Abolition Begins Within PART TWO: Taking Action

from Practicing Mutual Aid as Abolition in Action: A Student's Guide to Organizing

Introduction

Abolition Begins Within

Abolition Begins Within

This chapter is about organizing with accountability. It's about the internal work that we need to do within our communities. When we are engaging in mutual aid we have to practice being intentional in relation to one another. It's incredibly important to work at community accountability because the logics of oppression are internalized in us and we end up reproducing that harm with each other. So, we must remain accountable to one another and do the transformative work within ourselves if we hope to transform the systems around us.

The revolution starts at home. How are we supposed to find alternatives to policing if we can't 26

even address the small things with each other? The little conflicts that show up so frequently in our lives? Accountability is a muscle so the "small things" actually matter a lot.

We must be better prepared to address harm when it occurs in our groups. As abolitionists, this means we have to approach it without reproducing carceral logics. We have to kill the cops in our heads and our hearts.

The work of addressing harm without prisons and police is called transformative justice (TJ) or community accountability. While I can't go in depth about these approaches in one chapter of this zine, I will talk about the important lessons I've learned from TJ practitioners and include recommendations at the end for further reading.

Be honest about what you have capacity for

Organizing with accountability requires us to be honest with ourselves and each other about what we can and cannot do.

Kaba talks about the importance of organizers understanding their actions are accountable to someone else. When you take on too much and do not communicate it, “the people who are most directly impacted by the things people are doing are failed. Because they should have a say and be part of the shaping of that thing that is about them. ”

Don ’t take on more work just because you feel like you have to. The reality is that falling through at the last minute, will do more harm than if yo communicate as early as possible what you have capacity for. 29

Unlearn the ways we police each other

The work of abolition entails unlearning carceral logics that we have been taught. Carcerality is all about control, which is why the state prioritizes punishment over transforming the root causes of harm. Consequently, carceral responses only perpetuate cycles of violence. The ways that we police one another may show up in the work of mutual aid in more covert ways. For example, if people seeking resources have to jump through unnecessary hoops to access what they need then we are reproducing the carceral logic of the state.

Kill the cop in your head!!

@loveiswiseillu

Disrupt internalized logics of oppression through everyday practice

Everyday practices can help us become aware of how deeply logics of oppression are situated within us and then disrupt them. In moments of emergency and pressure we don ’t act in accordance to our greatest ideals, but our everyday habits. To move beyond awareness, and achieve a change in behavior practice is essential. An example of an everyday practice is meditation. Meditation gives you the space everyday to realize that you have choices in how you respond to situations. When you get to a heated moment you don ’t have to follow your body ’ s initial response, but realize you have choices and act intentionally. 32

Learn to overcome shame in order to take accountability

When you harm someone, shame can block your ability to take accountability. Feeling shame is different from feeling remorse or guilt. Guilt focuses on behavior, while shame focuses on identity. “If identity—who you are—is equated with your worst behaviors, you will not accept responsibility or access genuine feelings of sorrow—because to do so would invite feelings of worthlessness. How can we apologize for something we are, rather than something we did?” (Nathan Shara)

Do the work in collectivities

Even though this chapter talks about the work we need to do internally, this process should not be individualistic. Just as mutual aid is about collectivity, the work of reflection, accountability and healing requires us to be in relation with each other. We ’ re often taught to deal with healing work in isolated and alienating spaces (like therapy) instead of making room for community care. Growing up, Mariame Kaba ’ s father (Moussa Kaba) ingrained in her the notion that everything worthwhile is done with others. He said “You are interconnected to everyone, because the world doesn ’t work without everyone. You may think that you ’ re alone, but you ’ re never actually alone. ” Similarly, Angela Davis teaches us that “It is collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism ” . 35