Similar to how being ‘anti-imperialist’ and ‘anti-militarist’ and ‘anti-war-profiteering’ makes more sense (to me so far) than being ‘anti-war,’ drastic reform of the prison and criminal justice system makes more sense (to me so far) than its abolition. But to be honest, I’ve not studied the ideas of abolitionists such as Angela Davis, Nils Christie, Louk Hulsman, or Thomas Mathiesen.
Though I don’t grasp the tenets of prison abolition, the ‘prison-industrial-complex’ is an appropriate term in reference to the so-called ‘war on drugs’ and to how race, class, and corporate power affect who goes to prison for what offense, for how long, and under what conditions of confinement.
There’s also the issue of political prisoners as it pertains to some animal rights, environmental and other activists. See [url=http://www.abcf.net/]Anarchist Black Cross Federation[/url] as a possible resource.
But as for Kate Pluess and the person using the name Insurgent Theater, I know and respectfully I disagree with them. I suspect that some activists make the mistake of assuming that reform is necessarily a less courageous and less dedicated stance than abolition. Similarly, some activists seem to assume that there is necessarily more integrity to advocating revolution, instead of reform.
But I think Kate and Insurgent Theater are doing good work in terms of building ties between imprisoned folk and those of us on the outside. They’ve provided me with resources regarding prisoners’ issues without telling me what I should think.
Most of us can agree that the prison system needs drastic reform, just as vegans can agree with omnivore proponents of local and organic food that the corporate industrial food system is deeply flawed on many levels. And most of us who want to intelligently engage regarding this issue can recognize the goofiness of thinking “don’t do the crime, if you don’t want to do the time.” Immediately mentioning murderers and rapists when any talk of prisoners’ rights comes up is simplistic thinking.
Well, anyway, I’m glad to find this thread on CU, though it took an unproductive turn along the way.
Here’s a site where you might find worthwhile art, poetry and music from one or maybe more imprisoned persons. Scroll down for the paintings. [url=http://supportmariemason.org/]Support Marie Mason[/url]
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