Loving how the conversation has expanded from police and prison abolition to the abolition of oppressive institutions more broadly - nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals/facilities, group homes.

One I rarely see specifically named but should enter the chat is school.

Talking here of underage compulsory schooling, in which children are forced to spend 1/3 of their lives without control over what they learn, when (and if) they urinate and defecate, when they undergo physical exertion, which people they spend their days with.

Compelled to sit, be quiet, be still, they can't move their bodies at will. Let's talk about the power adults hold over children *period* & how this is especially evident w/ disabled & Black kids in schools. Schools criminalise some bodies more than others.

As with abolition in general, it can't happen without a complete transformation of society.

Flashing back to this girl in my class who had to get special permission from a doctor to use the toilet whenever she needed because of the recurrent UTIs she had from always holding it. Nothing good about an institution in which you require a doctor's note to urinate at will.

Back to disability being criminalised in school settings, think about which children are labeled as 'bad' or 'naughty' & as chronic disruptors who don't listen or 'respect' authority. Kids with autism & ADHD particularly buy also consider depression, anxiety.

Teachers enact horrific racist abuse on Black kids (& on other racialised and colonised peoples but that's less my story to speak to).

Even among progressive teachers, often the curriculum itself is racist.

Schools often provide zero protection against bullying & sexual harassment & violation, and through perpetuating ableism, sexism, misogyny, queerphobia, and racism in the classroom, they actually encourage it. Don't get me started on dress codes.

Ok, actually yes get me started on dress codes.

Boys (et al) still can't have long hair at many schools .

Girls (et al) can't show skin.

Black people's naturally textured hair can be effectively banned.

There's an impulse to want to reform, but it's the whole damn institution from root to tip that harms. Schools are often about training docile workers for the capitalist machine, reinforcing class (& other social) divisions, & imprisoning Black and brown kids.

I'm not against learning. I'm not against a place where children can go to pursue academic curiosities under the guidance of supportive adults. But I know for me & others, school got in the way of learning & growth. Even as someone who excelled academically, I'm still recovering.