

This post is becoming a long essay, which I did not intend when I first began typing. I just want ya'll to know where I'm coming from. I have been told enough times that if I cannot imagine an alternative to punishing rapists/abusers with prison, that I am not a prison abolitionist. And I think I am ok with that. Hopefully, you do not walk away from this video thinking that just because I am not a prison abolitionist, that I am somehow against other overlapping goals like universal housing, healthcare, and income or decarceration. I don't want my intentions to get lost, so please remember that while you've read this post and watched this episode. Below are some really good reads, so check them out!

References

Coronavirus dashboard

Coronavirus National Updates

Forecasts of Total Deaths (CDC)

Coronavirus fraud is everywhere (Jennifer A Kingson)

The Real Economic Catastrophe Hasn’t Hit Yet. Just Wait For August. (Tom Gara)

The Cities Taking Up Calls to Defund the Police (Sarah Holder)

Are Prisons Obsolete? (Angela Davis)

The Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California (Ruth Wilson Gilmore)

Police and Prison Abolition 101: A Syllabus and FAQ

The Critical Resistance Abolition Organizing Toolkit

What Do Abolitionists Really Want? (Bill Keller)

Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police (Mariame Kaba)

Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions

Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind (Rachel Kushner)

The History of Policing In The United States (Gary Potter)

Where Police Union Money Has Flooded in Congress (OpenSecerets)

Police unions are one of the biggest obstacles to transforming policing (Jill McCorkel)

You've heard calls to 'defund the police' and 'abolish the police.' What do those actually mean? (Alyssa Pereira)

To Fight Crime, a Poor City Will Trade In Its Police (Kate Zernike)

Racial Sympathy and its Political Consequences (Dr. Jennifer Chudy)

Black Women and the Carceral State (Gabriel Winant) 

How Far Can Abused Women Go To Protect Themselves? (Elizabeth Flock)

These women survived abuse and assault. Now they’re behind bars. Should they be? (Char Adams)

Women Serve Longer Prison Sentences After Killing Abusers (Amanda Kippert)

Calls for Transforming Police Run Into Realities of Governing in Minnesota (Jack Healy and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs)

In Cahoots:How the unlikely pairing of cops and hippies became a national model (Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick) 

When Private Security Patrols Public Streets (Jeremy Borden) 

Who Runs The Streets of New Orleans: How A Rich Entrepreneur Persuaded The City To Let Him Create His Own High Tech Police Force (David Amsden)

More Maryland Communities Hiring Private Police Forces

The millionaires building private police forces in the US: Vigilantes or neighbourhood watch? (Elle Hardy)

Georgia’s Election Mess: Many Problems, Plenty of Blame, Few Solutions for November (Richard Fausset and Reid J. Epstein)

‘I Refuse Not to Be Heard’: Georgia in Uproar Over Voting Meltdown (Richard Fausset, Rick Rojas, and Reid J. Epstein)

Voting machines and coronavirus force long lines on Georgia voters (Mark Niesse)

Georgia Democrats set new primary turnout record, outpacing GOP voters (Greg Bluestein)