People will say abolition is unrealistic because [insert instance of violence], but the instance of violence being described is actually unfolding *now*, under the largest police state in the world...meaning policing is not actually stopping the thing people are concerned about.

Which also means that the *current* response of policing is actually what should be treated with the most skepticism, because it's the thing in place supposedly as the solution to violence, and it's just so clearly not "working" (and of course itself facilitates so much violence)

("Working" in quotes because policing *is* indeed working, and very efficiently, to protect a white supremacist class society and manage inequality and dissent.)

But I think that to the extent that some people's reason for dismissing abolition is fear of the violence which is actually a staple feature of our police(d) society, there is actually significant ground for radicalization and connection.

Because instead of diminishing people's very real concerns about violence or pretending like it isn't real, you can agree and say yes I also care deeply about ending violence, and it's clear to me that police are not designed to do so, and instead actively perpetrate violence.

And you can point to all of the forms of violence, harm, & suffering that are not criminalized, & are instead defining features of our system (e.g. mass inequality, wealth hoarding, mass poverty & homelessness, sexual & physical violence, harassment, exploitation of workers, etc)

And you can say yes, here are some examples of the work people (who might identify as abolitionists, or might not but have nonetheless long been working for safety and survival outside of policing) are doing to intervene in and prevent violence...

& it becomes an invitation to put our heads together & look at models of abolitionist organizing & ask how can we stop violence here where we are? We agree violence is a problem, we recognize that police & prisons don't stop violence & do cause it, so let's get to work.

and abolitionists have been saying all this for a long time.