>For one thing, abolishing prisons is not what they really want to
>do. In fact, they are reformists
From the Angela Davis interview I just posted.
"So many people refer to me as being involved in prison reform and I say no, I'm not. I don't want to reform the prison; I don't want to make better prisons."
>"Abolish prisons!" just sounds sexier, and lets you link yourself
>with the abolitionist movement (which was actually trying to abolish
>something).
Another observation you pulled from the place where no cock shall enter?
For Davis the choice of tying what she calls decarcelization to the abolitionist movement is strategic and recognizes historical ties between the two.
Here are some quotes from her book "Are Prisons Obsolete?"
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"Most people are quite surprised to hear that the prison abolition movement also has a long history--- one that dates back to the historical appearance of the prison as the main form of punishment."
"At bottom, there is one fundamental question: Why do we take prison for granted?...even among those people who must regrettably accept prison sentences--- especially young people-- as an ordinary dimension of community life, it is hardly acceptable to engage in serious public discussions about prison life or radical alternatives to prison. It is as if prison were an inevitable fact of life..."
"It may help us gain perspective on prison if we try to imagine how strange and discomforting the debates about the obsolescence of slavery must have been to those who took "the peculiar institution" for granted--- and especially to those who reaped direct benefits from this dreadful system of racist exploitation."