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A review by djinnofthedamned
Abolishing Carceral Society by Abolition Collective
4.0
I started reading this book after starting Beyond Survival. I'm always interested in how anthologies about abolitionist theory and strategy come into formation. I've read quite a few that are strong in some places while leaving me yearning for more in other aspects. I can't help but place Abolishing Carceral Society in this beltway of anthologies that have strengths and elicit discursive yearnings at the same time.
Overall I thought the essays were pretty strong, plus or minus a few I didn't care for.
What I yearned for was:
- stronger poetic voices, maybe more poetry from incarcerated people or formerly incarcerated people
- an analysis of disability and abolition. Disability was sign posted but not necessarily the departure point for an entire essay, which I found disappointing.
- the essay on abolition ecology might have been stronger had it been written by someone like Marius Manson or an animal liberation activist currently serving prison time for "eco-terror" charges.
- I was kinda surprised there was no overtly essay with a queer/trans thrust.
-I really didn't see the value in two white organizers writing about white supremacy and carceral logic. I think their essay would have been better served by writing about how whiteness is an insidious logic in abolition organizing itself, one that "critical whiteness groups" can't necessarily remedy. If not that, then it didn't need to be included in the first place.
I suppose the omissions of varying perspectives could depart from the assumption that the reader might be familiar with books that cover these subjects; such as the Terrorization of Dissent and Decarcerating Disability, or Captive Genders. Yet I can't help but wonder what happens if you're not familiar with those things and this book is your entry point into abolition politics.
I don't know. I enjoyed it. But by the same token it now sits in a pile of anthologies about prison abolition that have not only a similar textual architecture but similar overlapping omissions. I think future abolition anthology editors would be wise to read the anthologies that come before their publication to inform the selection process of essays.
Nonetheless, it's an important read because it plays a role in shaping discourses and political education.
Overall I thought the essays were pretty strong, plus or minus a few I didn't care for.
What I yearned for was:
- stronger poetic voices, maybe more poetry from incarcerated people or formerly incarcerated people
- an analysis of disability and abolition. Disability was sign posted but not necessarily the departure point for an entire essay, which I found disappointing.
- the essay on abolition ecology might have been stronger had it been written by someone like Marius Manson or an animal liberation activist currently serving prison time for "eco-terror" charges.
- I was kinda surprised there was no overtly essay with a queer/trans thrust.
-I really didn't see the value in two white organizers writing about white supremacy and carceral logic. I think their essay would have been better served by writing about how whiteness is an insidious logic in abolition organizing itself, one that "critical whiteness groups" can't necessarily remedy. If not that, then it didn't need to be included in the first place.
I suppose the omissions of varying perspectives could depart from the assumption that the reader might be familiar with books that cover these subjects; such as the Terrorization of Dissent and Decarcerating Disability, or Captive Genders. Yet I can't help but wonder what happens if you're not familiar with those things and this book is your entry point into abolition politics.
I don't know. I enjoyed it. But by the same token it now sits in a pile of anthologies about prison abolition that have not only a similar textual architecture but similar overlapping omissions. I think future abolition anthology editors would be wise to read the anthologies that come before their publication to inform the selection process of essays.
Nonetheless, it's an important read because it plays a role in shaping discourses and political education.