"Prisons are part of holding a line that was never meant to protect us, much like for-profit healthcare was never intended primarily to help us stay or get healthy. All of it is intended to preserve a violent status quo and the profits of a small group of people."
Thank you, JP for this post. It feels like a necessary slap in the face. We can't just back away and wait for four years to go by before we engage again. And it is tempting because simply resisting feels hopeless. I agree that it is time to build something entirely new. We have to. I wish I could see leadership for such a movement. I only see a sense of the need forming so far. I recognize we are coming to a crossroads but I am not seeing a path just yet.
excellent essay JP. it's a clear and urgent call that we all have work to do in the belly of the beast. and there is so, so much, but it must begin with us looking at each other as potential allies in the class war and ridding our minds of the poisonous ideas that have been implanted by the ruling class, who are desperately trying to maintain control of working class people through even more propaganda and violence. start small, read revolutionary theory together with a group of comrades. make BDS flyers. write an op-ed. do what you can with the tools you have to bring people together and raise class consciousness. small acts of resistance will build confidence and courage. we can learn so much from the Palestinian people in this regard. above all we must begin 2025 with a renewed sense of hope and purpose. we can and we will win!
Your words are so important. I read and then listened to this article. I will try to take it with me into the new year with the question about what action I can take at the forefront of my thoughts. Thank you.
The video of this gang torture/murder might as well have come from ISIS.
Of course we’re getting the bad apples response from the union. If you have a dozen apples, and 15 of them murder a restrained man, you’re maybe not using the right metaphor.
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Josh, when you write that ‘Neoliberalism and a weak democracy gave us fascism.’ For the sake of America and the rest of the world, let’s all sincerely hope that the rise of fascism can be stopped. In the meantime, very best wishes for 2025.
"The condition of the United States has been, for some time, the wanton use of violence against those deemed expendable or second-class: prisoners, racial minorities, and the impoverished chief among them." - The "for some time" has been since the Pilgrims arrived. The United States has always been a violent, imperialist country looking to expand its borders, its influence, and its control and no amount of violence, torture, or cruelty is too much in pursuit of that aim. (Note: Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine.) These types of people and institutions, whether they are called Nazis, Zionists, Christian Nationalists, Republicans, or Democrats, will stop at nothing to further their goals, including ending humanity as we know it in a nuclear war. People do need to come together to overthrow the Nazis in charge but, I fear, it cannot be done peacefully.
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a 170-page federal consent decree that lays out a series of police reforms, the result of a yearslong probe into the Police Department following the murder of George Floyd.
The council discussed the document, which did not require the city to admit fault for any of its police tactics, during a closed door session yesterday. Here are five of the biggest takeaways:
New rules on policing protests
The federal consent decree requires Minneapolis police to use riot gear only as a last resort in order to avoid escalation. That means incident commanders and other police leaders may dispatch SWAT teams to quell protests only when necessary "to prevent loss of life, substantial bodily harm to officers or members of the public, or widespread or catastrophic damage to property."
The decree also requires police to give out their names when asked during demonstrations.
Updated use-of-force guidelines
Minneapolis police officers may no longer initiate foot chases just because someone runs away from them. They also won't be allowed to use neck restraints or chokeholds and must carry at least one less-lethal weapon if they're carrying a gun.
Officers will also be required to use the lowest level of force possible.
Intervention is now a requirement
Minneapolis police officers will be required to interfere if a colleague appears to break department protocols. Failure to do so may lead that officer to face the same consequences as their peer if they're prosecuted.
No handcuffs on kids younger than 14
The consent decree requires officers to consider the age of a suspect when they don't comply with demands. That means Minneapolis police may no longer handcuff anyone younger than 14.
It also means officers must also consider language barriers, potential mental impairments and a person's size if they don't comply with police orders.
Restrictions on outside work for officers on suspension
Minneapolis police officers on suspension may no longer take contracts for outside work, according to the decree. The document also lays out procedures for officers who want to use department vehicles for outside work — namely that they must get preapproval from a supervisor any time they do.
Reporters Deena Winter, Liz Sawyer and Louis Krauss
"Prisons are part of holding a line that was never meant to protect us, much like for-profit healthcare was never intended primarily to help us stay or get healthy. All of it is intended to preserve a violent status quo and the profits of a small group of people."
Thank you, JP for this post. It feels like a necessary slap in the face. We can't just back away and wait for four years to go by before we engage again. And it is tempting because simply resisting feels hopeless. I agree that it is time to build something entirely new. We have to. I wish I could see leadership for such a movement. I only see a sense of the need forming so far. I recognize we are coming to a crossroads but I am not seeing a path just yet.
excellent essay JP. it's a clear and urgent call that we all have work to do in the belly of the beast. and there is so, so much, but it must begin with us looking at each other as potential allies in the class war and ridding our minds of the poisonous ideas that have been implanted by the ruling class, who are desperately trying to maintain control of working class people through even more propaganda and violence. start small, read revolutionary theory together with a group of comrades. make BDS flyers. write an op-ed. do what you can with the tools you have to bring people together and raise class consciousness. small acts of resistance will build confidence and courage. we can learn so much from the Palestinian people in this regard. above all we must begin 2025 with a renewed sense of hope and purpose. we can and we will win!
just re-read this post and apologize for flip flopping between 1st and 3rd person pov. i wrote it in a hurry!
An important reminder. Thank you for writing this.
Abolition now!
Your words are so important. I read and then listened to this article. I will try to take it with me into the new year with the question about what action I can take at the forefront of my thoughts. Thank you.
The video of this gang torture/murder might as well have come from ISIS.
Of course we’re getting the bad apples response from the union. If you have a dozen apples, and 15 of them murder a restrained man, you’re maybe not using the right metaphor.
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Josh, when you write that ‘Neoliberalism and a weak democracy gave us fascism.’ For the sake of America and the rest of the world, let’s all sincerely hope that the rise of fascism can be stopped. In the meantime, very best wishes for 2025.
Very nicely written and argued.
However, just for a contrary view, this year should have beaten the wistful hopium calls out of people.
Violence is interwoven into all facets of corporate rule, now in all institutional corners.
. There is no capacity for regeneration through self-governance.
All systems are shot - the UN, extraction corporations, social media, armament corporations, higher ed, even protest movements.
Nothing, not even the truth, will set us free, but at least we can enjoy what we have before it goes.
"The condition of the United States has been, for some time, the wanton use of violence against those deemed expendable or second-class: prisoners, racial minorities, and the impoverished chief among them." - The "for some time" has been since the Pilgrims arrived. The United States has always been a violent, imperialist country looking to expand its borders, its influence, and its control and no amount of violence, torture, or cruelty is too much in pursuit of that aim. (Note: Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine.) These types of people and institutions, whether they are called Nazis, Zionists, Christian Nationalists, Republicans, or Democrats, will stop at nothing to further their goals, including ending humanity as we know it in a nuclear war. People do need to come together to overthrow the Nazis in charge but, I fear, it cannot be done peacefully.
What do we think?
Better?
Hope? Or Nope.
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a 170-page federal consent decree that lays out a series of police reforms, the result of a yearslong probe into the Police Department following the murder of George Floyd.
The council discussed the document, which did not require the city to admit fault for any of its police tactics, during a closed door session yesterday. Here are five of the biggest takeaways:
New rules on policing protests
The federal consent decree requires Minneapolis police to use riot gear only as a last resort in order to avoid escalation. That means incident commanders and other police leaders may dispatch SWAT teams to quell protests only when necessary "to prevent loss of life, substantial bodily harm to officers or members of the public, or widespread or catastrophic damage to property."
The decree also requires police to give out their names when asked during demonstrations.
Updated use-of-force guidelines
Minneapolis police officers may no longer initiate foot chases just because someone runs away from them. They also won't be allowed to use neck restraints or chokeholds and must carry at least one less-lethal weapon if they're carrying a gun.
Officers will also be required to use the lowest level of force possible.
Intervention is now a requirement
Minneapolis police officers will be required to interfere if a colleague appears to break department protocols. Failure to do so may lead that officer to face the same consequences as their peer if they're prosecuted.
No handcuffs on kids younger than 14
The consent decree requires officers to consider the age of a suspect when they don't comply with demands. That means Minneapolis police may no longer handcuff anyone younger than 14.
It also means officers must also consider language barriers, potential mental impairments and a person's size if they don't comply with police orders.
Restrictions on outside work for officers on suspension
Minneapolis police officers on suspension may no longer take contracts for outside work, according to the decree. The document also lays out procedures for officers who want to use department vehicles for outside work — namely that they must get preapproval from a supervisor any time they do.
Reporters Deena Winter, Liz Sawyer and Louis Krauss