Communication for Solidarity
C4S is “a journal of abolitionist relationality”. In other words, this publication is a log of my own journey to abolish the Attitude of Policing in myself, and to see it abolished in the world I inhabit.
But what, exactly, does that mean? Here’s a piece-by-piece breakdown.
“A journal” — a log of my own journey
As part of my long-term commitment to prison and police abolition, I have met what I call the Attitude of Policing. This is the inner voice seeking to metaphorically detain, arrest, imprison, and/or forcibly retrain people whose opinions I find disagreeable or whose positions, in my analysis, cause harm. That voice can also turn toward myself, giving rise to feelings of shame and guilt.
The aforementioned voice is what you might call “carceral logic,” and it is part of the societal conditioning that preserves the institutions of policing and incarceration as we know them. This carceral logic, and all of the systems in which it manifests, is what I seek to abolish.
“abolitionist relationality” — abolishing the Attitude of Policing
With this context, we can see that “abolitionist relationality” is “a way of relating to ourselves, each other, and the world that favors the abolition of carceral logic.” But what, exactly, do I mean by abolition?
If you’re like me, your mind may first imagine abolition as something like “destroy, annihilate, or disappear.” However, there is evidence that the word’s roots may mean something closer to “inhibit the growth of.”12
It is this picture of abolition that I see when I conceptualize abolitionist relationality. It is a way of relating to myself, other people, and the world that inhibits the growth of the Attitude of Policing, in my own relationships and in the organizations to which I contribute.
Credit where it’s due!
A final note about “abolitionist relationality”: This particular combination of words comes to me through Ki’Amber Thompson’s essay Be Like Water, An Abolitionist Practice for Everyday Life, which, in conversation with Angela Davis, states the following:
We cannot propose to abolish institutions that uphold the logics of separation, isolation, control, heteronormativity, and racial capitalism without recognizing and confronting how we internalize and practice these logics in our ways of relating.
That recognition and confrontation is exactly what this journal is about.
A journal of abolitionist relationality.
Etymology of “abolish” from Etymonline. "perhaps from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + the second element of adolere "to grow, magnify" (and formed as an opposite to that word)”
I first explored the meaning of abolition in this Instagram video about “abolishing the elite”, which you are free to check out if you’re interested
