promptingvisions

[promptingvisions]

Relationship’s Evolving Possibilities

The initiative of Relationships Evolving Possibilities, also known as REP, was founded after the uprisings in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd. They help focus on de-escalation tactics, supporting members of their own community to learn and retrain those around them in their response methods. De-escalation is one of the main focuses of abolition of the police, as it provides many opportunities for the Black community to focus their efforts on uplifting one another. These tactics aim to defuse tense situations and prevent them from escalating into violence.

In encounters with law enforcement, where Black individuals are disproportionately targeted and at higher risk of violence, de-escalation techniques can help minimize the use of force and decrease the likelihood of harm to both civilians and officers. It also prioritizes the preservation of life and emphasize alternatives to lethal force. Given the history of police brutality and racial profiling against Black people, particularly Black men, implementing de-escalation strategies can help prevent unnecessary loss of life and reduce instances of police violence and brutality within the Black community. In addition, they will help promote fair and equitable treatment by law enforcement officers. By emphasizing communication, empathy, and conflict resolution skills, these tactics can help counteract biases and stereotypes that may influence police interactions with Black individuals, hopefully leading to more respectful encounters. This will foster greater understanding, empathy, and cooperation between officers and community members, leading to more collaborative efforts to address crime, build safer neighborhoods, and promote mutual respect and trust.

The ultimate goal is the abolition of the police, but until then, de-escalation tactics are a great start within the community to help stop the violence against Black people, and move toward a more communicative relationship that serves everyone well.

[promptingvisions]

Young Women’s Empowerment Project

The Young Women’s Empowerment Project is inspiring in the message they are sending across. Sex work is a profession that has gotten more of a spotlight in recent years as the narrative is being pushed forward to one of more acceptance and protection. Harm reduction is only a concept that I had heard in the realm of drugs, but hearing it in the realm of sex work made a lot of sense, too. The creation of the “bad date list” was one of power and beauty, and reminded me a lot of the way that women look out for other women in small ways. One way I’ve seen this in town has been within bathroom stalls, writing out names of men who are serial rapists or assaulters. It is in this space of the women’s bathroom that many feel safe, myself included, and it is a way for information to be passed quite secretly. Women’s bathrooms as a whole are a safe space, one that is used to uplift one another. This is no different in the way that information is also spread to each other, looking to protect. 

Here is one example of a Bad Date List in the Seattle area.

[promptingvisions]

Pandowrimo

Writing has a unique ability to bring people together during times of distress by providing a means of expression, connection, and support. This was seen through the prompts that adrienne marie brown posted to her Instagram account during the pandemic of COVID-19. The beauty of books and writing is the connections that are naturally formed between the writer and reader, as well as connections that one makes within themselves after they have put pen to paper. During times of distress and disconnection with community, and humanity in general, humans have turned back to writing time and time again to bring people together during times of distress. The expression of emotions, the shared understanding of experiences, and the ability to advocate for social change are essential to building up the wave of abolition within our own communities. The ability to write for social justice is a skill that I have been grateful to have practiced within this class. In this, we must be able to recognize how we can decolonize the classroom, as well as our own language that holds racist principles and biases. As we decolonize our writing, only then will we be able to continue to band together in our fight for our fellow humans.

#Youtube

[promptingvisions]

A Note on Wave Particle Duality

The concepts of metaphysics and its incorporation into social justice movements is an incredible intersection. It encapsulates the idea that when a particle is looked at or watched, the very act of doing so changes its movements or behavior. In other words, “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you” (239). I think these concepts are all so fascinating, and remind me a lot of the movie Interstellar, in which change is able to warp and change over the course of a century, generationally from father to daughter. The planet is dying, and through quantum physics and theories being put to the test within space, the Earth is able to be saved. An incredible movie, I think it encapsulates love and the sacrifice that is prevalent within social justice movements and collectives being something that transcends time and space as we know it. The ripples of our work will be felt generations into the future, just like in the film. 

#Youtube

[promptingvisions]

Abolition Creates More Possibilities (That We Can’t Currently Imagine)

The intersection of Black Feminist Abolitionists within the realm of climate change is integral to the continuation of our future, but it leaves us with a lot of questions, including: How are we able to apply these Black Feminist principles to the fight against climate change?

We must first center marginalized voices within the climate change movement. Black Feminist Abolitionist principles call for centering the voices and experiences of those most impacted by climate change, including Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, as well as women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and low-income communities. This means listening to their perspectives, understanding their unique vulnerabilities to environmental harm, and incorporating their knowledge into climate action strategies.

Then, we must address the root causes within oppression. Just as black feminist abolitionists seek to address the root causes of systemic oppression, addressing the root causes of climate change involves challenging the systems of capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy that drive environmental exploitation. This includes advocating for economic justice, decolonization, and gender equity as integral parts of climate justice efforts.This also includes the intersectional analysis and consider how race, class, gender, and other factors intersect to shape vulnerability to environmental harm and access to resources.

Community-led efforts and solutions must also be at the forefront of the movement, as it empowers people to address their own needs and challenges. Similarly, addressing climate change requires supporting grassroots initiatives and community-based organizations that prioritize local knowledge, self-determination, and sustainable practices.

[promptingvisions]

Abolition is Cooperative and Focused on Collective Sustainability

The metaphor of ants is one of complex beauty and hardship. Ants tirelessly navigate their intricate underground tunnels, each one fulfilling a specific role within the colony. Similarly, in a society where the abolition of police is embraced, individuals work collectively like ants, assuming responsibility for maintaining order and resolving conflicts without the need for a centralized policing authority. Just as ants communicate through chemical signals, members of the community communicate, collaborate, and support one another, creating a network of mutual aid and accountability that fosters safety and harmony.

For humans, smell is associated with the part of the brain called the amygdala, wiring experiences with scents to emotion and memories. Just like ants, the scents are an aspect of communication with the past, present, and future. This collective harmony within smell is essential to much of the home building and communication we have over food, drinks, flowers, etc. They hold our communities together, and just like ants, we hold our people together in our communities through collective action and sustainability, a piece of the equation that is so essential in our current climate, both environmentally and politically.

[promptingvisions]

Harm-Free Zones

I recently watched a documentary titled, “The Interrupters”. It follows the work of CeaseFire, an initiative aimed at reducing violence in Chicago by employing former gang members and ex-convicts as "Violence Interrupters." These interrupters work to mediate conflicts and prevent violence before it happens by intervening in potentially dangerous situations. The film highlights the challenges they face, the impact of their work on their communities, and the personal stories of those involved. Through its intimate portrayal of both the violence plaguing Chicago and the individuals dedicated to stopping it, "The Interrupters" offers a powerful exploration of the complexities of urban violence and the potential for change. Although not necessarily following a harm-free zone model, they are encouraging members and youth of the community to change for the better, to use other tactics to devolve and deescalate situations. As described in the book, there was a difficulty organizing communities disproportionately impacted by incarceration, transience, and gentrification. This group aimed to target these exact problems through gang violence and ending the generational cycle of violence.

[promptingvisions]

Abolition is Fractal

Self-love is essential, not only to ourselves, but to the movements we involve ourselves in. This chapter focuses on that idea: “despite our best efforts, the way you talk to yourself can bleed into the ways you see and engage the world. As shea put it, we need to ‘recognize the violence in ourselves and the way that the culture of violence has moved us toward responses that are not life affirming’” (96). This idea is prevalent within the music of Kendrick Lamar, especially his most recent album. Being a voice for the Black community, he has continually created many conversational pieces and albums that reflect his love for his people. His last album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, calls to action the people of his community, asking hard questions about violence and discrimination. I attached a link to the lyrics of his music below to delve more deeply into his lyricism and the meaning behind his words.

[promptingvisions]

What are Emergent Strategies?

This chapter explores the idea of emergent strategies being ideas “drawn from the natural world, as well as observations of human interactions and societies” (63). This was greatly explored in the book Emergent Strategies by adrienne marie brown, an amazing read! They break down the metaphors to the natural world, including the elements of: Mycelium, The Ant, The Fern, Wavicle, The Starling, and The Dandelion. The comparisons drawn with the natural world, specifically mycelium, reminds me of the show The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Originally a video game, it follows two people as they fight their way through a pandemic of fungi and a post-apocalyptic world. It highlights the interconnectedness of humanity, even after structures have fallen apart and have disintegrated. The mycelium itself moves from person to person, and as described in the book, is a symbol of interconnectedness, detoxification, and remediation. While breaking down the systems and mindsets around us, we are acting like mycelium in our own environments, trying to build something anew.

#Youtube

[promptingvisions]

To Build a Future Without Police and Prisons, We Have to Imagine It First

This short essay was inspiring to read. By dreaming and asking questions about what the world would be like without police, we can participate in our own abolition as people in this imagined new world.

The ideas of a “utopian world” are interesting, as she uses the aspect of science fiction and quotes Octavia E. Butler: “I find utopias ridiculous. We’re not going to have a perfect society until we get a few perfect humans, and that seems unlikely” (56). The imagined utopia is a dreamscape, something beautiful to reach toward. But in this, it is hard to imagine humans as being something other than flawed. What would we look like as perfect beings? How do we achieve this goal?

We wrote a response to the prompt in class, and I loved being able to imagine myself 50 years in the future. Here is what I wrote:

Dear Diary,

Wow, it has been a journey these last couple years. It feels like I was 22 just yesterday, but alas, I am going on 73. There were some days I didn’t think I would make it, but boy am I glad I did. It has been a beautiful and hard journey into the real world as it changed both for the good and bad. It reminds me a lot of a graph, one that goes up and down over short intervals, but over the long run, grows exponentially positive. When I was in college at Colorado State University, I took a Queer Studies class that inspired change within myself, therefore inspiring the work and change I can put into my community. I was inspired by the idea of small changes to make in my life, small impacts that I can imprint upon the world. I found this through the work of DEI as it evolved and changed within our school systems. Since I ended up going into education myself, it was important to be able to change the curriculum and mindsets from the ground up. In my English classes, I taught books that featured POC and Indigenous authors, highlighting the importance of diversity in thought and experience. I never read any of the books that I taught when I was a kid! Out with the old white guys, in with a new batch of folks. It has been incredible that I was encouraged to do so by my bosses and peers. They all shared a similar view in uplifting minority voices, so it was quite easy for me to feel safe and supported in doing so. I was able to see so much change and in such a short time with the youth I was working with. They were so much more accepting of new people and ideas than anyone was when I was their age, which in turn inspired me to continue my work in the classroom. I feel lucky that I was able to turn the page of social justice for so many kids in my own community, passing the torch as it was done for me in my college experience. Although I haven’t kept in touch with any of them, I know they are out there taking what they learned in my class and making their own small changes in their lives. Once the ripple has started, it can truly create waves.

‘Til next time,

A

I urge you, as readers, to imagine yourself in this prompt given, and to take the time to reflect upon the work you are doing now, and want to do in the future. Imagine it's fifty years in the future, and social justice movements have continued winning and advancing liberation. What would your life be like? What would your everyday routine be?