this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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Abolition of police and prisons

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Abolish is to flourish! Against the prison industrial complex and for transformative justice.

See Critical Resistance's definitions below:

The Prison Industrial Complex

The prison industrial complex (PIC) is a term we use to describe the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems.

Through its reach and impact, the PIC helps and maintains the authority of people who get their power through racial, economic and other privileges. There are many ways this power is collected and maintained through the PIC, including creating mass media images that keep alive stereotypes of people of color, poor people, queer people, immigrants, youth, and other oppressed communities as criminal, delinquent, or deviant. This power is also maintained by earning huge profits for private companies that deal with prisons and police forces; helping earn political gains for "tough on crime" politicians; increasing the influence of prison guard and police unions; and eliminating social and political dissent by oppressed communities that make demands for self-determination and reorganization of power in the US.

Abolition

PIC abolition is a political vision with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment.

From where we are now, sometimes we can't really imagine what abolition is going to look like. Abolition isn't just about getting rid of buildings full of cages. It's also about undoing the society we live in because the PIC both feeds on and maintains oppression and inequalities through punishment, violence, and controls millions of people. Because the PIC is not an isolated system, abolition is a broad strategy. An abolitionist vision means that we must build models today that can represent how we want to live in the future. It means developing practical strategies for taking small steps that move us toward making our dreams real and that lead us all to believe that things really could be different. It means living this vision in our daily lives.

Abolition is both a practical organizing tool and a long-term goal.

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The authorities said that Mr. Litton had suffered from mental health issues for decades. Based on writings they uncovered after the shooting, investigators said that he believed that he was an officer in a paramilitary organization tasked with performing child executions.

… Mr. Litton had a criminal history that dated back to his teenage years and included convictions for identity theft, forgery and petty theft, the authorities said. He had been incarcerated several times, though the authorities noted that none of his previous crimes were violent.

It's not clear what Litton's incarcerations accomplished. It's not out of the question that his time inside caused or exacerbated his condition, leading to this shooting.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/159095

Here's the archive link: http://archive.today/2024.12.06-125212/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/us/school-shooting-california-kindergarteners.html

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[–] gandalf_der_12te@lemmy.blahaj.zone 65 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Shootings in kindergardens should not get less attention that shootings at CEOs.

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 44 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This makes me very sad to say but, CEOs getting shot has a better chance of getting the gun control that would protect future kindergarteners from shootings

[–] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 11 points 1 week ago

Ironically, an idealistically legitimate purpose of an armed public is to maintain a credible threat against the likes of health insurance CEOs.

[–] NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth 10 points 1 week ago

Yeah, but one is unique and one is commonplace in america

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (3 children)

... what fucking paramilitary organization????

[–] ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 week ago

The one in his mind

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They whitewash fascism by blaming this on "mental health" and "homelessness".

They'll never talk about the deep racism throughout the injustice system. They won't talk about the right-wing ideology. They won't ever talk about the actual problems with pale skinned people. The capitalist media provides absolute cover for fascism, genocide, etc.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

You're making an awful lot of baseless statements that conflict with the known facts so far. The police think he targeted the school because of its affiliation with the Seventh Day of Adventist church. There's no indication that this was politically or racially motivated.

[–] mhague@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He wrote that he was a lieutenant in (the / an) International Alliance.

And this group does "child executions"?? I mean what the ever loving fuck is going on here?

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Mr. Litton ... Mr. Litton ... Mr. Litton

wtf? Why are they calling him "Mr"? Most of the time they just go with the last name: "Litton was seen, Litton did this", why does this guy get a "Mr"?

[–] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 3 points 1 week ago

Who's they? The media in general or just the NYT? I don't read the NYT enough to know their standard. Now that mention it, I think I prefer the use of a title as opposed to just a person's last name.

[–] VanillerGoriller@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Paywall. Anyone got the full text?

[–] randombullet@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Two boys were rushed to hospitals on Wednesday after they were shot by a gunman on their rural school campus in Northern California. The authorities say the suspect had a history of crimes and mental illness.

A wooden sign in front of a school campus reads “Feather River School, Seventh-day Adventists.” The authorities believe the gunman may have targeted Feather River Adventist School because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventists.Credit...Andri Tambunan for The New York Times

Published Dec. 5, 2024Updated Dec. 6, 2024, 12:25 a.m. ET

The two kindergartners were on their way to the restroom during lunchtime on Wednesday, in what was supposed to be a simple trip before heading back to class at the Feather River Adventist School.

Instead, a short time later, they were shot and badly wounded by a gunman.

The boys, Roman Mendez, 6, and Elias Wolford, 5, were soon whisked away from their small campus near Oroville, Calif., one by ambulance, the other by helicopter, and both rushing to hospitals with no time to spare.

“It’s horrible,” said Vanessa Diaz, who has been visiting her brother Roman in the intensive care unit where he remains unconscious. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

On Thursday, the boys had improved to “critical but stable” condition, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced, offering a glimmer of hope to this rural community about 60 miles north of Sacramento that has endured an unusual amount of heartache in recent years. Residents were already trying to organize fund-raisers, hold vigils and pull together money to support the victims and their families, just as they had done in the past in this agricultural region.

Six years ago, residents here suffered through the Camp fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise about 20 miles up the road. And a year before the blaze, everyone in Oroville had to toss their belongings into a vehicle and scramble out of town one night, fearing that the towering Oroville Dam would erupt at any minute.

In Wednesday’s shooting, the authorities believe the gunman, identified as Glenn Litton, 56, had targeted the parochial school because of its affiliation with the Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant Christian denomination. He later killed himself.

[–] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I had put an archive link that should bypass the paywall in the post body. Can you see it?

I see it now, thanks!

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Who the fuck shoots up a kindergarten? What a piece of shit.

It's not clear what Litton's incarcerations accomplished. It's not out of the question that his time inside caused or exacerbated his condition, leading to this shooting.

The punitive and judicial branches of our government seem to take pride in the fact that our incarceration system does not offer reform and rehab, and is only meant to punish instead. While not everyone who is incarcerated comes out or prison worse than when they went in, it happens often enough that I think we need a radical overhaul of our prison system.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Somebody so far gone mentally that they believe they're a child execution agent working for the government.

[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 6 points 1 week ago

School shooters are such absolute pussies. They could be shooting up anywhere and they always choose the most innocent people in the country as their victims. Guess it's not a surprise almost every single school shooter comes from a conservative family.

[–] Copythis@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's crazy is that this is a REALLY small school... It's like, a couple class rooms and a playground out in the middle of nowhere.

I remember when that guy shot up the amish school years back.

[–] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Copythis@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I dunno, I just pass by that school often, it just seems like a peaceful place. If it were IN Oroville, it wouldn't have been as surprising, we always avoid Oroville