The hardest philosophical struggle of abolition is to change the conversation from "Did the police/state kill in the right way?" to "Ought the police/state have the right to kill?" And then building solutions that make saying "no" to the latter practical and reasonable 1/4

Imagine arguing against slavery by saying the masters are just doing it wrong and then constantly fending off attempts of people to say, "Perhaps we should do it this way, then?" It seems to me it leads to a lot of wasted energy and effort. 2/4

The truth of the matter is that most Americans aren't abolitionists; they are reformers. I leave it to your judgment whether that's for the better. But that's the reality I think. 3/4

But if one is an abolitionist I think watching every video of a police killing in order to prove the cops did it in the wrong way already cedes too much ground. It traps the conversation and obscures the philosophical/political argument one wants to have 4/4