At what age did we first see a TV detective slap handcuffs on a “perpetrator," enacting “justice” just before the nightly news? The culture of white supremacy weaves police propaganda into our daily lives so thoroughly that it becomes difficult to even imagine a world without some force ensuring that a punishment answers every crime.
If “crime” is made synonymous with “harm,” and punishment is the correct response to crime, we might believe that prisons, police, and the criminal legal system are capable of righting wrongs and keeping us safe. We can learn from the work of abolitionist writers and organizers, however, that this is a fantasy - and a dangerous one.
All humans do harm to each other. The kinds of harm that we each cause—and whether it is defined as a crime or not—depends on our circumstances. But labelling some of us as “criminals” dehumanizes individuals and, by association, entire communities. This dehumanization justifies violent policing and surveillance of poor Black and brown neighborhoods. Prisons deal in isolation and abandonment; despite the premise of “rehabilitation,” a cage offers no space to nurture trauma, to process remorse, or to take accountability for causing harm. Further, a racist police state means that Black and brown folks are disproportionately likely to be locked up for charges that have nothing to do with causing harm in the first place. These carceral systems only serve to generate more harm and perpetuate trauma. Safety and healing can never be born from oppression and violence.
When we have been hurt, or when we have been responsible for hurt, how do we hope it will be addressed? Would punishment repair the harm? Would it address the circumstances that informed the harm? Would it ensure that the harm is not repeated? If you consciously reframe your conversations around repairing harm rather than punishing infractions, where might that change your interactions with friends, strangers, family members… and yourself? Pay attention to where there's the instinct to punish ourselves or each other and find opportunities to make space for repair instead.
When we aim to repair harm, rather than punish crime, everything changes.
Next week, in preparation for our July chapter meeting, we will discuss the work of abolitionist organizers, including frameworks for addressing harm without carceral models. In the meantime, we recommend reading adrienne maree brown’s brief and beautiful piece “we will not cancel us.”
And, as always, see below for more ways to show up. Take care.
In solidarity,
SURJ NYC