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Abolition Archive

Tuesday

22

February 2022

0

COMMENTS

Abolitionist Socialist Feminism by Zillah Eisenstein

Written by , Posted in Abolition, Politics, Reviews

Three Stars

Best for:
I’m not sure who the target audience of this book is. I’d think it’d be someone like me, but it didn’t work for me.

In a nutshell:
A series of essays. I really can’t describe it as I’m not quite sure what I just read.

Worth quoting:
“Suffering is more than economic and will remain grossly unequal as long as it is dealt with in this partial fashion.”

“There is no one kind of feminism, although it is often represented as though there were, and that one is too often assumed to be white, western-hetero, and liberal or neoliberal.”

Why I chose it:
I saw it in a bookshop and thought it looked interesting.

Review:
This is referred to as a book, but it feels more like a loose collection of essays. And despite the title, discussions of abolition and socialism do not come up as often as I would like.

Eisenstein has some interesting thoughts to share, but each essay (or chapter) is both too long and too short. They feel a bit too long because I’m not sure what the main thesis is for some – they end up being a bit disorganized for my taste, though each feels very similar, so I think it is more the author’s style as opposed to being bad writing, if that makes sense. Basically, I think it will work for lots of people but it just doesn’t work for me. And too short because I think there is more to each topic to be explored, but they don’t quite get there for me.

One part I appreciate, and something I think some popular socialist movements in recent times have not gotten right, is that she makes it very clear that the problems of society won’t be solved if we just address economic inequality. Racism, misogyny, anti-gay, anti-trans, and ableism are all intertwined.

I think this book might work if each of the essays were sort of an intro or jumping off point for going into deeper study and discussion of the main topic. But as a collection it just wasn’t for me.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it

Sunday

23

January 2022

0

COMMENTS

Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell

Written by , Posted in Abolition, Reviews

Three Stars

Best for:
Those interested in one person’s journey to an abolitionist perspective. Those who are already or thinking of becoming abolitionists but looking for some answers to the tougher questions.

In a nutshell:
Organizer and lawyer Purnell shares her journey towards an abolitionist viewpoint.

Worth quoting:
“If we truly want to save lives in the US and beyond, we have to join in the traditions of activists who fight to end policing, wars and military operations across the globe.”

“It makes me wish that people were more curious than critical because it’s so much easier to learn that way.”

“Make policing obsolete by reducing the police, reducing the reasons why people need police, reducing the reasons why people think they need police, and building a society where we have just relationships to each other, to our labor, to our communities, and to our planet.”

“Policing was, and is, deeply connected to the control of land, labor, and people who threatened white supremacy.”

Why I chose it:
I follow Purnell on twitter, and this book seemed like one I would really enjoy.

Review:
Have you ever seen a movie, known it was good, heard people and critics raving about, but after watching it, just felt kind of meh about it? That’s how I feel about this book. I think it’s important, I think it’s well-written, I think the information is very helpful for any abolitionists. Yet it took me quite a long time to get through. But I think this is a case of ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ because I do think this is likely a very good book.

Also, it was literally hard to read because the font choice was inexplicably bad. ‘Bulmer MT’ is the font, apparently. And it is SO TINY. I read a ton but this felt at times like I was attempting to read the ingredients on the side of a small jar of pasta sauce – I had to reread paragraphs because I literally couldn’t parse the words, which definitely slowed me down.

Alright, with all of those caveats, what about the actual content of this book? It’s good. Really good. There’s a lot of information, coupled with Purnell’s direct experiences, to make a strong case of police and prison abolition. I know that many people were exposed to the idea of defunding the police in summer 2020, but there are many activists and thinkers who have been promoting the idea of complete police and prison abolition for decades before, so there is a lot to learn. If you have questions, someone has thought about what the answers might be, and Purnell shares some of them here, along with her own thinking on matters.

If you’re at all interested in abolition and the history of policing and prisons, or if you’re interested in ways we can improve society, I think this is a good book to check out.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Keep it – there is a lot of good information here