this is a question i've gotten at least 2x a week since i started publicly IDing as an abolitionist. it's been answered by ppl much more articulate than i but i'll take a stab at summarizing my stance https://twitter.com/greatskycircles/status/1260614106983194629

if the problem is "bad ppl cause harm" consider whether prison solves that problem. we put the "bad ppl" away but that doesn't & has never stopped ppl from being harmed

why then do we keep choosing/investing in a system that's been proven to perpetuate the problem?

if ur still with me here then you've looked around & decided that prisons don't work. the question becomes "so what do we do?"

abolition isn't just closing prisons but the radical transformation of the system that makes prisons possible. we need to *build* the support systems that make harm less likely to occur

if ur still here u agree that as a society we can do a better job of providing for ppl so they don't steal or sell drugs but the question persists. what about the murderers & rapists? what do we do w/ those that can't be rehabilitated?

ruth wilson gilmore said it best when she offered the idea that "abolition is a theory of change". calling urself an abolitionist means committing to imagining a world w/o prisons & then working to build that world

in some scandanavian countries prison abolition has led them to open prisons focused on reintegration w/ super low recidivism rates. this is a great start but abolitionists believe harm perpetuates harm & the only way to stop the cycle is by radically transforming it

when i first started on my abolition journey i read tons of books/articles/papers on prison abolition looking for a definitive answer to the "where do the bad guys go?" question. the truth is that there is no black & white answer

if u agree that prisons don't work, are willing to build the support systems that make harm less likely & are committed to imagining a world where harm is not perpetuated but instead radically transformed then u, my friend, are an abolitionist

some foundational reading to start u off: https://abolitionistfutures.com/pre-conference-events/abolitionist-reading-discussion-group/reading-list/

a transformative justice podcast for folks not ready to engage with prison abolition text! https://soundcloud.com/endoftheworldshow/the-practices-we-need-metoo-and-transformative-justice-part-2