Abolish is to flourish! Against the prison industrial complex and for transformative justice.
See Critical Resistance's definitions below:
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.
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.
The erasure of how people keep and style their hair is a part of every genocide. They come up with ways to justify it every time, excuses for why it's necessary. But the real point is to erase a person's identity and their connection to their culture.
I grew up being told that my indigenous hairstyles were against dress code or were inappropriate. Wasnt till high school that I put my foot down and refused to shave my Mohawk.
They do this in US prisons as well, for that very same reason.
Source? I never had "hygeine" or grooming requirements in prison. I did in the Marines though.
Edit: It seems the shitty state prisons require it for "lice"....
https://www.grunge.com/1221963/why-some-inmates-have-to-shave-their-heads-before-entering-prison/
60 minutes interviewed the photojournalist Philip Holsinger. He says as much when discussing the pictures of them bound, shaved and wearing all white.
Genuinely so disturbing that people are cheering this on, both in general and in the context of these folks being just regular people.
It’s also sad this happened in El Salvador. Trading individual rights for broad sweeps based on stereotypes and vibes is NOT an acceptable practice for either country.
USA is a fascist genocidal empire. Yeah it's disturbing. But what else do you expect?
I'm sure if you asked a holocaust survivor what the procedure for entering Dachau or Auschwitz was like it would be very similar.
It's a slave prison right? What's to stop us from crowdfunding and buying them back? Bringing them home?
It's a concentration camp. And yes, you can probably pay for people to get out of there.
Given that El Salvador has the highest imprisomnent rate per capita after North Korea (and since NK is super secretive, they might have passed it by without us knowing), and various other inhumane laws, I would definitely prefer if nobody paid that government even a penny.
I would pay (if I had enough pennies) for opposition to get Nayib Bukele out of power. He's their version of Trump, a democratically elected authoritarian.
Sadly, unlike with Duterte (from the Philippines), there is currently no international interest in getting him to a court - which he likely has already earned by now.
What's to stop us from crowdfunding and buying them back? Bringing them home?
I'd guess it's mainly just the lack of concern from people who can afford that, but also given that the perpetrators face no consequences whatsoever it's kind of scary to think how this could get even worse if they found out it's profitable.
The feeling is justified, but it they realize they can get 100K ransom for every person they kidnap, regardless of that person criminal background, how long until they start sending people just for that?
Guantanamo was/is a stain, but this somehow it's even worse
Just curious, but why is there a camera/photographer there at that moment? I this to show how tough the "criminals" are treated?
Yep, it was a PR stunt to show how tough they are to "criminals".
The sad thing is for a moment I couldn't tell if this was an old photo or something that just happened.......
Edit: Ohh fuck that's not an old photo? I hate reality.
if i were a revolutionary that wanted to fight this new fascism, i would be identifying and eliminating key figures in this chain of command between the top and the bottom. sever the links. that would be much more effective than large scale protests.
Do the research, name the names and people could create the modded servers so it could start being done.
In Minecraft.
Well at least MAGA saved us from this guy, right? I feel so much safer and freer knowing this guy's job is now open for some young woman who didn't like school.
Is he someone Trump deported? All the title says is that he's in an El Salvador prison and even that isn't cited.
Edit: Found an article. Yes, Trump deported him.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuelan-migrants-deportations-el-salvador-prison-60-minutes/
Good question, and +1 for looking up the answer yourself. Just googling his name clears it up.
Putting down people who want to be ~~hair stylists~~ makeup artists isn't the answer here.
The guy's a makeup artist, but you have a point.
There is no way my brain is firing on all cylinders today.... Going to fix that, thanks